Love Makes the Difference (Sully Point Book 1) by Nicole Smith

the
couch. Placing his hands on her shoulders he gave her a tiny shake. "Stop
that! First of all you aren't plain at all, especially not to me, but not to
anyone. And if I ever hear you say you 'dabble' in art...honestly Anna, you are
a highly talented, skilled artist. Don't put yourself down like this."
    Slowly she said, "I just never thought...I never really
imagined my life could be more. That someone would say those words to me. It
will take some time...for all of it to sink in."
    "Well, don't take too long to let it sink in, okay?"
Sam smiled at her. Then he bent his head to hers and came closer--
    "What are you doing?" Anna whispered.
    "Kissing you."
    The kiss was tender and exquisite and she melted into his
arms. She felt that it lasted forever, but finally she pulled away. It was too
much, too soon. Her mind and her heart were reeling.
    "Sam...I need...I need some time. To think. I'm feeling
completely overwhelmed right now. Can you give me that? Some time?"
    His dark brown eyes stared into hers, searching, then he
gave her a small smile. "You're not afraid, are you? I don't see that in
your eyes."
    "No, just swamped with emotion and too many thoughts.
Too much has happened in one day. Let me get my balance back."
    "All right." He hugged her to him for a moment
then released her. "I'll come back for the painting at another time. With
a check. Take it easy, love." Then he walked to the door and was gone.
    Anna sat staring at the painting for a full minute before
bursting into tears.
    * * * *
    Sam was halfway home before he realized that she'd never
said anything at all about how she felt about him. His dazed smile gave way to
a frown as his mind cleared and he replayed every moment, every word of their
encounter. No, he was right, she'd said nothing.
    What did it mean? What if she didn't feel the same way about
him? Maybe she saw him only as a friend...if so, she might see the kiss and his
discussion of his feelings as an uncomfortable and awkward episode. Damn. What
if she only saw him as a patron of the arts? What if--?
    He stopped this train of thought by whacking a hand on his
forehead. By the time he got home he was thinking hard. He walked into his
kitchen, opened the freezer and took out the bottle of vodka and a martini
glass. After fixing the drink, he slouched down on the couch and really thought
about how Anna saw herself.
    That was the problem, he slowly realized. She didn't have
enough belief in her own looks and personality and talent to believe he could
actually love her. So how could she say she loved him? Bah, this is all too
complicated. Bottom line here is I need to romance the lady, show her how I
feel, make her believe my love for her is real. Great. Now to figure out
how to do that.
    * * * *
    Anna moped around her loft all morning Sunday, the day after
Sam had said he loved her. She'd run it through her head over and over and she
couldn't believe what he said he felt was real. She just wasn't the kind of
girl that attracted and was loved by a man like him. She tried painting and
gave up after thirty minutes. It was a dismal mess of grays and muddy browns.
    Finally she decided to do something positive. She wrapped up
the painting Sam had chosen and took it to a friend of hers, Louis Caronelli.
He was great at framing and she knew exactly the right type of frame for this
painting. Louis was the only other person in town who'd seen any of her
paintings, and then only a couple several years ago. She still went to his
small shop periodically to see his latest work and types of framing, always
imagining one day getting some of hers framed.
    Louis was turning the closed sign to open when she appeared
at his door. Motioning her through, he smiled at the large package she had with
her.
    "Ah, at last! You will let me frame one, yes?"
    "Yes, Louis. This is for a client. The painting is
already sold."
    Louis looked shocked. "You? Are selling them? After all
this time?"
    "Yes," she said, lifting her head an