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“I’ll be right back.” I hauled the bags with me into the bathroom. I tried not to touch anything while I changed.
I emerged in the first sundress I had tried on at the mall.
“Perfect.” Vaughn grinned. He sat on a stool close to the computer screens. There were five on various levels of Sheldon’s desk.
“Where do you want me?” I asked.
“Over there.” Sheldon still hadn’t made eye contact with me. His focus was on adjusting the camera lens.
“What do you want me to do?” Sheldon was already encroaching on my personal space. He held the camera over my head. “What are you doing?”
“Selfies,” he explained.
“Oh.” I needed more direction. More input on what kind of shots he needed.
After a few minutes, I started to get the hang of it. A few times he even drew my hand toward the lens as if I were holding the camera myself. Every once in a while, he asked Vaughn to stand behind me or put his hand on mine. He never shot Vaughn’s face, only used him in the background. It was just enough to let Agent Kenneth know we were still together. He was there.
By the time we finished, I wanted to head home and sleep. I couldn’t muster another smile.
Vaughn looked at his watch. “There is still thirty minutes left in the movie. We need to head up.”
I sighed. “I’ll put my movie clothes back on.” It was the last time I had to work in the grimey bathroom.
Vaughn waited for me by the door. “Thanks again, Sheldon.”
“No problem.” The coder was behind his desk loading the pictures. I stared in awe as he manipulated a picture of me with the beach on the horizon.
“Wow.”
Vaughn chuckled. “See? Nothing to worry about. Let’s get back to our seats.”
“Bye, Sheldon. Thank you.” I waved as we exited, but I didn’t get a response.
Chapter Twenty
That night I collapsed on our bed, staring at the sparkly crystals overhead. Vaughn crawled in next to me. He smelled like clean soap and the lotion he put on after he shaved.
“Mmm.” I wrapped myself around him, pressing into the ruggedness of his body.
“Did you like the movie?” he asked.
“Yes. But I didn’t understand half of it. So maybe I didn’t. I’m not sure.”
He laughed. “Subtitles would have helped I guess, but you aren’t going to get those in Paris.”
He ran his hands over my body before hitting the remote that turned off the chandelier and the lights on our nightstands. I didn’t want him to fall asleep as quickly as he usually did. I wanted to stay up and talk about our plans. I had more questions now than when we were in the boutique. I wanted to plot out every little detail until the sun came up, but it wasn’t possible.
“Brunch and crosswords tomorrow?” I asked.
He squeezed my shoulder. “Sunday routine.”
My hand rested on his chest. He spun the enormous diamond on my ring finger. I was used to wearing it now. Used to being his wife. Used to telling people I had a husband.
Suddenly I sat straight up in bed. I gasped.
“What’s wrong, Em?” Vaughn was startled.
“Oh my God. I forgot my mother’s birthday. It was today.”
