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“What’s wrong with your studio? The rent on that place can’t be cheap.”
“It’s not,” she said on a sigh that was half-annoyed and half something else I couldn’t quite make out. “But whenever possible, I prefer to utilize natural lighting with the help of artificial lights. I want my photos to come to life, to suck you right in and make you wish you were living that moment with them. When photos make you feel that way, you buy them. For yourself and for others.”
Damn. “I get that.”
“You do?” She sent me another look, a shocked one, over her shoulder. But it was over in a flash, her attention captured by a bird balancing on a branch.
“Sort of. I mean I know what’s it like to want what you do to matter.”
She snorted. “Not exactly the same. I’m perfectly aware that you save lives and property Rafe, even memories. It’s not the same.”
“Not exactly, no,” I told her, and finally when there was a break in the trees, I was able to walk alongside her. “But that doesn’t mean what you do doesn’t matter. You help people remember the best parts of days that usually are more unrealistic expectations than cold hard reality. Weddings and christenings, engagement photos, it’s all crafting a perfect memory.”
“Right,” she said, almost stunned by my words. Not gonna lie, they stunned me a bit too.
One fat drop of rain fell on her forehead and then another on her cheek. And another and another until it was raining at a pretty steady clip. “Rain.”
“Good observation.” She nodded for me to keep following her, as if I could do anything else. “There’s a bird watching shed up ahead, or you can walk the fifteen minutes back to my place. In this rain it’ll feel like sixty minutes.”
“I know,” I growled, suddenly feeling out of sorts.
“Good to know,” she snapped back and kept her attention on anything but me until we reached the shed, then she kept her eyes and her focus on the camera.
I let a minute or two pass, sure she would remember her southern manners and make some attempt at conversation. But in this way Janey surprised me. Who knew she had such steely determination?
“You’re ignoring me Janey?”
“Of course not.”
“I should hope not. It’s not the behavior I expect, especially after you snuck out of my room like a thief in the night.” It wasn’t the most elegant or mature way to bring it up, but there it was. Out there.
She looked up with a gasp, fire and anger swirling in her deep green eyes. “Jerk,” she said on another strangled gasp.
“I’m not a jerk, just a man in search of answers.” And she was in no position to run from me now.
“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” Janey didn’t wait for me to respond, shaking her head wildly, she went to one of four windows in the room and stared out.
“No, I don’t think so. It’s been a month, and I’ve given you plenty of time to act like an adult. To come to me. But you didn’t, so here we are.” That was the honest to goodness truth.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said, her green gaze bouncing from me to the door and back to me.
“I disagree. And now is as good a time as any, so talk.”
Janey surprised me again, smoothing down her damp t-shirt she turned on her heels, snatched up her bag and walked out. Right into the rain.
I laughed. And then I followed her.JaneyOh, what a jerk!
What an absolute jerk Rafe Montgomery was! And to think, I’d spent the better part of the past month living and re-living every moment of that night together. Every beautiful, hot moment, while he’d probably had enough women since then that I was little more than a distant memory.
I marched out of the bird watching shed, grateful that I’d used my waterproof camera bag today. And desperate to put as much distance as possible between me and Rafe. My legs moved faster at the sound of his heavy footfalls and long strides, telling me he was closer than I realized.
“Come on Janey.” His words were tinged with annoyance, but the amusement in them still rankled and I kept walking.
“Screw you Rafe!” Did he really feel it necessary to talk about this at all, never mind right now?
“You already did that. And then you walked away.” There was no more laughter in his voice, bringing me up short. “I just want to know why. Among other things.” It was exactly those other things I was trying to avoid discussing.
“Why?” Wasn’t it obvious why I left? After handing my virginity over on a silver platter, I had no idea what to say or what to do next, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him brushing me off or telling me he had a good time but, in that dismissive tone I’d seen deflate even the most confident of women. I wouldn’t, couldn’t survive that humiliation, so I left. Fled more like it. “Is your ego so fragile that one woman out of one hundred didn’t stay for another round and it that bothers you?”
