Fire and Sweets (Book 3 of Wolves of Milano)

12. The Gallery

Kara is standing on the sidelines, not exactly in the shadow, but the pillar is giving her some semblance of a hiding spot. She has her glass of champagne and she’s smiling. She’s happy. People watching is her favourite pastime. Devana made eye contact before and winked at her, but that is pretty much all. Zsuzsanna Bágdan is a famous artist, so while the goddess keeps up her cover, Kara better stay on the fringes. She could go over and pull up her education to fake an art enthusiast, but that would mean to be in the crowd. All the more exposed and giving the people a chance to recognize her.

While her date, Allegra, mixes and mingles, she is observing. There is a good crowd in front of her own exhibit, but with all the chatter in the vast space, she can’t pick up what they are saying. There are just too many people talking for her sensitive wolf ears. Can she edge closer? Can she risk it? Right now she is in neutral territory in between two exhibits, her back against the pillar, so no one can sneak up on her, feeling somewhat safe. It’s a wonder that she’s been here for two hours and nobody came up to her. The disguise is working.

“Three of your paintings sold already. Maybe I set the price too low?” Mattias whispers to her.

“How did you do that? How did you sneak up on me?” She whispers back.

“You are too busy people watching. I can play the stealth game, too.” He tells her. Well, she is glad that at least one is amused by this. The news of her paintings being sold is spinning her head. She has mixed feelings; from fear to happiness, from joy to trepidation. She will have to let a few of her works go with new owners.

“Don’t out me, please.” She pleads with him.

“No worries there. Your plus one stole the show.” He chuckles. “Who is the girl?”

“My cousin.” She muses. “Allegra is always a distraction. She only needs to enter a room and all eyes are on her.”

“She is marvelous.” He agrees. “I better go mingle.”

“You should.” Kara responds.

She keeps watching the people. All focus is on Allegra, but there are small clusters of art lovers in front of the paintings as well. Maybe they just haven’t noticed Allegra yet? Who knows? She is just glad that nobody seems to see her. She is enjoying herself and her glass of wine. People are amusing when they don’t know they’re being watched. Not only Kara, but her wolf likes watching people as well. What they wear, how they act, how they talk and what they talk about. She likes the patterns of behaviour. While wolves always have an agenda, people seem to live in the moment.

Her observation is disturbed by a commotion in the anteroom. The catering prep room, she realizes. She is drawn to the angry voices coming from there. Maybe the guests can’t pick that up, but she can. She needs to interfere before it escalates out to the Gallery. A scandal is the last thing they all need. So, she slips into the prepping room and closes the door firmly behind her.

“You’re not supposed to be here, Miss.” An angry guy growls at her.

“Sure I am.” She tells him calmly. She even recognizes him from somewhere… What is the guy’s name? Why can’t she remember?

“Ugh!” He throws his arms up in the air, all for a show. “Over privileged brat! Who do you think you are?”

“Kara Tottzi.” She states. Staying calm is the best thing to do, she doesn’t want to rile the guy even more. “And you are?”

“Oh. My. God!” The guy stammers. “Why? Why can’t I have this one big deal? Why?”

“I’m sorry? What?” She is surprised.

“He’s not going to pay me? I was wondering where the extra trays came from. How can I compete with that?” He tells her and swipes his hand over the trays of her sweets. Artfully arranged in neat rows and forming a rainbow on the tray.

“Oh… Of course you’re getting paid.” Kara smiles. “Let me tell you something, but you need to promise me to keep this quiet for the rest of the evening. Do you promise?”

“Yes.” He looks at her in wonder. He even nods to let her know he means it.

“I have a few of my paintings on display out there. Mattias thought that it would be a nice touch to offer people my sweets as well.” Kara explains. “This has nothing to do with sabotaging you. Your trays are fine finger food. And very good, as well. I’ve been munching all evening.”

“You paint? Is there something you can’t do?” He asks her. He keeps looking at her like she will sprout horns or another head. She is not the scary type, everyone knows that.

“I paint.” She laughs. “You know what I can’t do? I can’t deal with people. I hate to be in the spotlight. I hate to be noticed.”

“But you look like a model. You should be in the spotlight.” He flatters her.

“What’s your name?” Kara asks him again.

“Max.” He grins at her.

“Nice to meet you, Max.” Kara smiles at him. “I’ll go hide in the crowd and you go do your job. If you want to talk, you can always come find me at Rialto.”

“Thank you, Kara.” He smiles and makes a zipping motion over his lips. She kind of likes the guy, if only she could remember where she knows him from.

