"Still missing, no new leads on Lily Barnhart."

Hope Early stopped scrolling on her tablet when she came to the article. Her interest piqued by the ongoing saga about how the forty-one-year-old architect went missing three weeks earlier, after last being seen by her husband when she left for work. Hope shook her head in disbelief. How could the police have no new leads? A woman simply didn't vanish.

Lily disappeared on a damp, rainy day. Hope remembered because it had been a perfect day for baking. She'd spent hours in her kitchen testing banana nut bread recipes. The first three attempts resulted in so-so breads, but with the fourth try she had perfected the recipe for her blog, Hope at Home.

When she worked on recipe development, she blocked out the world around her. It was just her, the recipe, and the ingredients. So, it wasn't until later in the evening when she'd settled down for a cup of tea and a slice of bread that she'd learned Lily had gone missing. By morning her hometown of Jefferson, Connecticut, was abuzz with speculation, and the fear for Lily's safety was palpable.

"I can't believe she just vanished." Felicity Campbell sat down next to Hope at the long table that was set up for the four students attending the food photography course.

Hope looked up from her tablet. She met Felicity when they both auditioned for the reality television show The Sweet Taste of Success. Hope was chosen as one of the thirteen bakers to compete for the grand prize, while Felicity was encouraged to audition for another season. Hope left the show as the first runner-up with a small monetary prize and a broken marriage. So maybe Felicity had won after all.

"It's scary, isn't it?" The thought of leaving her house one morning and never returning sent a shiver down Hope's spine.

"Since you live in town, did you know her?" Felicity's auburn hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and her makeup was heavily applied, which was a bit much for a food photography class. She was known for posting selfies on her blog, Felicity Cooks with Style, so Hope figured she always wanted to look camera ready.

Hope doubted any of her readers wanted to see what she looked like when she was in the midst of cooking. Her shoulder-length dark hair was usually pushed back in a headband, her face was makeup free, and she preferred to cook in her comfortable lounge pants and loose T-shirts. She hardly looked camera ready when she was in her kitchen.

"Not really. I saw her a few times in town." Hope closed the website and set her tablet on the table. The last thing she wanted was her photography instructor peering over her shoulder and seeing an article about his missing wife.

"This must be a nightmare for Cal. I thought for sure he would have cancelled this class." Felicity raised her cell phone, leaned in closer to Hope, and angled the phone down toward them. "Selfie," she cooed. Within seconds she was tapping a message to accompany the photo of them on her Facebook page. "I tagged you."

"Thank you." Hope was glad she opted to apply a little blush to her usual mascara and dusty rose lipstick for her class.

Felicity finished checking her Facebook page and set her phone down. "I've been so excited about this workshop for months. I'm really glad he didn't cancel. Though, I'm not sure if I was excited about being taught by Cal Barnhart himself or finally seeing his studio. It's awesome, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Hope looked around the large space where Cal worked when he was home in Jefferson.

A dozen floor-to-ceiling windows allowed for natural light to flow in and brick walls gave the expansive space character. Baker's racks were packed with props and a fully functioning kitchen was tucked into the corner for food preparation. His photography class used real food and, from where Hope was sitting, she saw Cal's assistant working in the kitchen.

"This place is awesome." Louis Maddox pulled out a chair and sat across from Hope. The thirty-something writer behind the This Man Grills blog was dressed in a short- sleeved plaid shirt and khakis. He wore dark-rimmed glasses that kept sliding down the bridge of his nose. "Barnhart's cool factor is off the charts. Especially since his wife disappeared and it's an active missing person case."

"What a terrible thing to say." Elena Voss approached the table. She was the main recipe developer behind the Two Chicks and a Stove blog. Upon meeting Hope, she quickly listed all of the magazines her recipes were recently published in. Hope was impressed by the woman's professional pride and the ability to ramble off multiple titles without taking a breath.

"Really? Tell me you ladies don't think he's even hotter now that there's a hint of scandal around him," Louis challenged.

Felicity nodded. "He's right. Cal is hotter now."

Elena let out an exasperated sigh as she sat down next to Felicity. "What about you, Hope? What do you think?"

She'd always admired Cal's work, but now that he was in the midst of a scandal, there was an air of mystery about him. And mystery could be, as Louis said, hot. Not that Hope would ever admit that to anyone, especially the three bloggers surrounding her.

"Okay, let's begin. Everyone take a seat." Cal Barnhart's voice boomed as he entered the studio, clapping his hands. He got everyone's attention; even his assistant stopped what she was doing to focus on him. He was tall, lean, and ruggedly artistic, a potent combination for any woman to take in and Hope understood Felicity's assessment of him. He wore his trademark black, his dark hair was peppered with flecks of silver, and his deep blue eyes cast a sweeping glance over his students.

"How do you create sexy food photography that your readers can't get enough of?" Cal asked, his intense gaze landing on Hope.

She shifted in her seat and the studio suddenly seemed warmer than the cool May morning. This wasn't college, and she wasn't a silly freshman who flirted with instructors. Especially one with a missing wife.

"Your goal is to entice your readers with your photographs. Make them stop from clicking off of your website. Grab them. Pull them in. Keep them. If your photography is lackluster or substandard, I guarantee your reader will be off your blog before you can say Google Analytics."

His students chuckled.

Hope lifted her gaze and found Cal had moved over to one of the tables set up for their class. He now was looking at the whole group, not just her.

"Shouldn't our recipes be enough to keep our readers on our blog?" Elena asked.

"If you believed that, you wouldn't be here," Cal replied dryly.

"I'm all for learning how to create sexy food photos," Felicity gushed in a breathy voice.

"I doubt any of my grilled bratwursts will ever be considered a sexy photo," Louis quipped.

"You can make any food look delicious and appealing. That's your job. And the reason why you're here today. We're going to begin with lighting. Then we'll cover styling, editing, and angles. Angles are easy. I have two preferences." Cal picked up his digital camera.

"I wouldn't mind being angled by him," Felicity whispered as she leaned over to Hope. "Come on, you have to be thinking that too."

"Actually, I was thinking of why he chose that lens to use." Hope pointed at the camera Cal held. She'd invested in two lenses when she purchased her digital camera for her blog, but he was...