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“How can you tell?” Jacob carried his gaze to the instructor.

“You’re carrying the same glow and can’t keep your eyes off each other.”

Carla’s mouth opened, and she gasped. Jacob laughed. “You’re not wrong,” he said.

“I know I’m not. Well, to an extent. You do act like newlyweds. That might be a good thing for your future.”

A spin of hot chills circled Carla, and she took her attention back to Jacob.

He puckered his lips and blew her a kiss, and she blushed, trying not to revel too deeply in those thoughts.

“Should I give you two some alone time?”

“No!” they both shouted, knowing if she did, they would never get back to making clay.

The instructor laughed and shook her head. “I think I should. But first, let’s get back to making your designs, and then, maybe, if you like, the two of you can make something beautiful together.”

Jacob’s thoughts shifted, and suddenly, he saw blended images of him and Carla. A little girl, with Carla’s whimsical attitude, love for life and humanity—but also carrying Jacob’s all-about-business conduct. A little boy who followed him around, snuggled with his mother and had all the ambition in the world. Jacob’s heart warmed, overwhelmed by the images.

Spaced out, his hands moved around the clay as the wheel turned, and although he couldn’t hear the instructor from the rapture of his thoughts, Jacob mimicked what she was doing.

Carla, however, wasn’t too far off from Jacob’s musings. The difference was she saw a little girl who clung to her father, as in love with him as Carla was because of his passion for others, his business sense, his love for her.

The boy would be Jacob’s spitting image. She’d seen his family, their genes were healthy and dominant, and she was sure their children would strongly resemble Jacob.

Carla’s entire body livened in quivers. She thought she’d been in love before, but this was on another level of bliss.

Following along with the instructor, Carla glanced at Jacob’s hands, then to his face, catching his eyes on her. They both smiled, then went back to crafting their bowls, and before they knew it, they’d finished their first pottery class.

“Congratulations!” The instructor stood. “You did well.”

“Yay!” Carla threw her hands up and shimmied her shoulders.

Laughing, Jacob looked from Carla to the instructor. “Thank you for your time. I would shake your hand, but…” he held his clay-covered hands up.

The instructor reached for his hand anyway. “We both have clay on our hands, so let’s call it an even exchange.”

Jacob nodded. “Touché.”

“At this time, you can let me know if you want to be done with your lesson for the day or if you’d like to create together.”

They glanced at each other.

“Together,” they said.

The instructor smiled. “I am not surprised. I’ll step out and give you some privacy to focus on your creations.” She checked her watch. “I’ll return in, say, thirty minutes?”

“We will have a masterpiece for you when you return,” Carla said.

“A masterpiece? Well, watch out now.” The instructor exited behind their laughs, and Jacob rose to his feet, got their setup together with more clay and fresh water, then pulled his stool behind Carla’s.

She was engulfed by the heat of his shade, comforted and relaxed as his chest pressed against her back—his arms sliding around hers.

“Hey,bellissima.”

She shivered. “Hey, handsome.”

He smiled. “Are you ready to create something with me?”