Kara spots Devana standing alone and walks over to the goddess. It’s not unusual for the artists to have a moment of peace at these events, but she thinks it’s weird for Devana. She has that kind of presence that makes people seek her out. There is nothing out of the ordinary about the goddess, not something she could pinpoint and say that’s it, just the general feel when she’s around. Not to mention, she is a great conversationalist and funny too.

“Hey.” Kara greets Devana.

“Hey, yourself. Where were you?” The goddess smiles at her.

“Solving an existential crisis. The caterer had a breakdown.” Kara winks.

“He noticed the extra trays? I kind of confiscated one for the afterparty.” Devana smiles.

“Yeah. I calmed him down, it’s all fine now.” Kara explains.

“Have you seen Ilona? I saw her come in, but then I lost her. I don’t understand how a girl that is taller than most, with flaming red hair can hide in this crowd?” Devana shakes her head.

“Find a tray of sweets and you will find her. I know for a fact she can’t resist my masterpieces.” Kara smiles.

“Right. She got the love for sweets from me, her father couldn’t stand the taste of chocolate.” Devana scoffs.

“Happy hunting.” Kara muses. She likes the innuendos, especially the clever ones.

She is left alone to watch the crowd again. She leans against a pillar and smiles. The party is a typical stiff affair of rich art enthusiasts and wannabes. She can tell them apart just by the way they stand. The few lucky ones to score a ticket for this exhibition that are from neither group stand out a lot. Those must be her followers on i********:. She thinks she even recognizes a few from the restaurant. Loyal patrons and longtime friends of her mother. She better avoid those at all costs, if she wants to stay anonymous.

The party winds down close to midnight. The only ones left are her fellow painters and Mattias. Even Ilona left after a brief goodbye. She knew that Kara didn't want to be recognized and she avoided talking to her till the others left. Kara wonders when Allegra disappeared, so she texts her to ask. A few seconds later, she gets the answer. Allegra has an exam tomorrow, so she left early to get enough sleep. A smile spreads out on her face, her little cousin took the time to go with her when she should be studying. Maybe she owes Allegra a box of sweets for this? She did a good job of distracting the crowd, she earned it.

Kara watched Mattias navigate the crowd of art enthusiasts and potential buyers. He is a natural. He talks and jokes and hands out cards. She saw him on occasions to walk over to a painting and stick a small card next to the plaque with information. The sold paintings got marked. She wondered what the cards mean, so she took a closer look. Now the crowd is gone and he is still the same ,smiling, and talking, and joking. It must be his natural state then. He is a people’s person. He is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, topped off with a bow made from questions. He intrigues her. He makes her curious. She wants to know more about him and he refuses to answer her.

‘Well, you’re not telling him much, either.’ Her wolf comments.

‘You had to bring that up? How do I tell him that my Uncle is insane? That he wants to marry me off? That I’m scared out of my mind? That I would love to take him up on his offer, but I can’t?’ Kara asks her wolf.

‘I get it. I don’t have the answers. I’m sorry.’ The wolf says, quietly.

‘Don’t hide. It’s not your fault. Our pack is a mess.’ Kara smiles sadly. She wishes nothing more than to be free to do what she wants.

‘Do you believe that he’s a lone wolf?’ Her wolf asks and brushes up against her skin. The feel of fur gives her comfort, so she smiles.

‘No. Devana said he’s not. That only makes him more intriguing.’ Kara answers.

‘Then why would he say he’s a lone wolf?’ The wolf wonders.

‘Because he can’t tell me who he is. There is more than what we see. He is hiding something big. I wonder if he’s doing it on purpose, or he’s sworn to secrecy?’ Kara shares her thoughts with her wolf.

‘Like Devana? She can’t tell, because she made a promise. Maybe his Alpha made him make the same promise? He is bound by that.’ Her wolf continues the thought.

‘You might be right. But there is a way around an Alpha command. We just have to find the right questions to ask.’ Kara muses. She is making a plan and it involves a dinner and a ton of questions. They can play the guessing game. All he has to say is yes or no.

“All your paintings got sold.” Devana smiles at her at the small afterparty. It’s just the artists and a few members of the Gallery staff.

“I’ve seen. I still can’t believe it.” Kara answers. She is in denial right now and waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone to tell her it’s a joke.

“If you get Mattias as your agent, you can sell more.” Lea chuckles. “You just send him shots of your work sitting at home and he’ll sell those for you. There really isn’t anyone better to promote new artists than Mattias.”

“Is he an agent too?” Kara inquires. There is so much she doesn’t know about the guy. Nothing really, if she thinks about it.

“He’s not an actual agent, but he has ties to everyone. He can get good prices for your art, just based on things he sold before.” Lea explains to her.

“I have to think about it.” Kara looks at the tiny woman with braids. “I have to admit, it feels good to get recognition of your work in the form of cash.”