He had been standing at the shoreline just after they arrived and she just had to take a photo. The colors of the sky in the background just emphasized his figure against the sea.

She had brought her easel and paints to try to finish her assignment for class. It was supposed to be just a nature scene and she had figured that their impromptu weekend at the beach house would be a perfect place to complete it.

She pulled the photo of him up on her phone and set it next to the easel. The waves were crashing against the rocks and she loved the ocean breeze on the deck. It was a perfect place to create.

She didn’t know what had possessed her to take this class. She’d never had any interest in painting until they did that sip-and-paint party at the local bar. It was so out of her comfort zone but she’d actually been pretty happy with the still life that she had created. Jess had encouraged her to try the class at the local community college.

So here she sat, staring at the photo and trying to mix the right colors for the sky. She started on the skyline and lost herself in the work. Her stomach growling about two hours later let her know it was time to get up and move.

As she turned, she realized Jess was behind her. He was smiling and said, “That is really amazing, hon. I am so proud of you. And you really captured the light from last night. I didn’t even know you had taken the photo.”

She grinned. “When I see a sexy man on my beach, I can’t resist. The only problem is that I really want to put you in the painting and that’s not the assignment.”

“Who cares? You are taking the class for fun. It’s not like you need perfect grades to get a degree or anything. You should paint what you want. And I’m not going to lie–it’s pretty flattering that you want to put me in your masterpiece.”

She burst out laughing. “I don’t know about a masterpiece, but you’re right. I took this as a creative outlet from my job and I should do what I want. Or who…”

His eyebrow arched up. “Who? Why, Miss Felicia, are you coming on to me?””

“Maybe….I mean, if you can take a break from being my painting muse.”

He took her hand. “Let’s see if I can inspire more…”