September Canvas Read Free Page A

found titillating, and Isabella quickly developed a crush on a reluctant Faythe, which put her in the limelight too. Faythe kept her distance. She wasn’t interested in having a fling before the telephoto lenses of the paparazzi.
    Faythe jogged around a broken section of old wooden fencing and gulped the crisp September air. She should have done this long ago.
    Manhattan was not only expensive, but it was never quiet and didn’t have fresh air. One of her colleagues tried to get Faythe to move to the suburbs, but the only thing worse than the noise and the city air was being stuck in traffic several hours a day. She already worked around the clock. No way was she was going to spend the remaining hours among honking, cursing drivers.
    Faythe returned to the Isabella mess. Even if she could laugh at it now, more than a year afterward, at the time she’d been ready to shoot the girl. But once the paparazzi found her scent, all potential relationships were suddenly in the public eye. Isabella wasn’t her type.
    “I haven’t been out with anyone in so long now, I may not have a type anymore. I probably wouldn’t recognize my type even if I stumbled over her.”
    “Excuse me?”
    Faythe stopped so quickly at the sound of the pleasant alto voice that she nearly toppled over. She waved her arms to regain her balance and looked up at a tall, black-haired woman propped against a tree by the water. It took her a few moments to recognize her neighbor, the woman she’d seen last evening.
    “Oh. Hi.” Faythe glanced around. “I’m not trespassing, am I?”
    “Technically, yes.”
    “I’m so sorry.” Faythe was confused. “I used to run here years ago when I visited my aunt. It was never a problem.”
    “I didn’t say it was. You asked if you were trespassing.”
    “I see. So it’s okay?” Faythe kept jogging in place, careful not to get cold.
    “Yes.”
    “Thanks. I’m Faythe.” She extended a hand.
    The woman looked at it, then raised her gaze to meet Faythe’s.
    Her eyes were dark blue with black rims, and her long black eyelashes cast shadows on her pale cheeks. Faythe had never seen anyone so pale with such blue-black hair.
    “Deanna.” The woman shook Faythe’s hand and quickly let go.
    “Nice to meet you, Deanna. Guess we’ll be neighbors this fall.” An unexpected butterfly took up residence just below Faythe’s ribs at the brief touch. Taken aback, she smiled broadly to cover up her reaction.
    “So it would seem.” Deanna pushed away from the tree. She sounded completely indifferent. She obviously wasn’t the neighbor you popped over to for coffee or to borrow a cup of sugar. “Be careful running down by the Mahoney place. They’re doing construction work on their dock.”
    Faythe had been ready to write Deanna off as being annoyingly aloof when her thoughtful words changed her mind. “Thanks. Which one is the Mahoney place?”
    “Fourth house down. You can’t miss it. They have two illuminated plastic flamingoes in their yard.”
    “Still?” Faythe laughed, remembering. “I never knew their name, but they had those when I was a kid.” She shook her head and laughed again.Deanna looked as if she meant to say something more, but instead she merely nodded. “Bye.” She strode up the path to her cabin.
    The abrupt departure intrigued Faythe. She was good at reading people; it was part of her job as an interviewer. Deanna had undoubtedly begun to relax and immediately regretted it. She hadn’t allowed the hint of amusement to develop into a smile. Instead, Deanna, tall, dark, and mysterious, had slammed down a mask of politeness and made good use of those long denim-clad legs. Deanna’s gray sweater hinted at a very slender body, which Faythe found thoroughly sexy. She looked down her own body, knowing she was far from voluptuous either. Wonder if she appreciates a B-cup? Faythe snorted at herself and resumed her jog. For all she knew, Deanna was as straight as they came and