Flash

glad you're here." Nina squeezed her hand briefly. "You don't know how much your presence will mean to Sean." She gave Jasper a warm smile. "You must be Jasper Sloan. I'm Nina Chantry."
    He smiled. "How do you do?"
    Nina glanced at Olivia and then turned her attention back to Jasper. "The two of you gave us all quite a scare. What an incredible story."
    Jasper shrugged that aside. "Congratulations on the turnout. Looks like the exhibition will be a big success."
    Sean, his handsome, sensitive features lightened with a warm smile, emerged from the crowd. He came to stand beside Nina.
    "Olivia, I'm glad you're here tonight," Sean said. "It means a lot."
    "Thanks." This time Olivia remembered her manners. She made introductions quickly.
    Jasper and Sean shook hands.
    Nina smiled at Sean. "I think I'd better circulate a bit."
    "Go ahead," Sean said. "I'll catch up with you later."
    Olivia saw the warm affection in his eyes as he watched Nina disappear into the crowd.
    Sean gave Jasper a speculative look. Then he turned back to Olivia. "I want you to know, Olivia, that none of us who were close to Logan will ever forget what you did for his career."
    "I wasn't the one who launched him. It was Uncle Rollie's friend, Wilbur. All I did was introduce the two of them."
    "You did more than introduce Logan to one of the most influential gallery owners on the West Coast," Sean said deliberately. "You steadied him for a while."
    She smiled wistfully. "A very short time, I'm afraid."
    "He was a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse," Sean said. "Sooner or later, he was doomed to explode. No one could have saved Logan from himself. It took some of us a while to understand that."
    Olivia realized he was trying to tell her something important. "It's all right, Sean."
    "No." Sean glanced fleetingly at Jasper before turning back to her. "There are things that need to be said. One of the reasons I wanted you to be here tonight was because I think it's time that the arts community knows that Logan's family has finally gotten things back into proper perspective."
    "You mean you've finally stopped blaming her for Dane's death?" Jasper asked coolly.
    Olivia, already tense, felt herself go rigid. "Jasper, please."
    "He's right," Sean said grimly. "Three years ago we were all mired in our own private world of grief. But I think we knew the truth, even then."
    "But a legend is always a lot more interesting than the truth, isn't it?" Jasper murmured.
    "Jasper." Olivia glared at him.
    He did not look at her. His attention was fixed on Sean, who had flushed a dull red.
    "Yes," Sean said very steadily. "There is a seductive sort of comfort in a legend. Those of us who loved Logan needed comfort. So we allowed ourselves to be seduced."
    Olivia felt Jasper shift his balance very slightly, just enough to bring him unmistakably closer to her. It was like having a very well-dressed bodyguard, she thought. When the sleeve of his evening jacket brushed against her arm, she was acutely aware of the strength in him.
    "You never bothered to correct the legend," Jasper pointed out.
    "A legend tends to take on a life of its own," Sean admitted.
    "And it can be extremely profitable."
    Olivia planted the heel of her shoe on Jasper's toe. It was the only thing she could think of that might make him stop goading Sean.
    Jasper gave her a sardonic look and extricated his foot.
    "I can't argue with that." Sean's jaw tightened. He glanced meaningfully around at the paintings on the walls. "But I like to think that at least some of the recognition Logan's work is getting tonight is due to his talent, not just a well-orchestrated legend."
    "
All
of the recognition his painting is getting is due to his talent," Olivia said firmly.
    Sean flashed another, unreadable glance at Jasper who somehow managed to loom even larger.
    "I wonder if I might talk to you alone for a few minutes," Sean said to Olivia.
    "Don't mind me," Jasper said. "Olivia and I are partners. We share just about everything."
    Enough was enough, Olivia decided. Jasper was getting unpredictable. If things continued on in this vein there might well be an embarrassing scene before the evening ended.
    "Would you mind getting me something to eat from the buffet?" she asked bluntly.
    Jasper's eyes narrowed. It was clear that he did not like being dismissed. For a few seconds she was afraid he would refuse to leave. She beetled her brows at him.
    "Sure." With a slight shrug, he turned and waded into the throng.
    Sean