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“All in a day’s work,” Zann replied, propping her free hand on her hip and jutting her chest out like she was Supergirl. It was adorable. She squeezed Lydia’s hand and added, “We’re gonna go for a walk. We’ll meet you guys at the bus.”
Aspen grinned. “Be good.”
Lydia winked at her. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” she sassed as she allowed Zann to lead her away. Once they were far enough from the brides-to-be that their voices wouldn’t carry, she said, “I liked watching you work.”
Zann hummed and released Lydia’s hand to wrap an arm around her waist and draw her into her side as they wandered over a small, grassy bluff and down to the rocky stream that bordered the vineyard’s tasting room. “Oh?”
Lydia nodded and looped her left arm around Zann’s waist so she could hold her, as well. “You were just…I don’t even know how to begin to describe it,” she confessed. “But I couldn’t take my eyes off you.” Her heart swelled at the small, pleased smile that tipped Zann’s lips. “Do you enjoy photography?”
“I do. Not as much as film, obviously, but it’s fun.”
Realizing that, while they’d spoken about some of Zann’s films, they’d never really touched on why she chose to go into the field, Lydia asked, “What is it about filmmaking that speaks to you?”
“God,” Zann chuckled, “why do I breathe? Film is just… Storytelling at its finest. Like, I could take a picture of, say, two women kissing under an old oak, but isn’t it more compelling to see how they got there? The things they had to overcome to not just find each other, but fall so deeply in love that they can’t imagine a life without the other one in it?”
“So you like the story behind the moment.”
“Behind, before, after,” Zann said, circling her free hand in front of her. “How do I…” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Have you ever seen Endless Summer?”
Lydia blinked as she tried to follow the pivot the conversation had taken. “Isn’t that about surfing?” When Zann nodded, she said, “No, but I’ve heard of it.”
“That was the first documentary I saw that didn’t bore me to tears,” Zann shared with a small smile. “I mean, no shade on other docs, but watching the story of those guys chasing what they loved just spoke to me in a way nothing had before. I liberated my mother’s camcorder from her office not five minutes after I’d finished watching the film, and basically never looked back.”
“Is that why you gravitate toward sports?” Lydia asked, recalling that, besides the documentary Zann did about the Olympic skiers, she’d also done ones for hockey, soccer, and rowing.
“I honestly never thought about that, but maybe?” Zann shrugged. “Sports showcase the human spirit, and I love getting to explore and celebrate the drive of people trying to be the absolute best version of themselves. Like, sports are just…sports, you know? Maybe none of it really matters in the grand scheme of things, but people push themselves to, and beyond, the brink of emotional and physical exhaustion to compete. How can you not be drawn in by that?”
Zann’s eyes shone with the passion that resonated in her voice, and Lydia didn’t even try to resist the urge that bubbled inside her as she leaned in and captured her lips in a deep and wonderfully indulgent kiss. She lifted her free hand to frame Zann’s face as she melted against her. She marveled at the butterflies that erupted in her stomach and took flight into her chest, making her feel fantastically breathless as their tongues slid languidly together.
Zann chuckled when they eventually broke apart. “What was that for?”
Lydia hummed and nuzzled her cheek. “You.”
“I didn’t do anything, though,” Zann mused, her eyes crinkling with her smile.
Oh, but you did, Lydia thought. You are beautiful and intelligent and so goddamn passionate that I honestly can’t even begin to understand how I ever existed without you in my life. It was far, far too soon to confess anything even remotely close to that, however, so instead she replied, hoping to lighten the mood, “Yes, well, I guess your passion is infectious.”
“BUS LEAVES IN FIVE!” Alder bellowed from the edge of the patio behind them. “WITH OR WITHOUT YOU!” she added with a little too much glee in her tone. Or maybe that was just the combined effect of all the wine she’d had over the course of the day.
In either case, it was clear that their time was up, and Lydia sighed as she tipped forward to kiss Zann one last time. “Come on, you. I don’t want to have to chase our ride out of here.”
“She would make us do that.” Zann huffed a little laugh and then sighed. “Later, I’m going to show you just how passionate I can be.”
Lydia smiled and pressed a finger to Zann’s lips because she knew that, if she kissed her like she wanted, they would absolutely be missing their ride. And, for now, the softness of Zann’s lips and the way her eyes shone with something gentle and warm and inviting as she puckered them against the touch was enough. “I look forward to it.”
Zann’s heart leapt into her throat when she returned from a much-needed bathroom break to the private room Stella and Steve had reserved for them at the resort’s restaurant. She didn’t know if it was due to the trust Lydia had shown her that morning when she’d told her about the reason she’d gotten her piercings, or just a combination of a long day of stolen glances, furtive touches and lots of wine, but the sight of Lydia backlit by the fairy lights on the patio beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows and the stars reflecting off the inky black Pacific beyond stole the breath from her lungs.
She reached for the back of a nearby chair to steady herself as she drank in the flush that warmed Lydia’s cheeks and the smile that lit her face as she chatted animatedly with Eve and Shannon.
She is so goddamn beautiful.
“Dude,” Kit chuckled, punching Zann playfully on the shoulder. “Put your tongue back in your head, bitch.”
Zann rolled her eyes. Lydia was positively radiant, and she’d stare at her if she wanted to. “Shut up.”
“Such an erudite response.”
Zann shook her head and tore her eyes from Lydia to arch a challenging brow at Kit. “Okay, then how about this: fuck off, Kit.”
