Snapping Up Love (Insta Love Shy Girl Romance 3)

CHAPTER ONE

* Chelsea *

Being surrounded by this many people was unnatural to me. I was flooded with the urge to run away. But when my best friend Dale asked for my help, I couldn’t say no. I knew this was good experience. If I’m going to be a professional photographer, I’m going to have to learn to deal with crowds, chaos, and speaking to strangers. So he talked me into photographing his performance art dance show, making sure that I was at the front of the space.

Watching Dale take his place, I stepped up on a chair to get a shot over people’s heads. Dale began to spin into the center of the circle, bathed in orange and yellow lights.

There had been all sorts of modern dance numbers over the past few hours, but now my high school buddy was leaping and contorting his body, taking up as much space as possible. He looked absolutely incredible, and I could have burst with pride.

Straining my arms up higher, I got a few magical shots while he was leaping in mid-air. Then he burst into a flurry of spins that looked outright impossible.

The audience went crazy, and I zoomed out to snap several shots showing how huge the crowd was. In the viewfinder it was hard to tell, so I looked across the space to see another huge camera snapping away on the other side.

The photographer was looking around too, and I saw him notice me. He flashed me a grin and nodded. My knees buckled for a split second. I knew that face. Ben Hayes. The photographer whose style had most influenced my own. The man who shot the award-winning Tandaro Lewis campaign two years ago. The man who just opened his own studio.

I was thinking of applying for an internship there, but he must be flooded with inquiries. Since I knew that mediocre photographers were a dime a dozen in Toronto, I’d been studying marketing and advertising as well as photography, hoping to round out my skill set so that I actually ended up employed. But with just two weeks of school left to go, I needed more real-world experience for my portfolio.

Sneaking another glance at Ben, he was smiling at me. I turned away quickly, forcing myself to silence my inner screaming. He was far better looking than his photos had suggested, but it would be unprofessional for me to think of that now.

Focusing back on Dale, I prepared for his signature series of spinning leaps at the end. Sure enough, the techno music swelled, the lights turned purple and green, and his fit, sinewy body sliced through the air.

The crowd gasped in shock and delight, and I would be jumping up and down if my feet weren’t firmly planted to get every shot in perfect focus. When he struck a majestic pose at the end, they erupted in applause and screams.

Dale looked to me and flashed the adorable grin that had made me giggle since high school English class when we couldn’t stop making Shakespeare jokes for two weeks straight, and lived on his mom’s grilled cheese sandwiches.

He disappeared through the curtains into the makeshift backstage area, as I climbed down carefully, heading in his direction. I had barely gotten my lens cap on when Dale’s sweaty arms surrounded me, bouncing.

“They liked it!” he squealed. “Did you see their faces?”

“You were amazing,” I squealed back at him, hugging him half to death.

“I have to go thank the lighting crew. They followed my notes perfectly.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as he took off.

I began to pull the event program out of my pocket to see who was next when a finger tapped my shoulder.

Spinning, I looked up into the eyes I had seen in art magazines, on websites, and once in a while in my dreams. Ben Hayes was smiling at me. They weren’t the determined, sharp eyes from the screen at the moment though. They were deeper. Absolutely sexy. I found it difficult to take a full breath.

“Hey. Quite the rig you’ve got there.” His voice was low, sultry, and the fact that he was checking out the camera in my hands made my stomach flutter.

“Hi,” I said in a small voice. I quickly searched for something to say. “I’m surprised to see you covering this event.”

He grinned, his dark eyes flashing. “I do a couple of volunteer gigs a year. This one is rather fun, actually.” Nodding down to my camera, he asked, “Are you covering the event for a media outlet?”

I almost laughed, shaking my head. “No, I’m still in school. I’m just taking shots for my friend.”

“The guy who just danced?”

“Yeah. Dale Hamel.”

Ben nodded. “I got a couple of great shots of him in mid-air.” Digging into his pocket, he handed me his business card. “Email me. I can send a few over so you can put together a set with shots from both sides.”

“Wow, thanks. He’ll really appreciate that.”