Page 25 of Matched By Mistake
Jericho had taken the basic Texas landscape and given it life. “You’re really talented.”
He glanced up at her, the graphite pencil he was using to sketch held loosely in his right hand. “Thanks. I’m okay with pencil but really am not great when it comes to adding color.”
Which she guessed made a certain kind of sense given that he was an architect. She leaned a bit closer so that her breasts were almost brushing his shoulder and looked more closely at the landscape he’d sketched. She reached over him, again careful not to touch him, and spoke over his shoulder, hoping her words would be directly in his ear.
“I think if you keep it simple with a light watered-down wash on the bottom and maybe a few touches of sage green, you’ll be good.”
She noticed his hand shake as her breath brushed over the skin of his neck and ear. She smiled to herself and then took a deep breath and wished she hadn’t as the scent of his spicy aftershave filled her senses. She took a step back as he turned to look at her. His pupils were dilated and she could tell he wanted her.
“Thanks for that. Let me see yours,” he said.
She sat down on the stool she was using before realizing her mistake. He was on his feet, leaning toward her as she spun and used her knees to stop his advance. The very last thing she needed was him leaning over her, the warmth from his big body surrounding her and the yummy, manly aftershave enflaming her senses.
He arched one eyebrow at the move. She just gave him a quick smile. They were both playing a game after all. She pulled her canvas on to her lap and turned it toward him. Maggie’s own art tended to lean more toward mixed media, so she’d put down a wash of color and then had used texture paste to create the cracks in the dried landscape and she had also made a few slashes with her palette knife in the paste to create fallen dead branches in other places.
“That’s a very loose impression of the image,” he said, leaning forward.
Even though she’d thought she’d created a barrier, she felt the heat of him. Or maybe that heat was coming from inside her. Nomaybeabout it!
“That’s sort of my style when it comes to my personal art,” she said.
“But not for your graphic art business?” he asked as he went to sit back down.
She realized he was playing more in a thrust-parry-retreat manner. Something she wasn’t used to. But she would let him set the tone for this round.
“No. I like something more retro-modern. One of my big influences for graphic design is Shag. I love the Disney-theme-park-inspired images and also just the cool, timeless feel that the prints give the viewer. I try to capture that in my business work.”
“I do the same with buildings. I always want something timeless and classic but that is also modern.”
“I can tell from the expo center. I’m also really impressed at how many eco elements you were able to incorporate in something so beautiful,” she said. The building’s details had been in mind and she’d found herself sketching it after she and Jericho had met.
“Thanks. Most people don’t see the beauty in modern buildings.”
“Most modern buildings look like boxes or a cookie cutter of something else. Yours isn’t.”
“I try,” he said blandly. “So do I have to color this in?”
“No, you don’t have to do anything. This is really a chance to let your artist child out and let them play,” she said.
“Ugh,” he said.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just hate the whole artist child idea, like there’s another repressed person inside of me,” he said drolly. “There isn’t anything repressed about me.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, I totally can see that.”
He smiled at her and for a minute as their eyes met, she couldn’t breathe in that wonderful caught-by-surprise way when emotions swelled without warning. They both sort of leaned in and she thought about kissing him when she heard someone clear their throat and she flushed as she turned toward one of her students.
“Yes.”
“Sorry to interrupt. But I have a huge blob of paint on my canvas. Can you help me fix it?”
“Of course,” she said, standing and following the student to their table.
A part of her knew she should be relieved she hadn’t kissed him but the bigger part of her wasn’t and wondered just how long she was going to be able to keep this game going.
Jericho watched Maggie walk away and turned his attention back to his canvas. She spent the rest of the class moving between tables and when everyone was finished, she wrapped up the evening with a thank-you speech and informed the participants there would be more classes to come in the fall.
