The Genius and the Muse Read Online Free Page A

to seeing Dee, so this is me in a good mood.”
    “You’re in some kind of mood, all right,” she said under her breath. Her old-fashioned upbringing finally kicked in when she realized she hadn’t offered her guest anything to drink. “You want some water or something?” She took a long gulp from her own glass.
    He chuckled. “Are you always so polite?”
    She felt a small, inadvertent smile try to make an appearance, but she shoved it back. “No, usually I’m much more polite to company, but I forgot you were coming to meet Dee, and I got started working on something. Plus, you’ve hit me with at least three pick-up lines since walking through the door.”
    “I think it might have been four.”
    “It’s impressive in an obnoxious way, I guess.”
    He looked over his shoulder at the painting she had been working on. “Do you usually do landscapes? You’re good at them. I like the way you used the light in that one.”
    Sam was working on a painting of an old cabin surrounded by soaring pine trees, set on the edge of a lake. The front of the cabin was shaded by an old porch, and a wooden dock stretched out into the water. A small boat bobbed in the foreground.
    She answered as her eyes examined the painting from across the room. “No, not usually. I’m more interested in people. But I got an assignment to do a landscape in oils, so I decided to paint my grandfather’s cabin.”
    “I’m sure he’ll love it.”
    She shrugged. “He’s dead, so I kinda doubt he’ll care. My parents still live around there. They’ll like it.”
    Sam caught him studying her out of the corner of her eye. “Oils are a good medium for you.”
    She snorted. “Hardly. They take too much time. And I hate the smell. I like watercolors some, but acrylics are what I prefer.”
    “I don’t actually know that much about painting. I sketch some.”
    “Post-coitally?”
    Reed grinned. “Of course.”
    Hearing a commotion in the stairwell, they turned toward the sound of labored footsteps trudging toward the apartment. Deepali Mehra, loaded down with camera equipment, panted as she made it to the door of the third floor walkup. She took a moment to glare at Samantha.
    “Light, my ass! Why are you my roommate, again?”
    Sam shrugged and rinsed her glass out to set it in the strainer on the counter.
    Reed jumped up and stepped over the coffee table. Dee spotted him. “Goliath!”
    “You look like a miniature pack-mule, Deedee.”
    The tiny woman puffed, her face red from exertion. “I missed you too. Well, I missed your strong back and ability to carry all my shit, anyway.”
    He grinned at her, snickering as he helped her situate her tripod and camera case. When she was finally free of her equipment, Reed enfolded her in a long hug. Sam watched the friends as they whispered back and forth, laughing quietly as they shared some inside joke. She tore her eyes away to mix a pitcher of lemonade. Her roommate finally wandered into the kitchen with Reed trailing behind her.
    “So, Sam, you and Reed haven’t killed each other yet. This bodes well.” Her voice was dripping with amusement.
    Sam winked. “Give it time, Dee. He just got here.” She finished filling the pitcher. “Plus, he says this is him in a good mood.”
    She stirred the lemonade and set it in the old fridge before she walked toward the door to grab her keys, purse and sunglasses. She looked down, absently noticing the paint splattered on her shirt and jeans. Whatever. She didn’t feel like changing.
    “I’m meeting Chris for lunch, so I’ll be back later this afternoon. Reed… “ Sam trailed off, at a loss for something to say.
    “It was a pleasure,” he said, smiling at her.
    She smiled back. “It was something, all right. See you later.”
    Sam walked out, but before she could run down the stairs, she heard Reed say, “I think she likes me.”
     

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
     
    Laguna Beach, California
    March 2010
     
     
    “ C ome on,