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“The only way possible,” Cameron answered. “He wasn’t paying attention in a meeting, and Ivy roped him in. It was fucking awesome.”
“I can hear you, asshole,” Ian barked.
“I know you can.” Cameron sighed happily. “Pretty sure this is the best part of my week.”
Ivy sniffed. “You said the same thing this morning.”
The man’s answering grin was downright indecent, and my cheeks felt warm like I was intruding on a private moment. They shared a quick, heated glance, and then Ivy redirected her attention to the shoot with a slightly dazed shake of her head.
“Robert, let’s take five and see if we can’t tame the bear a little.” Then she glanced at me with a gracefully arched eyebrow. “I think you’ll be the best person for this particular job.”
When the photographer deflated in obvious relief, scurrying away to give Ian some space, he rolled his eyes. His expression changed, though, and softened as I walked toward him. There would be no confessions here today, and maybe that was for the best. It was a fleeting moment, a one-time mistake.
“You’re a natural,” I said gravely.
Ian leaned a shoulder against the tree next to him, and eyed the way my hair whipped around in the breeze. “I know you didn’t come here to be mean.”
“Who’s being mean? You should’ve seen yourself marching through the woods.” I sighed. “As graceful as a rhino, you are.”
His mouth hooked into a reluctant grin. “Thanks. I’ll add that to my personal bio.”
I snorted. “Like you have social media of any sort.”
“You look me up over the years, Keaton?”
My eyebrow arched slowly. “Like you didn’t do the same?”
His gaze flitted briefly from mine, focusing instead on the commotion of the people behind us, then he shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe.” Then those golden-brown eyes settled on mine again. “Didn’t know to look for Hollis King, though.”
“You still wouldn’t have found me there,” I pointed out. “I’ve never shown my face. At first, it was because I didn’t think anyone would care, and then when I had Sage, I decided I’d rather keep my life private.”
“Smart.”
We lapsed into a moment of silence, and I tilted my head back at the photographer, where he was talking to Ivy. “What’s going on here? Building your modeling portfolio?”
“Promotional crap,” he mumbled. “Ivy’s making me.”
“Making you? She’s half your size.”
“Have you met her? Her favorite hobby is making grown men cry.”
I laughed, and his eyes traced lightly over my face. My throat worked on a swallow, and I glanced down at the ground while I fought to settle the frantic pounding of my heart.
Bea’s words echoed in my head. It wasn’t attraction. It was trust. He felt more like a partner than anything I’d had in a long time. It wasn’t attraction.
“Were you bored or something? You still haven’t told me why you came.”
Words. I needed words, and every single one of them fled at that moment.
“Uhh…” My mind raced. “Yeah. Just, you know, thought a change of scenery might help me.”
“You brought your laptop to a woodworking shop?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm.” Then I glanced down at my empty hands. “Or, no, because I forgot my laptop. Guess I’m still not prepared to get any big work done.”
He studied me for a beat like he didn’t believe me. Honestly, I wouldn’t believe me either because everything about my answer screamed bullshit.
“So impatient,” he said quietly.
