Page 51 of Follow Your Bliss

“Your sister’s a photographer. That’s art too.”

“Yeah, but it’s different. Rich people pay a ton of money for portraits. That’s where she was the night you found me digging up your yard. A family hired her to photograph their granddaughter’s wedding in Oregon. Flew her up there and everything.”

“Damn.” With his towel, he wiped away a drop of water on my thigh. “Well, I’m not a professional, but I’d love to take them for you.”

Lightly swooning, I shook my head. “You don’t have to do that. And I don’t know where I’d find models, anyway.”

“Why can’t you model them? This isn’t about what that asshole said, is it?” His voice had a protective edge.

Was he jealous? I didn’t normally go for jealous men. But maybe I’d been reading too many romance novels because it was hella sexy on him.

“No.”

“Unconvincing. Come on, let me take pictures of you in your dresses for your feed and prove to you what a beautiful woman you are.”

His gaze dropped briefly below my neck, and my lips parted on their own. I was keenly aware of how close his mouth was to my breasts. His proximity and the slight, sweaty undertone of his scent set off implosions along the roadmap of my veins. “You’d really go all around town taking pictures of me?”

“Why wouldn’t I want to help you realize your dream?” His brown eyes were magnetic.

I studied them with a smile. “You’re really sweet, you know that?”

He looked down, blushing and shrugging. “I think I’m going for another swim.” He stuffed his phone back in his bag and took off jogging to the water.

Jason

I had to get these entirely inappropriate feelings for Rose under control, but dammit I couldn’t stop flirting with her.

I waded into the water and dove in for a swim. Her eyes had definitely studied my mouth as if she was considering kissing me. Her hands hadcaressedthat sunblock onto my body—that was no mere application.

But Rose didn’t just make my cock hard, she made my heart soft. And I needed to know if shefeltsomething for me. Her baseline was so flirty, even when she had a boyfriend and thought I was with Misty. Like this morning. Liking how my cock felt against her ass, if that’s even what she said, wasn’t the same as being interested in a relationship.

I swam out to the second sandbar and stood in the chest-high waves, shifting my eyes along the shoreline. These past couple of weeks were eye-opening. Maybe even life-changing. For the first time in years, I was just…myself. I wasn’t bending into unnatural shapes to please Kasey. I wasn’t contrite on my knees trying to make things right with my family. I wasn’t even Deck Daddy, the persona I think I’d created to rebel against who I’d been before and who everyone wanted me to be now.

I didn’t realize how critical it was to my happiness to find out who I was away from all of that. I thought I’d been following my bliss by choosing whatever I wanted in the moment. Always wanted to live in a converted church? Buy one! Love making furniture? Make some! Shirtless photos on social media upping your follower count and engagement? Make more!

I swam parallel to the shore for a while. I’d only been following whims, completely guided by what made me happy in that moment. Because Kasey controlled my past, Mom wanted to control my future, but I got to be the lord and master of my present. And I wasn’t ready to give that up. But that present had been numb and lonely until Rose came along.

While she was trying on clothes today, I’d pulled our bucket lists out again. Falling in love was the most important thing I’d written on mine, but I hadn’t gone on a single date in over a year. I’d decided to be celibate to protect my heart, but maybe I’d stayed celibate out of fear. Deep down, like my family, I didn’t trust myself to make good decisions there, either.

So I faced those words—falling in love. Approaching the dead ache in my heart with hope and compassion instead of fear and distrust pivoted me to think about the qualities of the woman I wanted to make a bucket listwith. And every one of them pointed to Rose.

She lit me up, mind, heart, and body. She had me so sexually excited I was reading books on how to pleasure her.

I swam back toward the beach, and once I was out of the water, I jogged toward her like her presence magnetized my chest.

I wanted to trace every stunning curve of her face with my fingers. I wanted to hear every awkward thing that came out of her beautiful mouth until the end of time. To hear her undone voice whimper my name while I moved inside her.

When I reached Rose, I flopped heavily at her feet in the sand.

“The water’s so warm. Come play with me in the waves.”

Concealed behind her sunglasses, her eyes might be closed or trained on me. It was exhilarating not to know.

She twisted her pretty lips and mmmmed. “Nope. I’m not a fan of things swimming past my legs.”

“Come on. Please come in the water with me?” I lightly pulled her ankle.

She took and released a deep breath. “Fine. Okay.”

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