“I changed my mind.”

Danielle folded her arms and glared at Avery. “What? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means no. I’m not kissing…” She gestured toward Samuel. “him.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Danielle studied Samuel, looking for something she’d missed. Other than his squirming at the moment, she saw absolutely nothing she didn’t like.

Avery shrugged.

Danielle put a palm against her forehead and closed her eyes. This was a train wreck that she never saw coming when she got up this morning. It was a beautiful fall day. Perfect for photographing. “What am I supposed to do?” She asked, mostly to herself.

“You kiss him.”

Danielle opened her eyes. She looked first at Avery, who wore a smug expression, then at Samuel, who had his eyebrows scrunched together. Her gaze went to his lips. And it was as though Avery’s words had breathed life into the most wonderful idea. “Okay,” she said and hoped her voice didn’t sound as breathy as it felt. She cleared her throat and pulled her gaze from Samuel’s lips.

She glanced down. She had on tights and a short skirt. Her jacket was short with a longer shirt layered beneath. Not so very different from what Avery wore. She could work with this.

“You’ll have to take the pictures,” she handed her camera to Avery. She’d have to do some serious Photoshopping, but this was doable.

The author liked Samuel, so maybe she wouldn’t notice that the female model had changed. She’d just put the kissing couple – them – on the cover and send it to her.

Avery went into photographer role. “Let’s do some warm-up shots first.”

Danielle chuckled as Avery mimicked her.

Samuel wore a baffled expression. “So now we’re the cover models?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Why not?” He took her hand and led her halfway up the stairs of the white house. They waited while another couple walked around behind them.

“So we just look at each other?” he asked.

“That’s a good start.”

“I can do that.”

“Try to look happy,” she said and took her own advice, putting a smile on her face. Her mother had passed along many of the skills she’d learned in finishing school. Danielle knew how to look happy even in the most uncomfortable of situations.

As she gazed into Samuel’s blue eyes, she heard the click of the camera, then she got lost in his eyes, and the rest of the world faded away. Her heart rate went into overdrive.

He took her hand and pulled her closer. Then he put his arms loosely around her. She put her hands on his chest and leaned her elbows against him. Her head tilted up. He was a full head taller than she was. A perfect height. He smelled good, like deep, rich masculinity.

They were close enough that she could feel his breath against her forehead. Her lips parted as he moved toward her. He kissed her forehead.

She swayed toward him. He pulled her closer, and her arms went around his neck. He kissed her cheek. The corner of her mouth.

Danielle thought she heard Avery moving around with the camera, but she didn’t care if she took any pictures or not. Right now all she wanted was to feel his lips against hers.

He ran a finger along her bottom lip. Danielle shivered.

Then his lips were pressed against hers.

And she felt the spark all through her body.

He kissed her top lip. Then her bottom lip. Then the edge of her mouth again.

She wanted more. But he pulled away, leaving her feeling bereft.

Then he whispered in her ear. “We can do this later when no one’s watching.”

She opened her eyes and smiled. That was a lovely idea. More. Later.

Avery continued to snap photos while they smiled at each other.

“Okay, that’s a wrap,” Avery held the camera out toward Danielle. Danielle tore her gaze away from Samuel and took the camera.

“You two need to get a room,” Avery said and bounced down the steps. “Call me if you need me Danielle,” she said over her shoulder.

Danielle was blushing. She felt it all the way to her hairline.

“Do you think we made some good photos?” he asked.

“I’ll have to look at them.” How could he go from that kiss to having coherent thoughts? Her brain was fried. Just one kiss. Perhaps a moratorium wasn’t such a good idea. She was like a person dying of thirst.

He took her hand and led her down the path to his truck. After he helped her inside, he smiled at her, and her heart did a somersault.

She was in serious trouble.