Page 21 of Always Be True: Tino
“I wasn’t home.”
His condescending smile set her teeth on edge. “I would hate to think that you were avoiding me.”
Did he really want to do this here? Fine. “I was out with a friend. It was late when I got back home, but I did check for messages. There wasn’t one.”
And she wasn’t sure she would have returned his call even if there had been. It was time to bring the conversation back to the reason they were here. “I think you’ll really like Julie’s work, Benton. She has an amazing gift.”
He gave her a look that said he wasn’t ready to let the matter drop for good, but he was willing to move on for now. Cranking up his charm level, he turned a practiced smile in her companion’s direction.
“Congratulations on the showing, Ms. Stahl. I’m sure this evening will only be the start of great things for you.”
“That’s the plan, anyway.”
The smile Julie offered in response to Benton’s was but a faint shadow of her earlier ones. She also didn’t thank him for coming, which Natalie found interesting. If he noticed, he gave no indication of it as he moved on to rejoin his mother. Most people—and women in particular—found him charming.
“Conceited jerk.”
As soon as the word slipped out, Julie closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. “Oh, wow, I apologize. I didn’t mean to say that out loud. He is clearly a friend of yours, and I had no business saying something that rude. Please, please write it off to a bad case of nerves.”
“He’s actually my ex-fiancé, so I’m not particularly happy with him these days myself.” She looked toward the door and didn’t see anyone else coming in. “It looks like most of the guests have arrived. Why don’t we get a glass of wine and see what kind of goodies my mom ordered for us to eat?”
As they walked away from the rest of the receiving line, Natalie gave Julie a conspiratorial nudge with her elbow and whispered, “If his mother and mine weren’t best friends, I might have realized much sooner that your assessment of his character was right on target. In Benton’s defense, he’s not all bad, just a bit full of himself.”
The other woman nodded. “I’ve run into a few men like him in my prior job. I ran out of patience with it years ago.”
“What kind of work did you do?”
Julie picked up a glass of white wine and took a sip. “I was an army nurse. After a few too many deployments, I decided it was time to find a job where I’d have time for other things in my life. I’ve always carried sketchbooks with me wherever I was stationed, but I really wanted more time to paint.”
“Good for you! Where are you working now?”
“I took a job at a local hospital as a surgical nurse. The hours are more regular unless I’m on call, which allows me the freedom to take art classes.”
“I don’t mean to pry, but has it been hard transitioning back to civilian life? I’m asking because the friend I mentioned to Benton recently left the army after serving ten years.”
“Civilian life is different for sure.”
When she looked past Natalie to study the crowd wandering from painting to painting, Natalie tried to see her mother’s friends through the other woman’s eyes. The room was full of glittery jewelry, fancy dresses, and hand-tailored suits—the perfect image of money and influence.
Julie was talking again. “But to answer your question, how hard it is to transition back to civilian life depends a lot on what your friend was doing in the army and how many times he was deployed and where. The frontline troops have often seen a lot of ugly stuff that they have to learn how to put behind them.”
Julie finally met Natalie’s gaze head-on again. “If he does have problems, remind him that he’s not alone. There are support groups and a host of other resources out there for him. They helped me, that’s for sure.”
The grim set to the other woman’s mouth had Natalie regretting her question. “I’m sorry, Julie. This is supposed to be your big night, and here I’ve brought up what is clearly a tough subject for you.” Natalie set her nearly full glass back on a passing waiter’s tray. “I won’t hog all your time, but why don’t you show me your paintings and help me pick out a couple before all the best ones are gone?”
“I’d love to show you around, but don’t feel obligated to buy anything. I just appreciate your taking me under your wing tonight.”
Natalie looped her arm through Julie’s. “If it makes you feel any better, some of the money I’m spending is my grandfather’s. He trusts my mother’s judgment when it comes to art, and he told me to choose a painting for him. Let’s go pick out something really nice for him.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll show you my particular favorites. They’re over this way.”
—
It didn’t take long for Natalie to choose three paintings, a matched pair of smaller ones for herself and a larger one for her grandfather’s collection. While taking care of the necessary paperwork with Jacob’s assistant, it was time to decide whether she wanted to buy one more painting, but with the foundation’s money. The one she had in mind was far different than the rest of Julie’s work, which was probably why Jacob had hung it off by itself. Regardless of the reason, she found the painting riveting. It was a swirl of dark colors with only the merest hints of light mixed in. The title was simply “Memories,” perhaps a reference to the reason Julie had needed help transitioning to her current life.
“Don’t tell me you actually like that one.”
She’d been aware of Benton circling closer for some time. “All right, I won’t tell you.”
