Читать книгу One-Night Man - Jeanie London - Страница 8

“IF I HAVE TO LOOK at one more penis tonight,” Lennon McDarby whispered while lifting the glass panel from the display case, “I’m going to scream.”

This penis stood a good sixteen inches tall. The mammoth proportions would have made the sculpture crude had it not been crafted from marble with exquisite attention to detail.

And the piece was just one of many, because all the artwork in the Joshua Eastman Gallery had a connection to sex. This artist’s theme for The Promise, as the work was titled, was of the oral variety. The marble penis was half of a pair. Its partner—an equally detailed sculpture of a woman’s mouth—depicted lips opened wide enough to swallow sixteen inches.

Lennon sighed. The sound echoed in the empty gallery. She didn’t even have to glance at her watch to know midnight had come and gone. She’d become intimately acquainted with late nights these past few weeks while helping her great-aunt ready the collection for the opening. Lennon wouldn’t even think about how she’d blown off her own work, despite a looming deadline, to spend every waking hour in the National Trust Artists’ Museum.

But the collection finally neared completion, and Lennon cast a satisfied glance around the entrance hall. Along with The Promise and Great-uncle Joshua’s portrait—which presided over the room, welcoming guests to his memorial art gallery—a compelling array of artwork and artifacts represented each category of the collection. Select paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures and decorative artwork were displayed in and on various cases and shelves, introducing visitors to the scope and quality of the Eastman Gallery’s unique objets d’art.

Sex, sex and more sex.

With a tired smile, Lennon surveyed Solitaire, a 1792 watercolor of a nude young man stroking himself in a beautiful wash of transparent colors. Auntie Q had displayed the painting, declaring, “We want men to feel welcome, and this piece will prove they’ve been playing with themselves since long before Playboy hit the stands….”

On another wall hung a 1750 oil on canvas depicting a pastoral scene of a couple making love on a riverbank, a work that had been commissioned by Madame de Pompadour herself.

One of the more unusual items in the hall was a basin and ewer set, a gorgeous example of “Saint-Porchaire” ware, one of the rarest types of Renaissance ceramics. Ingeniously mounted on a low stand, the pieces had been fashioned into a makeshift bidet long before the bidet had come into vogue as a tool for personal hygiene. Lennon thought the set made an attractive addition to the entrance hall. Tasteful. Subtly erotic.

Since Auntie Q and Great-uncle Joshua—honorary great-uncle, as he and Auntie Q hadn’t been married—had devoted their lives to collecting these erotic pieces, the least Lennon could do was figure out how best to display them. Back to The Promise.

Repositioning the giant penis on the black velvet display base, she leaned back on her haunches to consider the effect. Still not right. She yawned widely, wondering if she would ever be content with the result.

“Playing with a penis shouldn’t put you to sleep, dear.” Auntie Q’s lilting voice broke the late-night quiet.

Rocking back on her heels, Lennon swung a weary gaze toward her great-aunt. Auntie Q—Quinevere McDarby to the rest of New Orleans’s society—stood silhouetted beneath the arched entrance, surveying the exhibition hall as grandly as a fairy queen.

And that’s exactly how Lennon thought of her. With her white hair and brilliant blue eyes, Auntie Q was petite, quintessentially feminine, and had been as exquisite in her youth as she was darling in her dotage.

“It’s so late nothing can keep me awake, Auntie.”

“The right man could.”

Too tired to argue, Lennon said, “You should be resting.”

“Why? I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on my sleep when I’m dead. Until then…” At Lennon’s stricken look, Auntie Q tutted reassuringly. “Shh, dear. I went online to check the weather report. If I didn’t, you would have, and I want you to finish your to-do list so the bachelors and I will have your undivided attention during the gallery opening.”

“I’m all yours this weekend.”

The cheeky old girl winked. “You should say that to a man sometime.”

Lennon only smiled, not up to another debate about her love life or lack thereof, and attempted to steer the subject toward the million and one things still left to do before the reception tonight. “What’s the forecast?”

“Cool Gulf breezes for the next two days, if I care to trust the weatherman. I don’t. I’ve arranged a contingency plan in case the weather doesn’t cooperate and we have to move the reception out of the sculpture garden.”

“Good idea, but I’ve got my fingers crossed the weather will be fine.”

