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“I don’t think we should attempt a hat a second time,” Keaton said.
Molly looked at him as if to say,Wise move, buddy.
“How about I blow some bubbles and you take the photos?” August suggested.
“Good idea.”
August found one of the little automatic bubble guns and filled the water chamber with the bubble-making liquid. “Ready, Molly? Here come the bubbles!”
She fired the gun and bubbles streamed into the air. Keaton snapped some photos and asked August to try shooting the bubbles this way and that. They even did one of those long exposure photos while August shot the bubble stream in all different directions, with Molly sitting stock-still in the center. It turned out so cool...except for Molly’s utterly unimpressed expression.
“Well, if the last one wasMolly hates the beachthen this one can beMolly hates bath time.” Keaton laughed heartily. His eyes twinkled with delight and his face was relaxed, showing off his handsome features to their full potential.
It was like the moment when sunshine broke through storm clouds, and good lord it was beautiful. Keaton could be so intense sometimes. But she loved this side of him—it reminded her of how he used to be. Playful, fun, lighthearted. Even in the tough times when his mom was struggling and he hated his stepdad, he still smiled readily. Cheekily. He managed to balance the intense and easygoing sides of himself better than he did now.
In some ways, he and Molly werea lotalike. But she figured saying that out loud would probably piss either one of them off, if not both.
“What are we going to do for the rest of these photos?” Keaton scrubbed a hand over his face. “She won’t do anything except look grumpy.”
August tapped a fingertip to her chin. The second lot of five minutes was almost up and they didn’t exactly have a lot to work with. Nothing seemed to budge Molly’s disgruntled expression.
“Well, maybe we lean into it?” August shrugged. “If she’s going to be miserable, then we can make it funny? The comedy angle seemed to work for you in the first round, so maybe it will work again.”
“You’re right.” He snapped his fingers together. “Wasn’t there that grumpy cat that everyone liked?”
“The one literally called Grumpy Cat.”
“Oh, that was actually his name? I didn’t know that.” He seemed completely serious.
“Don’t you knowanythingabout the internet? You’re only thirty-two, there is literally no excuse to be such a Luddite.” She laughed. “Do you even know what a meme is?”
“Of course I know what a meme is.” He waved her off. “I’m not living under a rock.”
“I’m not sure I believe that, but Idolike the idea. A collection of pictures of all the things that Molly hates.” She giggled. “It’s fun.”
“Maybe I could even be in the last photo with her. Because I’m the number one thing she hates.” He grinned, and Molly made a noise of agreement down at his feet.
That’s the first accurate thing you’ve ever said, human.
“I think it might work out great.” Hope filled her heart. Maybe theywouldwin this prize for Leah! “Great work, team.”
She held out her hand to Molly and the dog reluctantly lifted her paw up halfway. August met her there, deciding an attempt to follow the instruction was better than nothing. They might not be the perfect team, but they were doing the best they could with what they had.
Fifteen minutes later they had an entire series of Molly hating things. Aside from the beach and the bubble bath, she also hated birthday parties, pumpkin patches and romantic candlelit dinners. Keaton had jumped into one photo, holding out a rose to Molly, who looked at him as though he were some disgusting bug who’d dared invade her space. They decided not to use that shot for the final submission, because the aesthetic looked better with only pictures of Molly, but August texted the photo to Leah, who responded with a string of laughing, crying emojis.
And it worked! Molly scored the top spot for that round of the competition, and he’d slung an arm around August’s shoulders, the two of them reveling in the feeling of winning as a team. Even better, Leah would get to have a one-on-one session with Isla to help improve her social media game. She’d squealed with excitement when Keaton rang her to share the good news.
Now they were back in the cabin to get ready for dinner.
“Uh, you go first,” August said, motioning to the bathroom.
Now that the euphoria of winning the photo contest had died down, some of the awkwardness was creeping back in. It was hard to look at his face and not remember the scratch of his stubble over her skin. To not remember the heat of his hands on her body and the firm instances of his lips against hers.
“You sure?” he asked. “I don’t need long.”
“Not going to make an effort, huh?” she teased.
He laughed. “Doesn’t take me long to look good, is all.”
