They stopped for lunch then went right back to shopping.
Ben felt soft lips on his cheek and woke in a chair he’d commandeered in the waiting area of the fitting room. The warm spice of Gabriella’s perfume teased his nose, and his eyes opened to see her lovely green eyes watching him as she leaned down before him. The next thing that trapped his gaze was the deep cleavage she was displaying in the off the shoulder deep green bustier dress.
“I think you’ve had enough shopping today,” she said softly with a smile.
“You- you’re going to buy that dress, right?” he asked.
She chuckled and nodded.
Ben worked on waking himself completely as Hannah stepped out of the change room. He froze as his eyes followed the sweep of her back leading to the delightful curve of her ass in the form-fitting gold dress. He heard her happy sigh and his eyes lifted to her smile as she stepped back into the change room.
He purchased the two dresses once they exited the rooms with happy smiles.
They headed back to the hotel to dress for the showing at the museum. They’d go out for dinner afterward.
Ben wore his traditional black jacket over a dark grey silk shirt, black slacks, and black leather shoes. Hannah chose the gold dress, and when they met her in the lobby, Ben saw Gabriella was in the green dress. Evelyn was wearing her black commando uniform once more.
The Concierge got them a taxi over to the Met. There was a fair amount of people on the sidewalk and the stairs taking pictures of the guests entering the building. Ben thought he spotted a celebrity or two. He sighed and stepped out of the taxi to assist Hannah and Gabriella out. The Sergeant was already watching the crowd. They walked through the onslaught of flashes going off then reached the door where Gabriella presented the four invitations. They entered the building and met a guide who directed them to the exhibition hall. There was a hall set up for schmoozing with the other guests and as they entered Ben saw a few people noticed him. He glanced around, wondering if he’d see Phil DeMonte considering how many times they’d bumped into one another in Beverly Hills and this was his town. He nodded to a few people who were smiling in his direction. One took that nod as an invite and Ben heard Hannah squeak in excitement as Lawrence Manning approached with a smile.
“Good evening, Ben!”
Good evening, Lawrence! Fancy bumping into you here!” Ben said with a curious look. Not waiting for an answer, he gestured to the ladies. “These are my good friends Hannah Cooper and Gabriella Wallace. You’ve met Sergeant Killcade.”
That charming smile appeared on the actor’s face, and he shook the hands of Hannah and Gabriella who were grinning madly. He nodded to the Sergeant whose attention quickly went back to the room.
“My agent got me an invitation. Said it was important but didn’t say why. I had no idea you’d be here.”
“Where did you two meet before?” Hannah asked.
Ben nodded. “At a party in Beverly Hills. Lawrence is considering a role in a movie about me.”
“What?!?” Hannah gasped in shock and Gabriella gave Ben a troubled look as she knew that a movie probably wasn’t sitting well with him.
Lawrence watched the reactions of the ladies curiously. “Is it the idea of the movie that’s more distressing or is it the idea of me portraying Ben?” he asked.
Hannah was the first to respond. “The movie! I think you’d be amazing!” Gabriella nodded her agreement but kept her eyes on Ben.
He lifted her hand to his lips, and her look of concern relaxed when he gave her a small smile.
“I have one studio considering the idea of a musical, but the others are sticking with the action genre,” Lawrence admitted.
Gabriella snorted in surprised amusement. At Lawrence’s glance, she quickly assured him. “Ben’s not a singer.”
“But he dances like no one I’ve seen,” Lawrence insisted.
Gabriella’s eyebrows rose. “You’ve seen him dance?” she asked in surprise and turned her head to Ben who was awkwardly shrugging.
“La’Shia and Brooklyn asked if I would dance for them. Just two songs,” he assured her.
“Then he told us the story of Marguerite Durand. That’s a story that should be told!” Lawrence said enthusiastically.
“No!” Ben snapped then quickly reigned in his anger. He discovered he was trembling and Gabriella looked at him sympathetically. She placed her hand on his arm, and he calmed with her touch. “Sorry, but they wouldn’t do it right, and it’s not a story with a happy ending. It’s not the story she deserved!” he finally admitted.
A voice spoke over the background murmur of conversation and drew their eyes. “May I have your attention, please! Thank you all for attending tonight’s event.” Everyone turned to face the entrance to the roped off gallery where a nicely dressed woman stood before an older couple who were smiling back at the gathering. Ben noticed several photographers were in attendance, so they were likely from the press. Good publicity for the couple and the Museum.
“In a moment the Singh’s will open the gallery for your viewing pleasure. Many of these paintings have never had a public viewing before, so I’d like to thank them for their extreme generosity.”
There was polite applause, and the couple accepted it gracefully and waved to some people they recognized in the crowd.
“Without further ado, please let me introduce Rajeem and Prisha Singh!” the woman said and handed her microphone to the man. He stepped forward.
“Good evening! It is indeed my privilege and honor to share what I believe to be one of the most complete collections of Indian art celebrating sensual, sexual, and spiritual love.” There was an increase of noise from the gathering, and he held up his hands for quiet with a grin. “Are you children?” he said playfully and received mild laughter from the crowd.