She’d said a few prayers, too. Lennon wanted this weekend to come off without a hitch. The opening of the Joshua Eastman Gallery—the newest addition to New Orleans’s largest art museum—represented two years of Auntie Q’s hard work, a memorial to the man she’d loved for most of her life.

“Great-uncle Joshua would be touched that you’re opening the gallery to showcase his antiquities collection.” Sinking back onto the floor, Lennon glanced up at the portrait that hung above the display case.

Great-uncle Joshua peered down at her boldly from the canvas, a handsome man with deep green eyes and striking black hair. He’d sat for the portrait during the prime of his life, long before Lennon had been born, and she thought he looked like a real-life romance hero. As a romance writer, she was qualified to make that assessment.

Auntie Q followed her glance, her wizened expression softening as she gazed upon the man she’d loved in life. “He bequeathed me his collection specifically to keep me busy after he passed, otherwise he’d have opened this gallery himself. I’m sure he’s up there right now, throwing roadblocks in my way every time he doesn’t like one of my decisions.”

“Roadblocks?”

Auntie Q waved a thin hand impatiently, sapphires and rubies flashing when her rings caught a gleam of light from the after-hours lighting. “There’s simply no other explanation for why the painters painted the decorative arts exhibition hall the wrong colors. I mean, really, dear. Each and every paint can mislabeled? The project supervisor getting the flu just as the painters were about to start the project? And I’d have never been out of town if not for the opportunity to acquire that exquisite Italian Renaissance majolica dish that Joshua had been trying to purchase for a decade. All Joshua’s doing. He hated the bold colors I chose to offset the collectables.”

Frankly, Lennon thought the natural tones now gracing the walls of the exhibit better suited the collection of rock crystal vessels, ivory carvings and gilt and silver miscellany. But if Auntie Q believed Great-uncle Joshua sat up on a cloud critiquing her decorating choices, who was Lennon to argue?

“You made the right choice conceding to his wishes then,” she said. “The hall looks great.”

“It does indeed. All in all, I think he’s pleased.”

“And so are a lot of people in New Orleans. You’re giving the art world an invaluable contribution.”

“Not everyone is happy.” She held up an envelope, which Lennon, in her exhaustion, hadn’t noticed before.

“Oh, no. Not another one.”

“I’m afraid so, dear.”

Lennon didn’t need to open the envelope to discern the thoughts of the harsh critics who’d opposed the gallery’s opening. She and her great-aunt had already had a few unpleasant run-ins with protestors. “Well, I still don’t understand the trouble.”

“Every collection has detractors.” Auntie Q gave a shrug, though Lennon knew each negative comment struck her hard. “The point is to showcase Joshua’s collection. He wanted people to embrace our collective erotic art history. ‘Don’t need a royal family to enjoy the royal family jewels,’ he always said.”

That he had. As a young man, Great-uncle Joshua had earned his fortune importing and exporting antiquities; throughout his later years, he’d become a collector and philanthropist. As far back as Lennon could remember, memories of her great-aunt and -uncle had always involved exciting treasure hunts to track down artwork and collectibles from all over the world.

That their idea of treasure included all forms of erotic artwork throughout history was a detail Lennon had become acquainted with only in adulthood.

“Are you sure you’ve chosen the right work of art to display beneath Great-uncle Joshua’s portrait, Auntie?” Leaving the glass display case on the floor, she pushed herself to her feet and eyed The Promise skeptically.

Auntie Q glided into the room. Meeting her halfway, Lennon plucked the letter from her grasp, tucked her finely boned hand in her own and led her back toward the portrait.

“Georgia Devine is an up-and-coming young artist,” she said. “Joshua loved boosting new artists’ careers. That’s why I’m exhibiting this piece.” She walked the few steps to a wall display that featured an exquisite seashell-and-pearl necklace. “This is a Reina Price original. I just acquired it last year when she opened her own gallery.”

Lennon didn’t think there was any comparison between the huge sculpture beneath the portrait and the necklace designed to resemble a woman’s genitals in soft pastel shades.

“This is a gorgeous piece,” she said, moving closer for a better look at the fine detail. “I mean really gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind seeing this artist’s other work.”

“We’ll go together, dear. After the opening.”

Lennon nodded. “This piece would be perfect beneath the portrait. It’s beautiful, tasteful, not…well, crude.”

