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I find myself smiling as I check out some of the businesses in the area and photos people have posted of their trips there. When I come across the town’s website which boasts about the Christmas in July festival at the end of the month, I’m hooked.
It’s a place I want to visit, and my gut is telling me it’ll be the perfect place for Soren to do a shoot. It might be a little homespun for a model like Svetlana, but that’s not really my problem. It’ll be perfect for what Soren wants.
I start pulling all the information together while creating a vision board of the location with the hope that Soren will be inspired by the clear water and the pristine beaches. When I’m looking for someone who can be a guide to finding us the perfect place, I come across Owens Fishing Tours, which is run by a single man with a single boat.
It makes no sense why I think he’ll be a better choice than a larger outfit, but I’ve learned to go with my instincts in this job. They usually do me well. Hell, I’m planning this whole pitch on my gut.
I put a profile together of local businesses because Soren likes to get a feel for the community when we’re on location. The little tiki bar, The Candy Cane, looks like a lot of fun and there’s a chocolate shop, Cocoa Corner which has me drooling a little. The Manger Resort looks like the perfect place to book for this adventure. I hope they have space considering it looks like the festival is a big deal on the little island even though I’m planning for the shoot to be a few days before the festival.
When I send my presentation off to Soren, excitement fills me. I learned early on that he’d rather have it sent to him to allow him to look through everything as quickly or slowly as he wants. He then does his own research and will let me know what he decides.
I’m all for sending it to him instead of having to sit there while he contemplates all the angles and I’m left sweating it out. Yeah, this is much better for my people pleasing mentality. The stress of waiting in front of him and watching every facial tick would drive me batty.
I focus on putting a list together of everything we’ll need for the trip, no matter where we go. I even look up a few other options, but none of them call to me the same way Candy Cane Key does.
When my desk phone rings, butterflies erupt in my tummy. I know who it is before I even answer, and it’s only been 45 minutes since I sent Soren my proposal. That could be good or bad. Usually, it’s hours before he makes a decision.
I don’t even get the chance to say hello before Soren’s warm voice cuts me off, “It’s perfect. Book it.”
“You got it,” I don’t even try to keep the happiness out of my voice.
“Good job,” Soren’s praise makes me feel warm and I feel guilty for considering finding another career path.
Once he hangs up, I know I have a lot to do, but there’s one more phone call I need to make before I get down to the nitty gritty of getting the shoot together. He always wants to know when I’m going to be traveling. It probably should annoy me, but I love my protective big brother.
“Hey, Bristol,” Boone’s warm voice answers on the second ring.
“Hey. You have a minute?” I tease him a little, “I’m not interrupting an important delivery?”
I tease him because the most important deliveries my brother ever made on his route were the ones that brought him the love of his life—Melinda. I adore her and am happy to call her my sister. She’s perfect for my brother and I love the boutique she owns.
I’ve gone there several times and I always walk out with far more than I plan to. She has a great selection of options for my curvy body. I’ve found a renewed confidence in myself because of those clothes, which sounds shallow, but I don’t really care. More than that, it’s the friendship I’ve found with Melinda and a whole slew of other women I’ve met through her who have helped me to feel like me in my skin.
Her extended family, not one created by blood, is full of women of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and talents. It’s been kind of overwhelming at times, but also inspiring.
They all have love in their lives, something I try not to be jealous of even though it makes me wonder if I’ll ever find the kind of love that they have for myself. I hope so. One day.
I’m still young. I have time.
I think.
I hope.
“I always have a minute for my favorite sister,” Boone’s voice is light.
It makes me smile because it wasn’t that way before he met Melinda. He was in a rut in his life and didn’t know how to get out of it. Then his route was changed, and he started covering Melinda’s boutique where he found everything that he didn’t know he was looking for.
I guess fate is funny like that.
“I’m your only sister,” I grouse, and he barks out a laugh on the other end of the call. I shake my head even though he can’t see me and bite my lip. I already know how he’s going to react. “I’m going to be going on a trip for a location shoot in the next few weeks.”
“Where? When are you leaving? How long will you be gone?” He pauses and I wait because I know he’s not done. There’s no way he only has three questions. “It’s not out of the country, is it? Are there any travel restrictions? Please tell me you checked.”
“That was one time,” I mutter, “and we were perfectly fine.”
“Rebels,” he growls. “It wasn’t some travel advisory for no reason, it was about fucking rebels in a country with political upheaval.”
I sigh. He’s not wrong and I should have looked at the travel warnings first, but that time Soren told me where he wanted to go, and it was my job to make it happen. It ended up being fine, but I know it could have gone down differently.
