Velvet Reckoning

ot coming

they touched. The echo of them seemed to reverberate in Marina's s

the tell-tale tremble at her fingertips. Condensation slid down the stem of the glass, g

mouth infuriatingly smug. The kind of smug he'd perfected at boarding school, re

smooth but stretched too tight, a po

n sculptures stood like sentinels among clusters of guests swathed in monochrome silk and tailored

plaques beneath each canvas. Professors, collectors, and minor celebrities orbited her

think... this is your moment, Marina. Look at t

a joke. "You invited me to curate with you. You insist

ualness, his eyes darting towar

ore

nt and then gave a theatrical little s

all word men like Julian deployed when they were

You're dumping me. At your own sho

not pe

d her. Her heel caught the edg

ed forward i

ped his

uch me,"

rgy in the room shifted, the subtle ripple of gossip beginning its slow spread. Jul

onths in collector circles. The prodigy with fire in her brush and ice

t of her midnight blue gown. With deliberate grace, she turned from Jul

n't gla

n't fully cryst

darker stirr

and hot and beau

ched the far wall. One of her pieces dominated the space-a wide canvas of smeared reds and fractured whites, vi

rom the painting. "This piece... it's ang

ll thundered in her chest, but her voice cam

her. His sharp eyes missed nothing. "But I sens

he said

o long. Then he nodded. "Good. Hol

staring at the canvas, not really seeing it anymore. Her reflection shimmered in the

her, fo

n't tur

Julian sai

e silence

osed to go like

"Was it supposed to be more romantic?

just think this Milan show isn't the right timing. We b

they'd prefer

smile. "I mean, i

But your career is built on persona

hed, jus

ulian. I'll find my own way to Mil

ked awa

ate hallway where the staff kept their c

lit up her message history-someone she hadn't contacted

ped qu

Italy? I need a

e

velvet dark. L.A. glittered like

en dismissed, public

, she would

ould burn the whole