‘Yes.’
‘I’ll call you and we’ll rearrange the photography thing.’
‘Perfect.’
‘So, you’ve been doing some more photography then, mate?’ Alex asked, ‘That’s great!’
Charlie nodded. ‘Yes. It’s been for a peaceful life more than anything else, to be honest. Libby wouldn’t let up about it. I even have a blog now.’
‘You do? That’s excellent!’ Alex turned to me. ‘I’m glad you’ve been on at him about it. I’ve been trying to get him to do more about it for years. He’s too good for people not to see his stuff. Who knew all it would take is a pretty face?’ Alex winked.
‘That wasn’t all it took,’ Charlie stated.
Alex raised an eyebrow and grinned. ‘Well, no wonder I never got anywhere with getting you off your arse about it. I love you, mate, but there are certain things that—’
‘No! I didn’t mean… that.’ Even in the half-light, the flush around Charlie’s neck was visible. ‘I just meant that Libby can be quite determined when she wants to be.’ He glanced over and caught sight of my raised eyebrow. ‘In a good way. Obviously.’
‘Obviously,’ I repeated, one brow still raised.
‘Definitely.’
I gave him a look under my lashes. ‘Thanks. I’m glad that nagging you until you do something just for a peaceful life can be done “in a good way”.’
I was pretending to be in a huff, but I wasn’t at all. And he knew it. Charlie had been thrilled about his blog and he was starting to get some great comments on it. The fact that he’d texted me at half past five in the morning on the day he got his first comment on a post was testament to that. We both knew he was just teasing.
‘Of course. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have got the commission that I got yesterday.’
‘You… what?’ I grabbed his arm.
‘I got a commission. Someone contacted me in the week. We finalised details yesterday. They want some shots of the city for their new apartment in London; they both grew up here and miss it. They have some specific places they want images of but want something different from the normal things you tend to see for sale. They came across my blog and liked my stuff. So, I kind of said yes.’
‘You kind of… Charlie! That’s fantastic! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me – us – before now!’
‘It’s not a big deal.’ But even with his reserved manner, I could tell that Charlie was excited about this. It showed in those incredible eyes – they shone as he looked at me.
‘It’s a huge deal! I’m so proud of you!’ I threw my arms around his neck, stretching on tiptoes in my flat shoes, and felt his warm arms wrap around me.
‘Thank you,’ he whispered, his voice soft and low in my ear, before releasing me.
‘Well done, mate!’ Marcus and Alex chimed, slapping his back.
‘Of course, what he hasn’t told us is that the commission is for a series at the nudist beach,’ Marcus teased.
‘It is?’ Amy entered the conversation, a little worse for wear. Her eyes were huge as she looked at Charlie. ‘Oh, no! Charlie! You won’t like that! I don’t think that’s really your thing at all! Perhaps Libby could help out? She’s much more outgoing than you.’
‘Err, excuse me?’
‘I mean, you could go and take some photos down there for him.’
‘Ames, they want Charlie’s photos, not mine.’
‘All right, then,’ Amy continued, warming to her theme. ‘Then perhaps you could go when it’s really quiet and Charlie could take some photos there, and you could be the “random sunbather”!’ Amy looked incredibly pleased with this suggestion. I looked mortified. All three men looked thoroughly entertained.
‘I have never gone, and will never be going, to the nudist beach, and, as much as I support Charlie in this venture, I am not about to strip off for him!’
‘Well, I guess that answers my next question,’ Charlie said, calm and studied as always, as if he had just asked me the time.
My mouth dropped open.
