“Oh my God,” she whispered. “I’ve never been on a stage like this before.”
“Magnificent, right?”
She turned back to face me, a smile on her lips. She’d been so distraught earlier, trying to suppress her tears, that I’d wanted anything to see that smile back on her face. I had every intention of replacing her camera. To make up for what Ashleigh had done. But the most I wanted now was to make up for ever seeing her that sad. I never wanted it to happen again if I could help it. If I had to give her the entire world for her to keep that smile, I’d do it.
“How did I get this lucky?” she asked me, letting the curtain drop.
“Oh no, I’m the lucky one. I’ve got a beautiful woman on my arm. And she’s taking me to Cabo tomorrow.”
Jennifer laughed and waved me away. “You paid your own way.”
“We’re going for your work. My work isn’t that interesting.”
“Oh, stop.”
“I’m serious. The vineyard isn’t sending me to Cabo.”
I pulled her into my arms. We swayed to the music playing through the concert hall. Our own empty, private dance floor on the darkened stage.
“You just landed a huge deal for the vineyard. I think we can celebrate that in Cabo, too.”
“I think we’re going to be doing an awful lot of celebrating,” I said, dragging her in for another kiss.
“I’m okay with that.”
The music stayed slow and steady as we danced. No need for words. No need for anything else. Her heart beat against mine as I held her in my arms. I hadn’t planned for any of this to happen with Jennifer, but I was damn glad that we were here. And I’d do anything to keep us this way.
27
Jennifer
“Jennifer, I thought you might call,” Evan said on the phone.
I cringed. Julian didn’t know I was calling Evan, but this was important. Not only was my favorite camera broken, but my second-favorite camera had been acting up for months. No stores would be open for hours, and we had to be out of Lubbock soon. I was desperate. Which was why I’d reached out to the last person I wanted to speak to.
“Hey, Evan. How are you doing?”
“Great. You want to catch lunch?”
“Actually, this is a work emergency,” I said carefully.
“Oh? You need a second shooter?”
“Well, no, my camera was submerged in water yesterday, and I have an elopement to photograph in Cabo tonight.”
“Shit. That sucks. How did it end up in the water?”
“Bad luck,” I said quickly. “Are you shooting this weekend? Could I borrow your Nikon? I’d pay you.”
“I don’t have anything on the schedule,” he said thoughtfully. “Maybe we could meet for dinner when you bring it back.”
My throat closed up. No was the answer. It was definitely no. And I could and would say it this time because I had a boyfriend. A perfectly crafted excuse that I was going to say on this line right now.
“I’m actually seeing someone.”
He snorted softly, as if he didn’t believe me. “Really? Do I know him?”
“Julian Wright.”
Evan was silent on the other end of the line for what felt like a solid minute. “Well…uh, yeah. Sure. Come on over and grab it. Maybe if things don’t work out with Wright—”
“Thanks, Evan,” I said, interrupting him. “I’ll swing by in a few minutes. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Anytime, Jen. Anything for you.”
I hurriedly got off the phone just as Julian walked in from the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Water still ran over his shoulders, and his dark hair was wet. It wasn’t the only thing in the room that was wet.
“Who was that?”
I grimaced. “Evan.”
“Fuck that guy. What did he want?”
“He said I could borrow his camera.”
“Is it still not working?”
I shook my head. “Backup camera isn’t working either. I don’t know when that happened. I’m going to have to invest in new equipment.”
“As I said last night, I’m buying you a new camera. This is my fault.”
I bit my lip and shrugged. It didn’t feel right. It was Ashleigh’s fault. But I also didn’t really want to say no either. Cameras were an investment. With fewer weddings this year, it would hurt.
“We have to swing by and pick his up on the way out of town.”
Julian grinned. “I’ll get it for you.”
“Oh, he’ll love that,” I said sarcastically.
“Exactly.”
* * *
I couldn’t see Evan’s face from the passenger seat of the Audi, but Julian’s smile was so devious that I could only imagine what had happened in that conversation.
“Here you go,” he said, passing me the Nikon.
“Did you scare him?”
“Just a little.”
I shook my head as I fiddled with the Nikon. I needed to get used to the manual settings real quick. “You’re bad.”
“What? It was fun. You got to scare my ex.”
“I didn’t scare Ashleigh. I just…I don’t know.”