Page 110 of How to Get Even

Ye-Joon appeared in the doorway and Ali practically jumped out of her seat, just as Bella was putting the last pin in her hair. Ye-Joon only had eyes for Ali and as she looked over the top of his head to see Maurice, Tej and Chase all standing there looking like proud older brothers, she felt connected to these people in ways she hadn’t experienced before. And was suddenly sad at the idea of leaving them. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to have to walk away after the gallery opening.

Maybe she could make this work. Maybe, if she told Chase, he might understand. Or maybe she didn’t even have to tell Chase. She could just shove it all down and pretend that she hadn’t sabotaged him. And they could all just carry on like this.

Oh, she wanted that so badly.

‘You look beautiful,’ Chase mouthed to her over the heads of the others and she felt herself blush.

‘Thank you,’ she mouthed back. She didn’t have to verbalise her appreciation of Chase dressed in a suit. Her gaze ate him up and, noticing, he raised an eyebrow in mock admonishment.

‘Right,’ Maurice said, rubbing his hands together. ‘Who’s ready to kick this off?’

They all cheered and Tej gestured for Chase to lead the way. He cast a glance back over his shoulder at Bella, and that was almost the last she saw of him for the next sixty minutes.

* * *

It was a rush seeing the gallery full of people, mixing, mingling, looking at the art. The walls looked spectacular and the sound of excited voices filled the room. Bella hung back, taking it all in, an adrenaline rush fizzing in her veins at the sight of the gallery’s success.

Sascha was beaming, hovering by Zadzisai’s side, as he introduced her to some of the journalists invited to the preview, to help whet expectations for the opening next week. Tej was skirting the crowds, hoping to avoid the date his mother had invited for him. Bella wincing as he glared at her, holding her personally responsible. Chase had assured her she’d done the right thing. Tej would forgive her but when they’d spoken on the phone, Bella had quickly realised that Adite Nayak was a formidable woman that few would say no to and survive unscathed.

She continued to scan the guests looking for one person amongst the many faces of an almost packed to the brim gallery, until she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to stare into familiar eyes, with just a few more wrinkle lines.

‘Ms Carmichael?’ he asked, holding his hand out for her to shake.

She smiled, relief and happiness exhaled on a sigh. ‘Mr Miller,’ she said, taking Chase’s father’s hand. ‘It’s very nice to meet you.’

Mr Miller looked around the room, impressed and a little overwhelmed at the noise and the sight of it all.

‘My son did all this?’

‘He had a little bit of help, but yes. He brought all of this together.’

Mr Miller nodded and took a deep breath, impressed.

‘I went to an exhibition of his once. He doesn’t know about it,’ Mr Miller confessed. ‘I…’ He shrugged. ‘It’s hard for me. His mother understood this part of him and I always thought that maybe when he lost her, he’d lost someone who understood him in that way.’ Bella watched him swallow and gather himself. He pressed a thumb to the corner of his eye and she looked away, knowing that he’d hate to have that moment of vulnerability witnessed. Over the last week, they’d spoken a number of times, and she already knew that Mr Miller was a man of few words, but deep emotions.

‘But this is good,’ he said, nodding to himself. ‘He’s doing for others what was done for him. She definitely taught him that,’ he said, his head bobbing again, as if that was the only way he could show his appreciation of what his son had achieved.

‘Dad.’

This time, it was Bella who swallowed as she turned to face Chase coming up behind them.

‘Hi, son. I hope you don’t mind me being here?—’

‘No,’ Chase said, as if surprised himself that he didn’t mind. ‘Of course not,’ he said, his gaze flicking between him and Bella.

‘Why don’t you show your dad round, and we can catch up later?’ Bella suggested as Chase mentally tried to figure out how his father had come to be there tonight.

She excused herself and made her way into the crowd, telling herself that she wasn’t running away before Chase could tell her off. She felt his eyes on her back as she slipped through the people and found her way to where Ali and Maurice were standing.

‘I think it’s going well,’ Maurice said nervously. ‘It’s going well, right?’ he asked, turning to Bella, looking for confirmation.

‘It’s going brilliantly!’ Ali beamed and Bella smiled and agreed.

‘Well, in that case,’ Maurice said, grabbing three glasses of champagne from the passing waiter and sharing them out between them. ‘We did it,’ he said by way of a toast, and with a broad grin took a mouthful of the sharp bubbles.

Deciding that everything was firmly in control, and that she could breathe a little, Bella took a mouthful just as Ali asked, ‘Who is the woman in the hat?’

Turning, Bella caught sight first of the hat, then the two people beside the hat, then the personunderthe hat, and promptly choked on her champagne.

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