Page 25 of Another June with You

“Disliked him, indeed.” Shannon giggled.

“Well, I’m not sad he left the space empty for us. His loss is our gain.” Jamie held her hand up in the air, and they high fived.

Talking about it made Shannon giddy. She couldn’t wait to make the space their own and start bringing people in for meetings and photo sessions. This was going to open up her business to lots of new clientele, and she couldn’t wait to meet them all.

“Who was at the club with you?” Shannon still felt bad for pulling her away.

“A few friends from college.”

“Oh, I was afraid maybe I dragged you away from a date.” Shannon wasn’t sure how Jamie found the time to date with her busy photography schedule, but she was often out with this guy or that.

“I’m saving myself for your brother,” she replied with a wink.

It was no surprise that Jamie liked Duncan. The two of them had always been flirtatious, but that’s all it had ever been. Duncan dated occasionally. No one very serious, though. With all his traveling, he seemed to befriend women wherever he went, but he apparently wasn’t ready to settle down yet.

“Is he home from Colorado yet?” She seemed a little more interested than usual.

Shannon shook her head. “He gets in late tomorrow night.”

“This is one of the longest stretches he’s been gone.”

“I think he was away for three months once. Why? Do you miss him?” Teasing her about her crush on Duncan was the norm.

“I’m waiting here with open arms.” She batted her eyelashes and smiled, but Shannon thought she saw a hint of sadness there as well.

“Not sure my brother knows that. If he did, he would probably rush back right away.”

Jamie looked at her hopefully. “Ya think?”

Shannon’s eyebrow raised. “I thought we were discussing me and my Micah problem.”

“Right. Micah. Didn’t we decide already?”

“You did.”

“No, seriously, Shannon, don’t listen to me. If you think it would be a mistake to tell him, don’t do it.”

Shannon felt even more confused than she had before.

“Do you want me to come along to the rest of the wedding events and help? I have an engagement session tomorrow night and a wedding on Saturday, but I could be there for the shower and the rehearsal.”

“You would do that?”

“Of course.”

Working with friends wasn’t always the best idea, but the two of them made a perfect team and knew each other so well by now that Jamie didn’t need much instruction. She knew what to do and where to be and who she should be photographing without being told. That’s why it made so much sense for them to share a studio space together. Plenty of growth and amazing collaborations were in their future, and Shannon couldn’t wait.

“I really could use someone there for moral support.”

“Consider it done.”

“Like I said … my hero.”

Chapter 8

An afternoon bridal shower the day before the rehearsal was an uncommon occurrence, but rather than ask guests to travel to Michigan twice, they opted for this week when everyone would already be in town for the wedding. Keely’s shower was exactly what Shannon expected it to be—quaint, elegant, and inviting. Everything was bright and crisp—white linen tablecloths and napkins, white chairs, white balloons with white ribbons—which made the vibrant pink, purple, and fuchsia hydrangeas and roses in the center of each table pop. The napkin rings had a floral print matching the colors in the bouquets. The invitations to the shower itself were white with the same floral print border. And when Shannon moved into the kitchen to photograph the buffet, she noticed the plastic plates also had a floral border in the same colors. Their attention to detail was impeccable.

“These should’ve been china.” Chase’s mother, Georgia, pointed to the plates, as if she was apologizing.

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