Picture Perfect Christmas. Melanie Schuster

      Philippe stood in the shower and let the hot water beat down over his body as though it could wash away the strange feelings that were roiling around inside. He’d always prided himself on being the man in control, the calm in the storm. Hell, he’d had to be the mediator in so many of his brother’s fights that he’d learned to control his emotions and keep a clear head. And all it took was one look at Chastain for all of his mature powers of reason to desert him. He’d done much worse than dive off the deep end, so to speak. He’d plunged into the shallow end of the pool of stupid and hit his head.

      He finally turned off the water and stepped out of the huge circular shower enclosed in glass. He used one of Ricki’s thick towels to dry off and went into the bedroom to find something to sleep in. He normally slept nude, but he tried to exercise some modesty since he was in a home with small children. He’d already found out that they would occasionally burst into the room to say hello without an invitation. He put on a pair of boxers and an old T-shirt and sat on the side of the bed.

      Chastain had always been a pretty girl, but during the time she’d been in France she had turned into a beauty. It wasn’t just the fact that he hadn’t seen her in three years. There was something remarkable in her transformation. When he’d spotted her across the room at Studio L, it was like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. The dress she was wearing looked like it was made for her alone. It fit her like a second skin. It looked like a second skin, too, because it was so close to the honey color of her perfect complexion. Her hair was still short and ultra-stylish, showing off her beautiful eyes, deep dimples and the perfect lips that could kiss like no one else in the world, as he well knew.

      He remembered the first time he’d ever laid eyes on Chastain, the day she’d come home with his sister, Paris. The family had recently moved to New Orleans and Paris was going to a Catholic school for girls. She hadn’t been looking forward to a new school but meeting her new friend Chastain had made her day. She’d promptly brought her home to meet the family and Philippe could remember it as if it was yesterday. She was a little thing with bony legs, a bandage on her knee and long, brown braids. One of her kneesocks was up and the other one was down around her ankle and her blouse was halfway tucked into her plaid uniform skirt. Instead of having her navy blue blazer on as it should have been, hers was tied around her waist and she was wearing big round eyeglasses with a piece of tape on the frame front. For some reason she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen and his opinion had never changed.

      Even now, after she’d stepped on his heart twice and exposed his naked body to the world, he still couldn’t bring himself to despise her. After all they’d been through, all she’d put him through, something about her still called to him like a siren. But that didn’t mean he was going to let her off the hook. If those pictures stayed up, they were going to court.

      Chapter 4

      At Studio L, Chastain’s mood was no better than Philippe’s. After all the guests had left, she went up to the loft, accompanied by David. Mona wisely decided to stay downstairs for a moment, ostensibly to see to the guest book that all the attendees had signed, but she didn’t escape a dark look from Chastain that meant a conversation was inevitable at a later time. David asked if she wanted something to drink and she nodded.

      “Just let me get Lulu out of her crate. She likes to be in there while I’m away, but she insists on being out the instant I return.” In a few minutes, she was back, taking a seat at the bar that separated the well-appointed kitchen from the dining area. Lulu was seeking David’s attention while he poured two cups of steaming tea that smelled delicious.

      While Chastain sipped hers, he played with Lulu and fondled her ears. “So what happened tonight? I could see that Philippe upset you in some way. What was he saying to you?”

      “Nothing much. He just said that if I didn’t take down the nudes he would sue you and me. He seemed to think that he was the model and that I was invading his privacy,” she said. She didn’t look at him while she was speaking. She was busy running her index finger around the top of the cup.

      “He said what?” David looked incredulous before reaching over to take her free hand. “He can’t sue us. He doesn’t have any basis for a lawsuit, regardless of the subject of the paintings. It wouldn’t even get to court.”

      Chastain allowed him to rub her hand and wrist and enjoyed the comforting sensation. “I don’t know about that. The law is something he knows very well. He’s a lawyer, his three brothers are lawyers, his late mother was a lawyer and his father is a state Supreme Court justice. He doesn’t play when it comes to the law.”

      “Maybe not, but I think tonight was more about love than law. He did model for those paintings, didn’t he?”

      Chastain jumped and pulled her hand away. “No! Well, not exactly. We did have a relationship a long time ago. And yes, when I painted the pictures I was thinking about Philippe, but it wasn’t like he was sitting in the room. I painted them from memory,” she said with a slight defensive edge to her voice.

      “He must have meant a great deal to you,” David said quietly.

      Chastain met his eyes for the first time and flushed under his steady gaze. His beautiful eyes were warm with concern and locked on hers. She had to answer him honestly; there was no point in lying. “At one time, he meant more to me than anything else. But that was a long time ago.”

      “Before graduate school?” he probed gently.

      “Before I started college, actually,” she told him. “He broke my little teenage heart a few days before Christmas when I was a senior in high school.”

      David leaned over and kissed her forehead. “It was his loss,” he said.

      “And then he broke it again before I went to Europe,” she said slowly, watching David’s face for his reaction.

      “I see. So he blew two opportunities to be with you,” he said. “He’s a bigger fool than I would have imagined. Come walk me to the door. You need to get some sleep because you’re going to be hella busy for the next few weeks. The showing is going to be the talk of the town, Chastain.”

      “You’re right. If we get sued by the Deveraux family, everybody on the East Coast is going to know about it,” she said wryly.

      “He’s not stupid, Chastain. He might be jealous and cranky because he can see that he threw away two chances of a lifetime with you, but he’s not crazy enough to try to pursue a frivolous lawsuit like that. It’ll all blow over, believe me.”

      “I wish I could.”

      “You can.”

      He held out his hands and she took them, rising from the tall stool. She and Lulu walked him to the door and she wasn’t surprised when he kissed her. He did it slowly and gently and it was warm and reassuring, like everything about David.

      “See you tomorrow, Chastain. I’ll send Mona up. I have a feeling she’s hiding from you.”

      “And you know this. Tell her I’m up here with a blunt instrument just for her head.”

      “You’re crazy. Sleep well.”