Page 68 of Crashing Into You

She wasn’t even in a relationship with him. They’d spent the night together twice and both times he’d made it clear that he wasn’t looking for anything long-term. What they were doing wasn’t healthy for either of them.

So why did the thought of not being able to hook up with him again feel like a punishment?

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The brush grazedalong the canvas as Seb put the finishing touches on his final painting for the collection. Over the three weeks he’d been in town, he’d been able to complete twelve pieces. For months, nothing, and then all of a sudden, the work was just pouring out of him.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was Genesis FaceTiming. He’d been ignoring her calls and messages. He didn’t want to commit to anything until he knew he would be able to deliver. But now he knew he could.

He answered the phone and her face filled the screen, smiling widely. “Hi!”

“Hey,” he replied. It was always good to see her face. Like Ezra, she’d believed in him when he hadn’t believed in himself.

Her blue eyes twinkled with excitement. “Let me see!”

Seb was pretty certain shewasn’ta mind reader but calls like this made him question the possibility that she was.

“How do you know I have something to show you?”

“Because you wouldn’t have answered the phone unless you did,” she stated matter-of-factly.

She knew him well.

“One second.”

Seb walked to the other side of the room and began to separate the canvases so that they were lined up, four rested on the back of the couch against the wall, four were on the cushions, and four were on the floor in front of the couch, including the piece he’d just completed.

He stood back and flipped the view on the phone. As he scanned the camera so she could see them, he also took them in. It was the first time he’d seen them all together like this and he was impressed by how cohesive, yet unique each painting was. They could easily be sold individually or split up into duets, trios, or quartets. The possibilities were endless.

“Holy shit,” she breathed out.

“You think?” he asked, interpreting her reaction as being impressed.

“Yeah,” she confirmed.

After a few more beats, he flipped the camera view around.

When he did, Genesis asked, “Who is she?”

“She?” Seb wasn’t following.

“The woman in all the pieces.”

Seb looked back at the collection and for the first time, he saw them with fresh eyes. While he was painting each one, he’d just allowed the brush to take him away. But now he saw exactly what Genesis was talking about.

The woman on each canvas was Kennedy. Each painting highlighted a different feature of her. Each one came from a moment they’d shared together. His painting style leaned to the abstract, so it wasn’t immediately recognizable, but now that Genesis pointed it out, he saw it clear as day.

The first painting he’d done was Kennedy’s eye looking up at him the first time they’d met. She’d just doused his pants with water, but he hadn’t given a single thought to his wet crotch. Instead, he’d completely lost himself in the ocean waves of her crystal green eyes, outlined with a dark blue.

The second piece was of her lips. That was the second thing he’d noticed about her. She’d licked them nervously as she’d grabbed a towel from the housekeeping cart parked beside the bench she’d been seated at.

The third was of her hair. He’d watched as she brushed it out of her face so she could concentrate on patting his damp pants. He’d wanted so badly to run his fingers through it.

The fourth was the curve of her neck. He’d noticed that shape when she’d fallen into his arms at the courthouse building.

The fifth was of her delicate wrists as she’d signed the paper as a witness to the marriage.

The sixth was the outline of her thigh he’d seen as she pulled her legs up in the passenger seat beside him on the drive home from Chicago.

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