Page 46 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
“And you didn’t know she made the masks? Well, I guess maybe you two don’t do muchtalking.”
He chuckled.
She held up a hand and said, “Hey, no judgments over here, but it’s too bad you’re heading overseas. We could use a doc like you during the summers.”
“Not in the winter?” he asked.
“Not as much. Wellfleet and the surrounding areas are tourist towns, tripling in population over the summers. It stays busy until the end of September, but winters are pretty desolate around here.”
“I don’t see myself settling down to one location again anytime soon, but if I do, I’ll certainly keep the clinic in mind.” He and Violet hadn’t talked about the future in any detail. He didn’t want to rock the boat by bringing it up just yet, but he knew they’d have to broach the subject soon.
He was thinking about that as he drove home a little while later.
Violet was sitting on the steps of the main house when he pulled in. She popped up to her feet with a bright smile and strutted across the lawn as he climbed off his bike.
“How was work?” she asked as he pulled off his helmet.
She went up on her toes to kiss him, and he held her tight, taking the kiss deeper. She made a low, appreciative sound that made him want to kiss her all night long.
“It was great, but not nearly as fantastic as that kiss.” He pulled her into another kiss. “Damn, baby. I missed you and we were only apart for a few hours.”
“Me too. Are you exhausted and starved?”
“Nope. I’m exhilarated, and I had a granola bar at the clinic, so I’m good for a while. How was your day? Did you get the scheduling and stuff done for the inn?”
“My day wasinteresting. I went shopping with Emery.”
“Whoa, really?”
“Yeah. It was good. I enjoyed it, but don’t start shoving me into the gossip girl group or anything.”
He chuckled. “I wasn’t going to, but I’m glad you went.”
“I didn’t get all my work done, but I will. I’m working with Joni Wednesday morning, and volunteering at the hospital that afternoon and Friday morning, so I have plenty of time to finish up.”
“Good. Oh, I almost forgot. I spoke to David today and gave his number to Rowan. Maybe he’ll have some news about Joni by the time you see her.”
“Thanks for doing that. Since you’re not hungry or tired, come with me, and bring your helmet.” She took his arm, leading him toward her bike.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” She grabbed her helmet and climbed onto her bike. “Climb on or lose out.”
“Does this involve you being naked?”
She smirked. “Possibly. But you’ll never find out if you don’t get your fine butt on my bike.”
A little while later they were cruising down a narrow road, and a house came into view that reminded Andre of work by Frank Lloyd Wright. He didn’t have long to admire the cantilevered rooms and decks before they turned down another driveway and parked in front of a cool old stone and glass building.
He pulled off his helmet and said, “Who lives here?”
As she unlocked the doors she said, “Justin lives in the house we passed. This is his studio. I realized that I told youwhereI sculpt, but I never told youwhatI sculpt. I wanted to show you before you see them around.”
She pushed open the door and stepped to the side. His gaze swept over large slabs of stone, power tools, sculpting tools, mallets, and other paraphernalia littering the concrete floors and metal tables and shelves. Against the far wall were two large stainless-steel sinks, more work areas, and an enormous kiln. A canvas tarp covered something at least five feet tall a few feet from where they stood.
“That’s mostly Justin’s stuff and the sculpture he’s working on,” Violet said.
He turned, bringing more tables and sculpting supplies into view, along with art magazines, glazes, and paints. Plastic covered what he knew had to be one of Violet’s sculptures, but his eyes caught on several drawings hanging on a wall behind the table. They were sketches ofhimsculpting, drawing, sitting cross-legged, lying down, and in various other positions. He recognized two pictures she’d drawn when he was first teaching her to draw the human form.
