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“I’m sure you’ll look beautiful, Esther. You ready to look at the photos?”
Esther’s shoulders fell. “You’re no fun, Valona. Young and beautiful with this young thing panting after ya, and you act as though you’re already dead. What a shame.” Valona opened her mouth to say something, but Esther waved a dismissive hand. “Fine, just show me the pictures then.”
Valona’s shoulders fell in disappointment at the older woman’s dismissive tone and she took her seat, fully prepared to show off the photos she’d been so proud of just moments before. “I have a few candid photos just in case you wanted something a little different.”
Esther, of course, squealed in delight at the photos of her and Ralph laughing, Ralph swatting her behind and her eyes shut tight with laughter. “These are beautiful Valona, just beautiful.” She was beaming, her smile filled with appreciation. “I want this blown up, big. Not poster sized, but close to it.”
Valona smiled proudly. “Sure thing, Esther. I can arrange that for you.”
“Of course you can,” Esther agreed and pushed off the chair slowly. “I’m glad you finally found your passion. In some things, anyway.” With a roll of her eyes, Esther filled out the order form and strolled out of the studio with a knowing smile.
“Well that just happened,” Val said on an exhausted sigh.
“I’ll say one thing for Carson Creek, you guys are chock full of unique characters.”
“Crazy is the word you’re looking for, Trey. Crazy.”
I laughed, wondering how long it would take before I had this exhausted kind of affection for people like Esther. “All I heard were compliments.”
“Then you weren’t listening closely,” she grumbled and shook her head before she turned her attention back to placing Esther’s order.
“I heard enough to know she thinks the world of you, and is happy for you. She just wants you to live.”
Valona’s shoulders lost some of their tension. “I know that, I really do, but I don’t always need everyone’s opinion.”
“Agreed, so let’s get out of here.” At her confused look, I smiled. “You said something about a new spot for photos.”
“Oh, right.” She shook her head as if she’d only now remembered. “It is a great spot, and the sky is so clear and blue.”
“What are we waiting for?” I didn’t want to push her, but I was learning that Val needed to be pushed sometimes, just a little, when it came to the things she really wanted. “Do I need to change? Gym clothes? A tuxedo? Bathing suit?”
“Good lord, no,” she laughed and shook her head. “Jeans and a t-shirt are just fine.” Her cheeks flamed red and she shook her head again, leaning forward to use her hair as a shield from me.
“I’ll load up the car and you take care of the boss duties.”
“Thank you,” she whispered quietly and I got busy loading up the equipment she might want or need for photos.
Twenty minutes later, we were in a field of vibrant green plants and herbs under the backdrop of the mountains. “You sure don’t lack for a great view around these parts, do you?”
“We don’t,” she answered with a smile. “It’s beautiful here.”
She was the beautiful one, but I knew telling her so wouldn’t accomplish anything. I stood close enough to smell the scent of flowers wafting off her skin and put my hands on my hips. “Where do you want me?”
Valona’s eyes locked onto mine for a long, heated moment. At first I thought maybe she’d misunderstood my question, but the heat burned her eyes a darker shade of green and then she licked her lips.
“Surrounded by greens is a good place to start,” she said finally.
I stood in the middle of the field and watched Valona set up her first few shots, giving her wholesome smiles and sultry smiles. I looked into the camera, out to the fields beyond and everywhere else I could think of to help. With every click of the camera her confidence grew, and it was a beautiful thing to watch. Her smile bloomed brighter with every shot and I gave myself permission to relax, to fall back into model mode and give her tons of looks and moods.
“Good?”
Valona nodded, too distracted by her shots to pay attention to me. “This is good Trey. Really good.”
“I’ve got a good photographer.”
Her cheeks turned pink again, but instead of shrinking away from me, Val got in my personal space to move my body, my limbs in different ways “Is this all right?”
“More than all right,” I told her, my voice thick with desire caused by her closeness. She smelled good, she looked good and when she was in the zone, all of her was just plain good. I couldn’t help it, what came next. I’d tried for weeks and weeks to keep my hands off her, to keep things friendly as she clearly wanted. But today that task defeated me. “Touch me however you want,” I growled and cupped her face before our mouths collided.
