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Hannah smiled through pursed lips. “If he gets a Saturday night off and Ava’s not home, I would imagine that he’d rather catch up with his friends than be manipulated into a date with me.”
“I don’t think so. And even if he wanted to, his friends are all headed down to the city for the evening. So, he’ll be all alone with nothing but time on his hands.”
Hannah shook her head. “Don’t you go pushing him. He’s said that he’ll call me when he figures out his schedule with Ava.”
“Okay. But he’s on his way back now and before you leave here today, I think you should ask him if he wants to be part of the calendar.” Molly grinned. “It’s only right to give the poor guy a bit of notice.”
After they’d eaten, Hannah checked her watch. “I should get going. I’m not looking forward to spending my afternoon in the office, doing headshots of the staff but I don’t want to be late. Nothing puts Jacob in a bad mood like when I’m late.”
Molly laughed. “Say hi to him for me. You should get him to come out with everyone over the holidays.”
“I’ll try. I’ve told him that he has to at least show his face at the tree lighting.”
Molly laughed again. “I’m sure he’s thrilled about that.”
Hannah shrugged. “He’ll get over it.” She looked around, wondering if she should just be brave and ask Grady about the calendar shoot before she left.
Molly grinned at her. “Grady’s coming toward us now. He’s behind you. I’m going to say goodbye and leave you to it. But I really think you should ask him to do the calendar.” She stepped in and gave Hannah a quick hug. “See you soon.”
She was gone before Hannah had the chance to say anything, and then Grady was beside her.
“Are you all done?”
“Yes. I need to get back to work.”
“Molly said you’re a photographer.”
She nodded.
“Then if nothing else, can I ask you to have a chat with Ava at some point? She loves taking photos. She’ll probably have a thousand questions for you if you wouldn’t mind.”
“I’d love that. I’d be happy to help her out.”
“Thanks. And if you wouldn’t mind helping me out, I could do with asking you a thousand questions about cameras. She has a little point and shoot thing. I want to get her a good one for Christmas, but I don’t know much about them. I figure a DSLR, but I don’t know what kind.”
Hannah smiled, relieved that they were now in comfortable territory. “Of course. Let me have a chat with her first. That way I can find out what kind of photography she’s into. That’ll dictate what would be the best kind of camera for her.”
“Awesome. Thanks.” He held her gaze for a moment.
What the hell? She needed someone to be the twelfth guy in the calendar and there was no one she’d rather have. Molly was right. It was better to give him some notice if he was going to do it. And he had just given her the perfect excuse. She could invite Ava to come and watch the shoot. She sucked in a deep breath.
“Are you free on Saturday aft –”
“Do you have any plans on Saturday ni –”
They spoke at the same time, and both stopped and laughed. Grady’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “Okay, so it sounds like we’re on the same page. I was going to ask if you’re free on Saturday night.”
She smiled back. “I am, and I was going to ask you if you’re free on Saturday afternoon. I don’t know if Molly told you about the calendar I’m shooting.”
He shook his head.
“It’s a charity thing for the animal shelter. We’re going to have a different puppy for each month.” She smiled. “And each puppy gets to pose with a guy. I wondered if you’d want to be one of the guys. Ava could come, too.” She couldn’t help chuckling. “But I should warn you, we’re pushing the calendar as hot, shirtless guys with cute puppies – so if that’s a problem ...”
He laughed with her. “How could I have a problem with that? I get to play with a puppy. And I think – I hope – that you asking me, means that you just called me hot?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Hmm. I suppose so.” She couldn’t hide her smile. This felt good. It felt like it had at the airport – before it’d all gone wrong. “So, what do you say? Do you want to be the twelfth man?”
He gave her a mock hurt look. “Are you just asking me because you can’t fill the last place?”