“Crude?” Auntie Q glanced back at the sculpture as though the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “That gorgeous white marble? Think of yin and yang. The Promise symbolizes the wholeness of the universe, the sun and the moon, the unity of man and woman. What’s crude about it?”

The sheer proportions, for one thing. The blatant suggestion of oral foreplay, for another. Not that Lennon would try explaining that to Auntie Q. A waste of breath. She didn’t have anything against oral sex per se, but seeing it so deliberately displayed, almost flaunting… “I prefer the subtler pieces, I suppose.”

“The sculpture makes you uncomfortable because you haven’t seen a penis in a while.” Before Lennon could comment, Auntie Q tugged her hand. “Come on, let’s find you a man.”

They walked the few steps to the foyer adjoining the entrance hall. A dozen easels flanked the arched entrance, displaying promotional photos of the bachelors to be auctioned off during the gallery opening.

Auntie Q studied the photos, a respectable assortment of candid gazes, carved jaws and arresting smiles. “Any thoughts on whom you’ll bid for?”

Oh, she’d had thoughts all right. Lennon took a deep breath and waited until her great-aunt had turned her assessing gaze back before admitting, “Actually, I’ve been giving the bidding a lot of thought. Not only will the auction raise funds for the collection, but it’s an opportunity to find Mr. Right.”

Auntie Q’s face suddenly became wreathed in smiles and excitement. “Mr. Right, Lennon? Really? Are you finally going to allow yourself to fall in love?”

Lennon nodded. “I’ll be thirty in May. I’ve finished college, traveled the Continent with Mother and established my writing career. It’s time to settle down.”

“Are you talking about marriage?”

“Yes.”

“Marriage would be delightful, but don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself? Shouldn’t you be in love with a man before deciding to marry him?”

“That’s where the auction comes in.” Taking a deep breath, Lennon chose her words carefully. “These are the most eligible bachelors around. They’re all reputable, self-made men, from the best families. Where better to find a husband?”

That laser-blue gaze narrowed. “And where does love fit in?”

Lennon faced her great-aunt squarely. “My definition of love differs from yours a bit, Auntie. To me, love doesn’t necessarily include what you always call ‘grand passion.’”

It definitely didn’t include grand passion.

“You’re a McDarby,” Auntie Q said. “Passion is our special gift. It’s what we live for. You’re just a late bloomer.”

“I’m not a late bloomer. I do passion. I’m a romance writer, for goodness sake.”

Auntie Q shook her head, as though shaking loose whatever might be obstructing her hearing, since she clearly didn’t think she’d heard Lennon right. “You do passion on a computer, not in real life. When was the last time you went on a date?”

Lennon dragged her memory for a recent date to prove her point. Wow, had it really been that long? Apparently so, judging by her great-aunt’s smug expression.

“Okay, so it’s been a while,” she admitted. “But I signed a three-book contract and haven’t had time to do anything but write. It was a career opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

“A while, indeed. You haven’t dated since before your book contract, since that handsome young man who handled promotion for the Saints. What was his name, Craig…Cliff—”

“Clint.”

“Clint, that’s right. He had a promising future, dear.”

A very promising future that involved delicious sex and equally delicious memories. Clint had been whirlwind romance material, not marriage material. There was a big difference. By the time she and Clint had parted ways, Lennon had needed a vacation to convalesce.

“Romance heroes are for affairs and books,” she explained. “Nice stable men are for marriage.”

Auntie Q blinked. “Are you saying you don’t marry heroes?”

“I want to marry a man I like, a man I respect and will still respect through all the ups and downs of marriage and rearing children.”

“And you don’t think you can respect a man you can love?”

“No, no,” Lennon said with a huff of exasperation. “It’s not that I can’t respect a man I love, it’s just that I want a solid, stable…comfortable marriage. I want to love my husband. And not that ‘grand passion’ kind of love, but the caring, companionable kind. The minute passion gets involved, love becomes an emotional roller coaster.”

“Emotional roller coaster?” Now it was Auntie Q’s turn to huff. “Of course it’s an emotional roller coaster. That’s the beauty—the excitement, the anticipation, the joie de vivre. It makes life worth living.”

“Passion makes affairs worth living. And affairs are wonderful, but I need a rest afterward.” Lennon spread her hands in entreaty. “You know as well as I do that the minute a man knows a woman is in love with him, he’s got the upper hand. He makes her crazy just because he can.”

