Page 46 of Lakesides and Longing

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Paige disappearedinto her art studio the second they arrived home and hadn’t emerged for a few hours. Blake took Tria for a walk, spent some time in his gym, and now he missed her. She was the presence in his life that was always around, and now she wasn’t, and he had no idea why.

He knocked on the door to her studio.

“Come in,” she called.

He poked his head in. She stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by various canvases and covered in paint.

“You look good,” he said with a chuckle.

She stuck her tongue out at him, the only pink on her green and blue face. “Inspiration struck, and so I ran with it.”

None of the new pictures were finished, only the beginnings of her visions on each canvas, but they looked good.

“I look forward to seeing the final product. Were you planning on working the rest of the night?” He hoped the answer was no. He wanted to spend time with her.

“No. I’m about done today.”

“How would you feel about picnicking down on the beach? I can pack some food up while you clean up.”

“Who says I need to clean up?” She popped a hand on her hip.

“Well, if you don’t, that will be one messy picnic. But I’m open to it.”

She shook her head at him. “Go pack that picnic. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

CHAPTER33

Paige was fairly certain she still had green paint behind her ear, but she didn’t care. She was in a hurry to get to Blake. She’d needed that time in her studio to regroup and figure out where everything in her world stood, but now she just wanted to be with him.

She threw on a long sundress and a sweater. Even in the middle of the summer, the nights were cool by the water. It took her longer than she’d hoped to get ready because she had to blow dry her hair. Otherwise, she would really freeze.

She put on a pair of strappy sandals and skipped down the stairs. Blake was still putting food into the basket. He looked up, and his eyes sparkled.

“You look gorgeous.”

She blushed. “Thanks.”

“You want to grab a blanket, and we’ll head out?”

They both had their hands full as they walked down to the beach and made small talk about the weather and the many birds that flew around them.

She spread out the blanket, and Blake dug out a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. He handed her one and tugged her close to him. Neither said a word as they sipped their wine.

“This is beautiful,” he said. The lake spread out in front of them, framed by tall pines with waves lapping up on the shore. Birds chirped in the canopy above them. Everything about the place was peaceful.

“I know. I’ll miss it if I move to back to Mackinac.” If Blake didn’t stay with her, Lukas would find a way to make her move back.

“I like it here. I see no reason to move back.”

He smiled at her, she wondered if that would be the moment when they finally kissed, but he let go of her and stepped away. Disappointment flooded her chest, but she didn’t say anything.

He set his glass down and pulled out plates and other things. She sat next to him, probably closer than she would’ve two days ago.

“We’ve got grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I didn’t know what you liked best, so I brought them all. Which would you prefer?”

“I don’t care. Surprise me.”

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