Page 48 of Another June with You

Shannon turned to face a lovely, petite girl with strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“Hi, I’m Autumn, Micah’s friend.”

“Oh, Micah’s girlfriend, uh … right. It’s good … nice to meet you,” she stammered.

Autumn smiled, which made her even prettier than before. “You’re Shannon.”

“How did you know?” she asked.

“Micah’s told me all about you.”

“Oh, okay.” Shannon didn’t know what to say, and she wondered exactly how much he had told her. Had he told her they’d dated? How she’d broken his heart? Maybe he just told her they were friends.

“Old friends from high school, right?” Autumn asked.

Shannon nodded. “Right. Friends.”

“Right.” Autumn gave a little grin, which made Shannon think maybe she knew more than she was letting on.

“I see you two have met.” Micah strolled up and stood next to Autumn.

“Just,” Autumn replied. “I was about to ask Shannon about her cameras.” She looked at the camera in Shannon’s hand. “I’m in the market for a new one, and I want to invest in a digital SLR, because I love photography, but I have no idea where to start. I was hoping maybe you could point me in the right direction.”

“Oh, sure. Maybe we can talk about it after dinner.” She held her camera up as she saw Keely and Chase heading her way.

“Of course, don’t let me keep you from your job. Photography would be the best job ever. You’re sort of my hero.”

Autumn was sweet. Shannon liked her already. She wished she didn’t. “That’s nice of you to say. It’s a great job, but a ton of work.”

“Maybe you’d let me pick your brain about it later too.” She looked giddy.

Her eyes met Micah’s for a fraction of a second, then returned to Autumn’s. “Sure.” Shannon motioned toward the happy couple. “Excuse me.”

She walked away quickly, but peeked back over her shoulder at them. They were talking with another couple, standing about a foot apart. They weren’t even holding hands. For a couple who had been together for a while, Shannon found that interesting. When she and Micah had been together, they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. Butterflies darted about in her stomach at the thought. Even more so when Micah glanced back at her.

Shannon shook her head and walked on. It didn’t matter how close they were standing to each other or whether or not they were touching. She was latching on to this tiny detail for no reason. Her heart and mind were a mess ever since he’d walked back into her life. She really had to get over it. He was with Autumn, someone who could probably give him the family she couldn’t. Things were as they should be.

Chapter 16

The little white place card on the rehearsal dinner table at Ruth’s Chris Steak House bore Micah’s name, but it wasn’t Autumn’s name on the card next to his. Shannon looked up from the seat beside him. Keely’s matchmaking ways were obvious in the way she kept pushing the two of them together. He would have to remember to thank her later.

“Hey,” he said softly as he took his seat.

“Hi,” Shannon replied with camera in hand, shooting pictures of the guests.

Micah watched her press the shutter release then lift her head to scan the room, shifting her lens to the next group of people she was set to capture. He wondered if she ever took a break, because she’d had that camera in front of her pretty face the entire night.

She seemed more relaxed than she had when she’d arrived at the church. Her eyes had been rimmed in red, as if she’d been crying, and it ate away at him, the wondering why. Was she upset about their talk last night? Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten so close, but he was still so drawn to her. He hadn’t been able to help himself.

Shannon glanced over at him then across the table at Autumn before she stood and went to work taking pictures again. It felt strange and awkward having the two of them meet. Not that Autumn didn’t know everything there was to know about his relationship with Shannon—after he found out she was the wedding photographer, he’d filled Autumn in on their whole story—but Shannon didn’t know the truth about Autumn, and that felt like a lie by omission.

His thoughts remained consumed by Shannon, so much that he jumped when Autumn reached across the table and touched his arm.

“Gee, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you all right?”

“Fine.”

She scrunched her lips to the side in disapproval. “You forget that I know you, Micah Shaw. Ten years of friendship have taught me what that face means.”

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