Jenna swallowed.  Of course it did.  She’d been trying for months to re-establish connections with those two well known galleries, ever since the consolidation in the gallery network that saw the major galleries taking over smaller ones.  There was a new guard in charge of many of the major galleries, and Jenna had been scrambling to connect with them, and so did hundreds of other art dealers all over Europe.  But …

“Bette …” Jenna started, looking at Bette in confusion, feeling torn inside.  She knew Bette and Tina had been planning to reunite in London, with Bette planning to break her return trip to New York when she flew out of Cannes the next night, and wait for Tina in London, who was scheduled to leave for London, arriving Wednesday night.

“Jenna!” Eve exclaimed.  “I can’t believe you’re hesitating!  Aside from this being a great chance to make connections with all those art world power brokers, it’s a birthday party and celebration of my divorce being finally over, you know!”

Jenna remained silent, exchanging a long look with Bette, licking her lips.

“Jen, Geraldine Blackstone will be there, too,” Eve prodded further.  “And didn’t you say she’d been someone you wanted to meet and work with?  Ever since she became editor-at-large of The Art Weekly?  And that you really admired that book she’d written about the explosion of the art market in the 21^st century, when you’d had a chance to preview it?”

Bette blew a breath out and, looked quickly at Eve, to assess how Jenna’s friend was reacting to Jenna’s continued prevarication about going to London.  She read a growing puzzlement in Eve’s slight frown.  When Eve shifted her glance towards Bette, the brunette saw a glimmer of suspicion in the back of Jenna’s dark-haired friend’s blue eyes.

Bette forced a low laugh, and asked with a teasing smile, “Why Jenna, you didn’t tell me about Eve’s party!  Were you planning to hook-up with someone else over there?  Is that why you didn’t mention it?”

Jenna frowned slightly, and read in Bette’s meaningful look that the brunette understood Jenna’s dilemma and that it would look suspicious, indeed, if Jenna didn’t show up in Eve’s party, given all the people who were going to be there.  And if Jenna didn’t show up with Bette, it would raise too many questions about how they’re supposedly heated relationship was going.