Page 45 of Sweet Love at Bayside
“Real, baby. We’re as real as it gets.”
Chapter Thirteen
SATURDAY MORNING, AFTER waking up entangled with her boyfriend, Desiree and Rick had made love…twice. First, wild and passionate, and later, slow and soul-fillingly amazing. She’d never considered herself a spiritual person. How could she when the mere word reminded her of Lizza’s taking off to follow her “calling,” and leaving Desiree behind. But making love with Rick was more than a physical and emotional experience; itwasspiritual. A coming together of mind, body, and soul. After that blissful wake-up, she’d taken Rick’s advice, and instead of closing the door to painting, she’d left it open and painted several signs for the shop.
Several busy days, and sinful nights, passed with taking long walks, making sweetandpassionate love into the wee hours of the morning, and sharing more of their secrets, hopes, and dreams. Before Desiree knew it, Wednesday arrived with sunshine and an influx of customers at Devi’s Discoveries. The road signs Desiree had made were working wonders.Thank you, Rick.She’d been putting them up along Route6, and Violet had passed out flyers in the area. The flyers had worked so well, this morning Violet drove to the neighboring towns to hand out more.
“I’d like to buy these.” A stout woman with curly silver hair set two items from the personal exploration shop on the counter. “And how much is this?” She held up a pottery mug with a fishtail handle.
Desiree had been nervous about leaving the door to the personal exploration shop open, but Violet had threatened to stand outside the cottage telling customers,Be sure to check out the enormous vibrators in the back room, if she didn’t. Boy, was she glad her in-your-face sister had insisted. Between the gallery and the shop, they’d been clearing a grand each day, and on Monday they’d earned nearly three thousand dollars, having sold one of their mother’s paintings. Today they’d already made almost a thousand dollars, most of which had come from the sale ofpersonal discoveryitems.
“It’s thirteen dollars,” Desiree answered. “It’s one of a kind.”
“Are you the artist?” the woman asked excitedly.
“No.”My mother is.An odd sense of pride came with that thought, and Desiree had to work hard to move past it. “Lizza Vancroft is the artist.”
The woman clutched the mug to her chest with a hopeful smile. “Is she here?”
“No, I’m sorry. She’s away for the summer.” As an afterthought, she added, “Rejuvenating her creativity.” She rang up the purchase, thinking about Lizza. The shop was truly packed from top to bottom, and in the studio, just as her mother had said, there were enough pieces to carry the shop for at least a few months. Maybe Lizza really had depleted her creativity while she was there. It still didn’t excuse her for making it seem as though she wasdying, but that was Lizza.
The shop remained busy throughout the afternoon, and every customer wanted to chat about something—the weather, the artwork, the property. She’d met two people who remembered when the Summer House Inn had been a go-to summer-vacation spot. One gentleman said his family had stayed there when he was a little boy, and he remembered the kind woman who had run it. It warmed her to hear him speak of her grandmother. They’d begun renovations earlier in the week, and it was amazing how a fresh coat of paint could breathe new life into tired-looking rooms.
When things slowed down she texted Violet, who was supposed to have returned from putting up flyers hours ago.I’ve been swamped all day. Great job with the flyers, but where are you?Desiree had been picking away at weeding the gardens along the driveway while Violet manned the shop, but today she had hoped to surprise Rick with lunch. Thanks to Violet, that idea had gone out the window.
She headed outside to the easel she’d set up by the front door and worked on a painting of the gardens she’d begun yesterday in between customers. Pulling from memories, she brought to life wild grasses, burgeoning hydrangeas, daffodils, azaleas, tiger lilies, and her favorite, orange trumpet creepers.
A stream of yappy barks broke her focus. Cosmos darted between the bushes at the far side of the property, heading for her at record speed. She’d put him in the fenced yard outside the kitchen while she was working and wondered how he’d gotten out again. She stepped away from the painting as Mira, Serena, and Rick burst through the bushes. Her heart skipped at the sight of her big, handsome man tearing across the lawn in a pair of shorts and a tight white T-shirt. Their eyes locked, and pure lust stared back at her.
“Grab him!” Serena yelled.
Desiree scooped up Cosmos, who was dripping wet, wishing she could grab her man instead. “What have you done now?” Cosmos wriggled in her arms, covering her face with puppy kisses. She couldn’t stop grinning as the others caught up.
Rick skidded to a stop beside her. “Hey, babe. The scoundrel got in the pool again.” He kissed her lips, the only spot Cosmos hadn’t touched.
“He climbed the fence!” Serena petted Cosmos. “Such a smart boy.”
Rick glared at her.
“You have to admit, he’s a smart dog,” Mira said to her brother. “Look at this, Des.”
She held out her phone, showing Desiree a video of Cosmos standing on his hind legs, stretching as tall as his little body could possibly reach, and hooking his paws over the top of the fence. He jumped three times before hauling himself up and over. He darted into the pool, sending the swimmers into a frenzy of screeches and laughter.
“Oh my gosh! I put him in the fenced-in area this morning. I never imagined he could climb out. I’m so sorry.” Desiree lifted Cosmos up and looked into his twinkling dark eyes. “You have been a very creatively naughty puppy.”
He yapped, his tongue lolling out of his smiling mouth.
“I’ve never seen a dog do that,” Serena said. She and Mira were wearing shorts and tank tops, looking like they’d just come from the beach, though Desiree knew Serena worked most days running the front desk.
“I’m going to have Dean install flower boxes on the outside perimeter of the pool fence, and I was thinking he should do it on the inside of your fence, too. Is that okay? It should keep the troublemaker from climbing over.” Rick grabbed the pooch’s face and pressed a kiss to his snout. “Grr.”
Desiree laughed. “That’s fine, and I’d really appreciate it. He could get hurt running across the parking lot, and I’m pretty attached to him. But can you blame him for wanting to go swimming? I mean, itissummertime.”Wow, I sound like Violet.
“You’re right,” Rick said. “I’ll buy him a kiddie pool for your fenced-in area, too.” He winked. “The rest of the materials for the patio were delivered earlier. I’ve got to get back before Drake screws things up. We’re going to try to finish it up tonight, so I’ll be a little late.” He leaned in close and whispered, “You look even sexier in that little pink number than you did this morning. I can’t wait to tear it off of you later.With my teeth.”
“You better hope he brushes them first,” Mira said under her breath.
“I can’t believe you heard that.” Desiree glared at Rick.
