The Artist's Wife (BWWM)

Chapter 16~ I've

I did my breathing exercises as I watched the crème de la crème of the society enter the grand hall and suddenly had an insane urge to bolt off with my tail between my legs. If I had a tail, that is.

We were invited to see the unveiling of an upcoming artist's work and for some reason, this event had been hyped up so much that tickets were hard to come by. You had to pay a lot to come to the event and The Jade-Eyed Bastard was mailed the tickets by the artist herself, with a letter telling us it would be an honour if we both attended.

Talk about mad clout.

I hitched up my wine, low cut evening dress and got enough balls to climb up the towering stairs, leaving The Jade-Eyed Bastard dropping the SUV's keys with the snobby looking valets. This was our first outing together as a couple and I didn't t know why I was feeling oddly nervous, like my heart was in my stomach.

I waited for him at the top of the stairs and he joined me a moment later, we passed by the mean-looking beefy bouncers that allowed us in without requesting our invitations. Sometimes, the influence this family had everywhere still surprised me.

We followed the multitude of people into the main hall which had been decorated specifically for the occasion, expensive-looking chandeliers dangled from the high ceilings and rich mingled among themselves, involving each other in some meaningless chatter.

The artworks had been displayed in strategic locations and even from here, I could tell the young woman was good. This showcase doubled up as a charity event and I could tell they would raise an awful lot of money for whatever cause it was that they were funding.

I felt furtive glances on me and I immediately felt self-conscious again. I didn't belong here with all these fancy, rich people, my style was at bars and run-down house parties, not here. The Jade-Eyed Bastard must have noticed the sudden shift in my mood because he touched my exposed upper arm lightly.

"Scared?" He whispered, his breath fanning my ear and I could tell that he was amused. I looked up at him and confirmed one thing.

No one, as in no one could rock a suit better than this man. The dark grey suit looked like it was made for him, his dark brown hair looked carefully messed up and his slight grin made those little indents on his cheeks appear. I felt little butterflies flutter in my throat and swallowed.

"You wish I was scared," I whispered back, tossing my hair over my shoulder and stalking off to the buffet table all the while fighting the urge to turn and check if he was staring at my backside. I doubt he was though, Gerard behaved so innocent sometimes that it struck me as odd.

But then he was an odd guy, generally.

I feasted my eyes on the treats at the table and picked up a tart which I was quietly nibbling on when I noticed the all too familiar sneering face of my adopted sister, Mindy from across the hall. The tart suddenly tasted bitter and I suppressed a deep frown, staring at the blonde.

She was dressed in a light gold dress which clung onto her like a second skin, and she clung onto the arm of a big, blonde man that I could assume was her date. The man was huge with hands as big as frying pans and I wondered where the heck those two had met.

My attention was averted from my sister and her alpha male date when a bunch of ladies with smiles as phoney as a chorus girl's eyelashes, approached me. The tart tasted like cardboard in my mouth at this point.

"Is it really true?" one of them a neatly done French plait and chinky eyes whispered.

"Is what true?" I was slightly irritated that they were interrupting me and my tart time. They looked among themselves and gave me another round of their sickening sappy smiles. I held back vomit.