* Ben *
Waking up with Chelsea in my arms was the most amazing feeling in the world. But I went down to make her coffee, wanting her to be sharp with the paperwork we had to go through. I needed to make everything official as quickly as possible. When she tiptoed into the kitchen wearing my t-shirt as a mini-dress, my heart nearly burst from the sight of her.
“Good morning, my love,” I murmured, hugging her tightly.
“Good morning, my sweet boyfriend and boss,” she said, stretching up to kiss me.
I handed her a mug, nodding to the laptop at the kitchen table. “There is the first draft of our internship agreement,” I said. “I contacted a colleague who has had a lot of interns to make sure everything was more than fair.”
“Oh. Okay.” She got right to work, reading everything quickly. “Um, I guess all this seems p
retty normal? I’ve never had a job in this industry before.” Her lovely light eyes looked up at me as she bit her lip. “I guess it’s another first I’m a bit nervous about.”
Slipping an arm around her, I nuzzled her ear. “How do you feel about last night, baby?”
Her soft smile lit up my heart. “Amazing.”
I kissed her gently, then cupped her sweet face in my hand. “Thank you for letting me be your first, Chelsea. It’s a great honor.”
Her eyes dropped, and her faint blush was gorgeous. But I didn’t want to dwell on it if she was too shy to talk about it further. “Back to business, then?” She nodded quickly, sipping her coffee.
“Okay, sweetheart. I’ve had a few summer interns before, but it was always some friend’s little brother, and they were pretty awful. Now I need real help, and I know you’ll be amazing. I’ll have to write out a real job description and figure out a salary and all of that, and I know this is all backward since you’ve already been helping me and I know I owe you for that as well.”
She looked at me carefully, with a strange expression. “I can’t believe I’m really going to be working with you, and we’re in a relationship as well. So, when we’re in the studio and there are clients around, I’ll be careful to just be your assistant.”
I nodded. “Yeah. I mean, the fact that we’re together doesn’t have to be a government level secret, but people just cruising though don’t need the details.” I stroked her hair. “Don’t think for one second that I’m hiding you or anything like that. But if it’s nobody’s business, let’s just keep things uncomplicated. Is that reasonable?”
She nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense.”
“I honestly don’t give a damn what my clients think. Who I date is none of their business. I know I’m a bit older than you, and you’re a bit too gorgeous for me, but this is just the way it is.”
She shook her head against my shoulder as I slipped an arm around her. “Don’t be silly.”
“Baby, I’m not the only one who must think so. The arts festival is using that photo of you for their promo next year. They’ll be sending the paperwork next week. I negotiated an excellent model fee for you.”
Her mouth fell open. “That wasn’t modeling. That was just... A shot out on the street.”
“I know. And charging them for it afterward is totally backward, but that’s how things end up sometimes. And Blue Truck loves your teacup whiskey shot. They’re debating right now whether they want to use your photo, or get a redhead. Or, I can just tint your hair a bit more red to suit them.”
I felt her freeze under my arm. “You said it was a sketch.”
“Sweetheart, they don’t have to use it if you say no. That’s okay. Just think it over, and we can get back to them.”
I felt her stiffen. “We’ve hung out just a handful of times, and I’ve ended up modeling for you three times. I don’t... It’s just not my thing.”
“You’re such a natural. What if you just think about it? We could go through the shots again together, and if you decide they’re not for sale, that’s that.”
“But you already promised them to the client.”
I shrugged. “I promised them as a concept sketch. Not final art. These things are never final until the paperwork is signed. They’re used to that.”
“What are you going to say if anyone asks who the model for the festival promo is?”
Leaning back, I turned her slightly so that we were face to face. “What would you like me to say?”
She shook her head. “I asked you first.”
Nodding, still thinking, I said, “I guess it might be easier to tell this particular client you’re my intern. That means they’d be more likely to hire you to shoot for them in the future. Right? But if we’re out at dinner, I’d be delighted to say girlfriend. Sort of a ‘need to know’ situation.” I smiled, but she looked unsure.