Wrapped in You by Kate Perry Read Free Book Online Page A

buzzard.”
    “It’s a cute buzzard.” He took the beanie off her head and stuck it on the snowbuzzard. “Perfect. Shall I do the honors?”
    “Please.” She watched him take his mobile out and prep a picture. At the last moment, she photobombed it, kneeling down behind the thing they’d made and giving Jon the two-finger salute.
    Mason checked the photo and smiled. “You really are so photogenic.”

Chapter Six

    To distract herself from thinking about Mason, Trudy decided to go for a walk.
    Not that it worked. If anything, she thought about him even more. It didn’t help that she was going to his place later. She couldn’t wait, and that bothered her.
    Frowning, she tried to focus on the storefronts she was passing. Romantic Notions she was avoiding—she’d gotten into enough trouble there—but she stopped in front of the next one. Outta My Gourd . Gwen’s place.
    Hands by her eyes, she peered in the window. It looked closed. It was Saturday, and the likelihood that Gwen was there seemed slim, but something made her try the door.
    It opened.
    Walking in, she looked around. “Hello?”
    “Be right out,” came Gwen’s voice from the back.
    Trudy bent to look at a vase on a pedestal next to her. It was beautiful, painted in vibrant colors in a Japanese-style scene. It took her a moment to realize it was made out of a gourd.
    “Hey.” Gwen smiled as she flipped on a light switch. She wore bright orange pants and a pink sweater but no shoes, and her hands had splotches of paint on them. “Did you come to check out my studio?”
    “Yes,” Trudy said impulsively, unwrapping her scarf.
    Gwen waved her forward. “Come on. I’m painting today. Great scarf, by the way. Very festive.”
    “It was a gift,” she informed her. “It’s not really me.”
    “Then why are you wearing it?”
    Trudy shrugged, avoiding the woman’s shrewd gaze by pretending to be interested in the workshop. “This is incredible. Do you only do gourds?”
    “Mostly.” She pulled a stool out and gestured to it before taking her own seat. “I like the movement and curves. It just felt like the right thing, probably much like ferreting information is for you. Take these.”
    She had no choice but to take the hollowed-out pumpkin and brush that Gwen foisted at her. “I’m good at finding information, but I’m not good at art.”
    “And that’s the key, isn’t it? Finding what you’re good at and making a life from it.” Gwen set a palette in front of her. “Painting is easy. Just go with what you feel.”
    At a loss, Trudy dredged her brush in the black paint and then stared at the gourd.
    “Eve said you’re becoming a partner in the business,” Gwen said, dipping her own brush.
    “I am.” Shrugging, she began to dab at the gourd’s surface.
    “You don’t sound very enthusiastic about it.”
    “I just have a lot on my mind.” She caught her lip between her teeth, trying to make her line straight.
    “Like what?”
    Trudy looked up, surprised by Gwen’s forthright nature. “I thought we were painting.”
    “We’re also talking.” Gwen glanced at her as she reached for another brush. “Does it have anything to do with Kristin’s friend, the one you kissed at Grounds for Thought?”
    “You don’t hold back, do you?”
    Gwen shrugged, looking particularly Gallic for a second. “It’s better to be plainspoken, isn’t it? No guessing, no miscommunications. You get to the point without wasting time.”
    Nodding, she set the brush down. “I agree, but I still don’t want to talk about him.”
    “Fair enough.” Gwen laughed. Then she sobered and leaned in to survey Trudy’s gourd. “Are you done?”
    “Yes. It’s a person.” She held it out and stared at the artist, daring her to mock her stick figure.
    “I like it,” Gwen said, sounding sincere. “Want that spiked tea I promised you while I finish mine?”
    Checking the time, she shook her head. “I should probably walk back so I’m not