Round #3, Story Summary:

     Former foster child Jolie Gardener is searching for happily-ever-after. Oh, not for her. For her manuscript. She believes "ever afters" only happen between the pages of a book. Problem is, she has no idea how to write a happy ending.
    As personal chef to Todd Best, famous landscape artist whose paintings and legendary love story are synonymous, she's found her true-life hero. Too bad he's so freaky about his privacy he's vowed never to exhibit again, let alone star in her romance novel.
     When her apartment burns, Todd offers a room in his home in exchange for her culinary expertise at a charity picnic. Jolie ropes Todd into some cookin' in the kitchen and temperatures soar, melting Jolie's heart, as does Todd's penchant for organizing events for homeless children.
     A merchant gives Todd a book on portraiture, relaxing the stranglehold on his muse. Paintings flow onto canvasses, all of them of Jolie. Her zest for life has rekindled his with a rainbow of color.
     But when his words surface in Jolie's manuscript, Todd sees only red and Jolie learns what she's always feared is true: Nothing lasts forever.
     Or can it? With the help of an anthropomorphic kitty (who, coincidentally, isn't around when the merchant is), Todd realizes they've each found their muse in the other. Maybe life is for the living. Together.
     At an art show benefit for local shelters, Todd reveals his feelings for her in the paintings she inspired. Some things can last forever. The Best things.