Mismatch - By Nana Malone Page 0,61

with Miranda to pick the larger show stopper images for the larger exhibit.

“God damn these shoes are murder.” Jessica slipped off the three-and-half inch silver nightmares and wiggled her toes. “Miranda, I want to make sure I give Raul some instructions about pick up for the opening. Can you hang out for a minute?”

The brunette nodded. “Sure, I'm all yours.”

Jessica bit back a smile as she hopped on the walkway to reach Raul. She had an assistant. Well, one she shared with Izzy, but an assistant none the less.

With tender feet, she gave up on the gravel walkway and went for the grass. “Hey, Raul, one thing. I want to make sure we have enough space on Saturday. Can you go into the venue and double check the measurements, so we don't have any problems trying to get the larger installation items in? I don’t want any of this to go wrong.”

Raul nodded and gave her a brief run-down of what had already been done and what still needed some work. She watched as he climbed into his truck, praying she hadn’t forgotten anything. She’d never pulled off a show like this with someone like Eli. It was one thing to do photo gallery shows for Izzy. Izzy was already established. It was a whole other thing to work with an unknown client.

She wiped her hands on the back of her jeans. This would work. It had to. Izzy and Jason had believed in her, so she'd better pull it together. As she watched Raul's truck pull off, she stood outside a second longer, soaking up the sunshine.

Miranda joined her on the lawn. “Come on. You can do that in Malibu. Izzy called; you’re already late for Nick’s tournament.”

“Okay, I’m coming, I can see—”

Tires screeching to her right diverted her attention from Miranda. A late model Oldsmobile swerved into the middle of the street. It was when she heard the combination of a gunned engine and Miranda's shout from the door that she realized what was happening. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

The car was barreling straight for her.

Heart thudding and brain flowing in slow motion, she darted away from the sidewalk, rolling onto the front lawn. The car missed her by a foot.

Holy shit, had someone just tried to kill her?

Chapter 19

Jessica’s tights itched. But she knew better than to scratch; she'd only put a hole in the thigh highs and where would that land her? Then she'd be that holey girl Samson Marks had brought to the benefit.

She kept telling herself that it didn’t smart that she hadn’t been the one to be able to get him an invite. But who was she kidding? As a nod to decorum, she'd worn her natural hair tonight. No feather adornments or jewels, only platinum. She’d worked it into a fifties-inspired Greta Garbo style. The only part of her that told her she was still her was the dress color. Though it was formal, strapless with a simple sweetheart neckline, it bore a shocking slit and was a wholly inappropriate fushia color. The dress drew enough looks to give her a chuckle.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

Eli’s velvet voice enveloped her. She warmed instantly.

“Just thinking how everyone is staring. It's like you brought Hester Prynne as your date.” She hadn’t told him about the incident with the car at the gallery. For that matter, she hadn’t told Izzy either. She didn’t need them fawning all over her. Miranda didn’t like keeping it quiet, but she’d done so under the deal that Jessica would call the police.

And she would. Later. Much later.

A sharp chuckle made Eli’s chest rumble. “I doubt Hester Prynne had your talent in the bedroom. That thing you do with your tongue. It’s—”

She smacked him on the arm. “Eli, people can hear you.”

He rolled his eyes. “How long are we staying at this shindig anyway?”

“You have yet to make a full revolution around the room. It’s important for you to meet everyone in here. This will be your audience for the opening and exhibit. At least some of them anyway.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Are you coming with me?”

“That's a negative. Besides, these women want the air of availability on you. I'll be right here. Don’t worry. If you need help, send up a signal flair.”

He nodded, and Jessica scanned the crowd. “Hey, is that your friend Vince over there?”

Eli nodded. “Yeah, he was invited by his date, I think.”

“Go on, mingle.” She stepped away, even though she wanted to hang