Page 25 of The Love In Sunsets

Eloise laughed and placed her hand on his arm. She let her hand linger for a moment before pulling it away. “Thank you for this.” She held the cup of Ida's up, as if she needed to explain what she meant.

“You're welcome.”

Another awkward pause occurred between them until Kiel sighed. “So, what do you do for fun around here?”

Eloise laughed, and Kiel followed. “Wow! I have to say, that was the lamest pickup line in the history of pickup lines.”

“Are you trying to pick me up?”

He nodded and shrugged. “Yes. Although I'm not doing a very good job at it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Every time I find you, you're packing up for the day and heading to wherever it is you hide during the evening.”

“Well, I'm not exactly hiding. You're just not looking in the right spot.”

“Which is where?”

“Margaux's Art Gallery.”

“Is that where you work?”

“Yes, when I’m not out here painting or drawing people for laughs.”

“I've never been to a gallery.”

Eloise smiled and took another spoonful of the raspberry lemonade. “You should visit. It's just up the road.”

“Do people come in and you paint them or something?”

She chuckled. “No, nothing like that. I mostly paint landscapes. Not portraits. It's a gallery, so people come in and buy paintings.”

“So, I can go in and buy one of yours?”

Eloise shook her head. “Someday. I hope.”

Kiel frowned. “If I can't buy your work, what do you do there?”

“Answer the phone, mostly. Or work on my portfolio. My aunt owns the studio. I help her out when she needs it. What about you?”

“I'm in limbo. Caught in the nowhere space of getting a job or deciding if I want to go to grad school, and if its grad school figuring out what I want to be for the rest of my life” Kiel shrugged. “Regardless of what I decide, time is not on my side.”

“Because the schools have deadlines?”

He nodded his head slowly. “Yep. If I continue to ignore them, they’ll give my spot away to someone. Probably someone who wants it more than me.”

“I get it. Picking a profession is hard.”

“What do you want to do?”

She eyed her covered canvas and he followed her gaze, looking at her canvas and then back to her.

“Is it hard to sell a painting?” he asked.

“Sometimes. It all depends on what the buyer is looking for.”

“Honestly, I think my parents buy their artwork from HomeGoods or something.”

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