Free Complementary Colors by Adrienne Wilder Page B

nothing.
    That…That was my best.
    “Thank you,” I said.
    He smiled and so did his wife. There were two other couples at our table. I’d never seen them before, but they must have been serious about purchasing one of my works. Julia only invited out the ones who’d practically given her a blank check.
    “Paris is always working on amazing new pieces. I’m sure whatever it is, you will be pleasantly surprised.”
    “Are you a religious man, Paris?” I didn’t know the man sitting across from me at the other end of the table either, but he looked vaguely familiar.
    “No.”
    He arched an eyebrow and sipped his wine. “Then why do all your works have a religious theme?”
    “I—”
    “Paris respects the need for religion,” Julia said. “While we don’t belong to a particular church, it doesn’t mean we can’t recognize intelligent design.”
    The man folded his hands and leaned forward. His eyes were so dark they were black. I’d never seen a man with eyes like that.
    Exactly like mine.
    “Is that what you believe, Paris?”
    Julia paused mid-bite. The gleam in her gaze dared me to refute her. Would she stab me with her steak knife if I did? Wouldn’t that be a wonderful front-page story? At least she would get the fame she’d always dreamed of.
    The tension screamed between us.
    “What she said.”
    Julia went back to eating and talking with everyone except for the unnamed man. He stared at me while he plucked cherry tomatoes from the end of his fork. There was no ring on his finger, but he wore an expensive watch and sapphire cufflinks.
    I cut a piece of salmon and dragged it through the sauce. It dripped on the way to my mouth. I collected the smear of sauce from my lip and sucked it off my finger.
    “Use your napkin.” Julia pushed it closer. She resumed her conversation, and I did it again.
    The man tilted his head ever so slightly in the direction of the men’s room. I flicked a look at Julia. His smile widened as he drank the last of his wine.
    “Ladies, gentlemen, if you would excuse me, I’m going to step out on the veranda for a smoke.” The man made his way through the crowd of tables.
    Off to my right, a woman laughed. Her blonde hair fell in a curtain over her shoulders. A minuscule table separated her from an equally lovely young man. Their hands made love to each other between their glasses of wine.
    Every so often, they would share a bite of food, and he would lean close enough to whisper in her ear.
    An elderly couple sat behind them. Their table was also small, but they’d moved their chairs to one side. The subtle smiles they shared were twice as powerful.
    I drank some wine to soothe the dryness in my throat. After another excruciating minute, I pushed back my chair. “Would you excuse me, please, while I make use of the facilities?”
    Julia’s hand locked onto my wrist. “You have guests.”
    “I’m aware of that.”
    “It’s rude to leave the table.” She squeezed five burning points into my skin.
    “I’m just going to the bathroom.”
    She did not let go.
    “I promise.”
    She still didn’t let go.
    “It’s right across the room. You can see the door from here.”
    Her grip loosened. “Don’t take too long.”
    “I’ll do my best.”
    Her heated stare pressed against my back all the way to the men’s room. The man with no name stood at the sink washing his hands.
    There was no one at the urinals, and all the stall doors were slightly open. As luck would have it, the closet-like design offered maximum privacy.
    I entered the one at the end. The man with no name joined me. He locked the door and shoved me into the corner.
    “Took you long enough.” He attacked my mouth.
    “Julia doesn’t trust me.”
    “Really? Does she have a reason not to trust you, Mr. Duvoe?” He bit my ear, and I hissed.
    “Absolutely.”
    “Good.”
    Our tongues returned to battle. I pulled his hair, and he twisted one of my nipples through my shirt.
    “I wanted to fuck you