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She smiled and came closer to him. “That can be arranged.” As much as she wanted to touch him, to feel his arms around her body and his lips pressed to hers, she refrained.
“How come she doesn’t put your work in here?”
“She doesn’t want to show favoritism which is why the showcase is so important to artists like me. I want to earn my spot and not have it handed over because of who my aunt is or because she owns the gallery.”
Kiel walked around the room, looking at the other paintings. “What do you do with the paintings when you’re done with them?”
“Some are in the back room. Do you want to see them?”
Kiel grinned. “Yes, of course.”
She had him follow her to the back, where piece after piece were lined up against the wall. “Artists, some of them are my aunt’s students, or people who come to Seaport, will submit a piece in hopes she’ll display it. Either now or specifically for the showcase. It’s a crap shoot, but it doesn’t cost them anything to submit, and they can come pick their work up at the end of the summer. Unless of course, it’s chosen. Then it stays until it’s sold or for a year.”
“So, there’s a huge benefit to the artists?”
Eloise nodded. “The showcase brings in buyers from all over the world. Most come to see what my aunt hasn’t put on display.” She pointed to a draped area. “Those are my aunt’s. She keeps them under wraps. I haven’t even seen them.”
“Where are your paintings?”
She pointed to another stack.
“May I?” he pointed to the line of frames.
“Of course.”
Carefully, Kiel pulled each frame forward. “Have you done all these since you’ve been here?”
“Not all. Maybe two or three. Most I shipped to her before I moved. Upstairs, we have studio space. There's a man up there who uses the space for woodworking. In exchange for rent, he makes all the frames. When the painting sells, he’ll get a commission if the buyer takes the frame.”
He continued to look through the paintings. “Are you nervous for buyers to see your work?”
Eloise nodded. “It’s a tremendous opportunity and could open a lot of doors for me.”
“Thank you for showing me your work,” he said as he came closer to her. “I know I’m not qualified at all, but I think your artwork is breathtaking. I really want to show it to my mom. She’d love it and probably want to buy some pieces from you. Me too,” he told her. “I feel like I could stare at one of the sunset paintings for hours and just get lost in the details.”
She wanted to kiss him, but this wasn’t the place to do such a thing. Her aunt could walk in at any moment or one of the artists upstairs could. No one needed to see her and Kiel playing tonsil hockey. “I’m glad you like it,” she said in response. “Are you ready to go? There’s a place I want to take you.”
With his hand on the small of her back, Kiel led Eloise out of the gallery. He stopped in front of a naked Jeep Wrangler.
“Did you rent this from the guy on the island?” she asked as Kiel held his hand out for her to take. She gripped it and then climbed in.
“I did.” He ran around the front and hopped in. “I have it until tomorrow but can extend my rental.”
“You’ll probably want to extend.” Eloise tipped her head back and let the wind wash over her. The cool breeze felt refreshing. “My friend had one in high school and kept it naked from March until November. He loved that thing.”
“Naked? Is that what Wrangler owners call it when there isn’t a top or doors on?”
“Yes.” Eloise laughed. “And they go by Jeepers.”
“Ah, yes, Jeepers. I could get used to this,” he said as he pulled out into the street. “Okay, tour guide. Where to?”
Eloise gave Kiel turn by turn directions. Along the way, she told him about the historic buildings they passed, and confirmed the jail was indeed haunted.
“Do you believe in that stuff? The paranormal?”
“We’ve talked about this already,” she reminded him.
Kiel sighed. “You’re right. I totally forgot,” he told her. “When you mentioned the jail, I remembered my sister freaking out. She’s scared of that sort of stuff.”
