Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36890 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 184(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 123(@300wpm)
As the DeLuca’s best forger and the reason their smuggling operation was so successful, Aston Couillens was a master at orchestrating the art of deception. Until when he crossed paths with Kerrigan Vale, and his sophisticated facade began to crumble.
The brilliant museum curator presented a temptation he couldn’t resist, but Kerrigan was on a collision course with dark secrets rooted in the underbelly of the art world. Stumbling upon a forgery, Kerrigan unraveled a dangerous web of crime and deception that could jeopardize her budding career. But when her life was at stake, Aston was caught between love and loyalty.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
PROLOGUE
KERRIGAN
“It’s two in the morning. What’re you doing up so late?”
Looking up from my computer screen, I flashed my roommate a tired smile. “Doing a little research into a painting that’s coming up for auction soon.”
Melanie kicked the door closed behind her. “When you told me about your job, it sounded so cushy, but you work harder than anyone I know.”
Landing a position as an assistant curator at The Peachtree Museum of Fine Arts straight out of my master’s degree program was a major accomplishment, but I still had a long way to go to prove myself. Especially since I didn’t have any connections to the art world in Atlanta. “I need to show my boss what I'm capable of, which isn’t going to be easy when you’re the only person I know here except for my coworkers. Getting hired was the easy part. So far, Susan is treating me more like a cataloger than an assistant curator. If I want her to trust me with an exhibition or display, I need to impress her. Somehow.”
“With how hard you work, I’m sure you’ll figure it out in no time at all.” Melanie kicked off her shoes and padded closer to where I sat at the small round table next to our kitchen. “I have to admit, when you responded to my listing for a roommate, I thought you’d be totally different.”
“In a good way?”
Her nose scrunched. “You’re totally awesome, but I expected you’d be more…uptight, I guess? Your job sounded so fancy compared to mine. I wasn’t sure if you’d look down on me for just being a server.”
I was so lucky that Melanie chose me as her roommate. Between college loans from my bachelor’s degree and half of the rent on our two-bedroom apartment, my $40,000 a year salary only went so far. Doing it on my own, I would’ve needed to choose between a tiny studio to still be in Midtown with an easy commute to work or an apartment in another neighborhood farther away and not nearly as nice. It also didn’t hurt that Melanie was awesome.
“I actually love that you’re a server. That’s how I paid for most of my undergrad. So I know firsthand how hard you work.”
Melanie raised the carryout containers in her hands with a grin. “At least the kind of jobs my boss takes come with incredible leftovers.”
After closing my laptop, I stood and peeked inside the box. “Is that filet and lobster?”
“Yup.” She rubbed her stomach. “And the one underneath it has crème brûlée. We’re going to eat great tomorrow.”
I rubbed my palms together. “I can pick up some good buns from the grocery store if you’ll do those amazing lobster rolls you made a couple of weeks ago.”
“Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”
“Yum.” I licked my lips. “How could you ever think I would be mad about living with you when you so willingly share perks like this with me?”
Melanie shrugged. “I don’t know, but some people are weird.”
“Too true,” I agreed with a soft laugh.
She jerked her chin toward the top container. “In the mood for a middle of the night snack? I spent all night smelling this amazing food while running around to make sure the guests at the swanky dinner party had anything and everything they wanted before they could even ask for it. As tired as I am, I’m even more hungry.”
“I could eat.”
She beamed a smile at me. “That’s another thing I like about you…I don’t have to worry about you judging me because I eat more than just salad. One of the other people who reached out about my listing was a model who wanted to get into acting, and I hit delete so fast because no way was I going to live with the kind of side-eye I get from my mom whenever I eat carbs.”
“I have no room to judge.” I gestured toward my short and curvy body. “And I like food way too much to skip out on something delicious just because it’s full of empty calories.”
“Which is why I snagged four crème brûlées.” She set the boxes on the table and dropped onto the chair across from where I’d been sitting. “I think maybe one of the women at the party actually ate their dessert. The rest told us not to even bother bringing them out so they wouldn’t be tempted.”
“Their loss is our gain.” I grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the fridge before sitting back down and sliding one across the table to her.
As we munched on cold filet straight from the box, not even bothering with a fork or knife with how tender it was, Melanie asked, “What’s up with the painting you were researching?”
I opened my laptop, typed in my password, and turned the screen toward her. The dramatic interplay of light and dark of the painting on my screen was breathtaking to me, but my roommate didn’t seem impressed.