“But it’s the best kind of crazy, dear. It’s a feeling of being alive, of being cherished—”

“I don’t want to marry a man who’ll drive me nuts. I want a husband who’ll be my partner and stick by my side no matter what life offers. I don’t want one who’ll consume my thoughts every single minute and distract me from everything else….”

Lennon lost her steam when she saw Auntie Q goggling like a pixie who’d been zapped by a lightning bolt. Apparently the thought of separating love and passion hadn’t occurred to her.

But Auntie Q had a mind as sharp as a Cajun spice. Understanding quickly dawned upon her, revealed in her impish features, and she cut a gaze back to the portrait inside the entrance hall. “Give me strength, Joshua, please.”

After fifty-five years of discussing all aspects of her life with Great-uncle Joshua, Auntie Q hadn’t been able to break the habit after his death. She still talked to him whenever she felt the need, no matter where she was or whom she was with. Lennon wondered if he ever answered her.

She couldn’t hear a thing but the drone of the museum’s climate control system as it cycled on, which was truly a shame. She could have used an advocate about now.

Taking her great-aunt’s thin hands in her own, she gazed down into that dear old face, needing Auntie Q to understand. Her great-aunt had been the mainstay of Lennon’s life, the doting darling who’d pinch-hitted for Lennon’s mother, who’d devoted her own life to chasing her Mr. Rights.

As usual, Mother was nowhere to be found to act as an advocate when Lennon needed one. She was currently residing in Monte Carlo chasing Mr. Right number forty-two.

But Lennon had long ago learned to make her own decisions, because sometimes her mother’s affairs d’amour had easily accommodated a child in tow, at other times not. During those times Auntie Q had always stepped in, bringing Lennon back to the huge family house in the New Orleans Garden District.

By the time Lennon had been ten, jet-setting around the globe for her mother’s wild affairs had lost its appeal. She’d longed for the stability of a home, a school and friends of her own, and the enduring love of her kind and fun Auntie Q.

Mother hadn’t argued when Lennon had asked to stay in New Orleans. She hadn’t asked Auntie Q if it was okay, either. She’d just kissed their cheeks on the veranda and departed with a breezy, “Call me when you’re ready to come home.”

Twenty years had passed and Lennon still hadn’t called. Neither had Auntie Q. And never once had her great-aunt ever seemed to mind the lifestyle adjustments that assuming the responsibilities of a child had entailed. She’d been the most loving of surrogate parents, and Lennon wanted her approval.

“It all boils down to Mr. Wrong and Mr. Right,” she explained. “A man who’s right for an affair isn’t what I want for my marriage.”

Auntie Q sighed. “If this is about your mother and the choices she has made, Lennon, don’t let her knack for choosing rogues frighten you off.”

“Mother chooses rogues because she lives for that rush of lust. She’s a junkie. As soon as the thrill wears off and her fantasy man starts to look real, she’s gone.”

Gazing into her great-aunt’s face, Lennon frowned when she saw worry there. “I enjoy the rush of lust, too, Auntie. You know that. I may not have had a romance in a while, but I’ve had some wonderful ones. I’m not frightened of passion, just rational about it. I want a real marriage, not some up-and-down roller-coaster ride. I know what my needs are, and I choose to fulfill them.”

“Love shouldn’t make you rational. It should make you crazy, even a bit foolish. It should make you feel alive.”

“That’s fine for an affair. I want stability in marriage.”

“Why can’t you have both? Look at your great-uncle and me. We endured fifty-five years of the most wonderful relationship.”

“You and Great-uncle Joshua lived a fifty-five-year love affair.” Lennon couldn’t bring herself to point out the obvious: Auntie Q had been Great-uncle Joshua’s mistress. “You once told me that you felt lucky because you shared your life with the man you loved. Living the legend, you said, because your namesake, the real Guinevere, hadn’t been so lucky. I always thought that was so romantic, but—”

“But we didn’t have a real marriage,” Auntie Q said. “No, dear, we didn’t, but we shared our lives and never once regretted the difficult choices we were forced to make.”

“I know.”

What her great-aunt and -uncle had shared had been special, even more so because their love had endured though they hadn’t met until years after he’d committed to an arranged marriage. At the time, a man didn’t divorce simply because he’d found a more suitable partner—even if his wife had decided she wanted a marriage in name only after providing an heir.

