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“So, what do you say? Can you see five or six kids in your future…eventually?” Trent asked softly, twirling a piece of her hair around his finger.
Whitney smiled up at him and kissed him gently. “Let’s start with three and see what happens?”
Trent grinned, holding her tighter. “Deal.”
Whitney’s heart swelled as she snuggled closer. Talking about starting a family with Trent felt right. She may not be ready for it just yet, but they had plenty of time, and she knew someday she’d be willing to give him a family like the one he’d had and the one she’d only dreamed of.
Someday.
Chapter Eleven
Now…
This humidity was torture. Despite the cloud cover and strong wind, the heavy thickness in the air was causing Whitney to melt. She unbuttoned the top two buttons on her tan blouse and, pulling her hair back away from her face, she tied it into a low ponytail at the base of her neck. It had to be eighty-five degrees outside, and her feet ached from walking in wedge heels on the sandy beach.
But the waves this morning were perfect, and the shots the photographer was able to capture in this early-morning lighting made all her discomfort worth it. These images would be perfect to use in her pitch presentation forRace Across Americaas well as next year’s promotional calendar.
“Good morning. Sorry I’m late,” Scott said from behind her.
He couldn’t be late to something he wasn’t invited to. Her jaw clenched as she turned around to face him. “What are you doing here?” She hadn’t told him about the early-morning shoot. On purpose.
“Kim added it into my calendar,” he said. “I brought you a pumpkin spice latte.” He extended the cup to her.
“It’s, like, a thousand degrees out here.”
“You don’t want it?”
The pumpkin spice aroma escaping the cup was too tempting, and after a night of unsettled tossing and turning, she was exhausted. She took it with a mumbled, begrudging “thanks.”
Scott smiled brightly, unfazed by her attitude.
“I was capable of overseeing this shoot myself,” she said. Maybe he’d take the hint and leave.
“It’s no problem. I’m here now.” He scanned the waves. “Wow, you couldn’t have picked a better morning. Those breaks are fantastic.”
She nodded, sipping the hot coffee. The caffeine was a needed jolt to her system, but the heat from the cup made her palms sweat even more. Why was she always so damn hot?
“I assume we’re using these shots for our pitch?”
Ourpitch. Truthfully, this was his pitch. He’d thought of the idea. She was just desperate to prove that she had the skills to pull it off. “Yep.”
From the corner of her eye, she studied him. Unlike her, he was dressed for this. Khaki shorts, a white collared short-sleeve shirt, and sandals. Not exactly professional, but hell, they were practically the only ones on the beach.
Her pencil skirt and blouse must look ridiculous. She knew the mayor wouldn’t care if she dressed more casually, but Whitney liked to look polished and put together.
She swayed slightly off-balance as a dizzy spell hit, and she sipped the coffee again. She hadn’t eaten since the night before, that’s all. She was fine.
“Is that Grant?” Scott asked, nodding to the photographer standing in the waves near the shore.
“Heisthe best.” After years of working with different artists, Whitney knew their individual strengths and who to call for various projects. Grant was first on her contact speed-dial list.
“I agree. I just can’t believe you were able to get him. He doesn’t do much local work these days.”
“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” she said sarcastically. She wouldn’t tell him that Grant’s father was living just down the hall from her mother at Rejuvenation, so the two of them also shared a common bond as well as a working relationship. Let Scott believe she was a superstar.
“Will he have time to take a few shots of the diving cliffs around the south end? I thought they’d make a great challenge—”
She held up a hand, showing him her list of locations on her cell phone.