Though Auntie Q and Great-uncle Joshua had made the best of the hand life had dealt them, and had fun in the process, Lennon didn’t envision a future for herself even remotely similar.

She wanted home and hearth and babies. Lots of babies. Little girls to share tea parties with and little boys to help catch bugs in glass jars. She would work her writing schedule around her family’s needs and revel in the joys of being a wife and mom.

Auntie Q must have recognized her resolve, because she said, “Your mind’s made up.” It was a statement.

“It is. I’ve given my future a great deal of thought. Mr. Right for a marriage is what’s right for me. I don’t want a husband I’m head-over-heels in lust with. I want a husband I like, love and respect. I want a life companion.”

“A life companion?” Auntie Q rolled her gaze heavenward. “Old people have companions. I’m not even old enough for one and I’m eighty-two.”

Lennon didn’t point out that her assistant, Olaf, who cared for her in myriad capacities, could be considered a companion. She gently squeezed her great-aunt’s hands instead. “Trust me, Auntie. I know what I want. And with the bachelor auction, you’ve provided me the perfect place to find him.”

“You need grand passion.”

Lennon peered back into the entrance hall at her great-uncle’s portrait. Maybe it was the night lighting or staying up long past her bedtime, but Lennon recognized the underlying excitement in his green eyes, the zest for living that had been so much a part of the man she’d known. And admired.

Great-uncle Joshua had been the only steady male presence in her life while Lennon was growing up. A kind, fun and very noble man, he’d had the ability to make her great-aunt feel like the most important person in his world. And Lennon, too.

He’d been a part of every important step in her life, from dance recitals and graduations to helping her cope with her flighty mother. She’d always considered her great-uncle family-by-love. He may not have been officially related, but he’d always encouraged and supported her, and she still thought of him as her ideal, a man she modeled her romance heroes after.

“You had grand passion, Auntie,” she said, guessing that if Great-uncle Joshua had been free to marry, Auntie Q would probably have considered life perfect. “Maybe if there was another man as wonderful I might consider a different sort of marriage. But Great-uncle Joshua was one of a kind.”

Auntie Q regarded her from beneath a wrinkled brow. “I really wish you’d reconsider.”

“I know what I want, and it’s not a life full of emotional upheaval. I want to marry a man who’ll help me create a stable, normal family. I wouldn’t change a moment of my life with you, but we’re not exactly normal, are we?” She smiled lightly, hoping to ease her great-aunt’s concern. “Besides, I’ve had my share of affairs and romances. I’ll settle down with a man I can love, and keep passion for my romance novels.”

She kissed her great-aunt’s cheek. “Now will you go to your office and try to catch a few hours of sleep? The museum directors will be here at the crack of dawn and we won’t have a chance to slow down before the reception. I still don’t know when we’ll find time to check into the hotel.”

“We’ll manage, dear.” Auntie Q squeezed her hand. “Why don’t you come, too? A few hours wouldn’t hurt you, either. You’ll want to look fresh for the bachelors.”

Lennon couldn’t tell if this remark meant Auntie Q had accepted the game plan or not. Her bright eyes and easy smile didn’t reveal a thing. Too late and too tired for more debate when she still had so much to do, Lennon let the matter drop and focused on settling Auntie Q in her office, before she herself returned to the entrance hall to tackle The Promise.

Smoothing the black velvet drape over the display, she maneuvered the pieces around like men on a chessboard. The penis at a forty-five degree angle from the mouth. No. Too far apart, the pieces didn’t appear like part of any yin-yang whole. She moved them closer and thought the penis looked as if it stood sentinel over the mouth.

The Promise was the first piece of artwork the guests would see after Great-uncle Joshua’s portrait. Possibly the first, if their gazes didn’t follow the lines of the room to the portrait. The arrangement had to be right.

One hundred eighty degrees southeast? Ninety degrees northwest? The penis lying on its side, its huge marble head touching the open mouth?

No, no, no. With a disgusted groan, Lennon snatched the penis off the base and dropped it into her lap. There, no penis at all. Worked for her. And displayed alone, the mouth looked sort of like a huge white rose. Rather attractive, really.

Laying an arm on the display base, she wearily rested her head on the crook of her elbow and decided Auntie Q was probably right. She just didn’t like the sculpture because she hadn’t seen the real thing in a while.