Page 26 of Long Shot

“You’re coming off a bad breakup, aren’t you?” Carrie nods wisely, leaning forward. “That’s why you moved here from New York.” She leans closer. “Did he cheat on you? Was he abusive?”

My eyes fly open wide. “Um . . .” Wow, they’ve given me a story to go with. I hate lying to Carrie and Hayden, because they’ve been so open and friendly with me. “Something like that.”

Their faces wear a look of sympathy. “It takes time,” Hayden says. “That’s understandable.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah. So right now I’m just trying to live in the moment.” Which is totally true.

“Well, this is a great place for that,” Carrie says. “The ocean, the beach, sunshine . . . and tequila! What more could you want?” She tosses back her hair.

“True.” I smile back. “And I do really like it here.”

“Well, good.” Hayden tilts her head. “Sometime you should come out with us. The guys are talking about taking us go-karting.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “Go-karting?”

“Yeah.” Carrie shrugs. “One of their fun ways to bust each others’ balls.”

I laugh. “I don’t know. Hanging out with my bosses might not be a good idea.”

Carrie snorts. “Come on. Conquistadors isn’t that formal of a place. It’s not like there are fraternization rules.”

I don’t see any of the other employees at Conquistadors socializing with the bosses. Well, not that I know about, anyway. “Well. Maybe. I have no idea how to drive a go-kart, though.”

“Neither do we. Of course the guys are all good at it,” Carrie says with an affectionate eye roll. “They’re so damn good at everything.”

Yeah, I can see that. They’re all very fit, very perfect male specimens.

“How’s the house reno coming?” Reese asks Carrie.

The topic changes to that, and Carrie is happy to describe some of their plans. “The house is small but it’s really cute and it’s a nice neighborhood. Close to the beach. Plus, it has the big garage that Marco uses for his welding, so we figured it made sense to stay there and renovate it.”

Hayden asks about the trip to Home Depot to pick out new bathroom fixtures and Carrie pulls out her phone to show us pictures of what she chose as well as some images she’s saved on Pinterest.

“I love your Instagram feed,” I confess to her. “You’re a great photographer.”

“Thank you!” Carrie beams. “I have another shoot coming up next week—a family portrait for Ashlie and Van Stephanos.” She names a popular Hollywood couple. “And Marco wants me to do some pictures at Conquistadors.”

“Of what?” Hayden asks, nodding at the server to refill her coffee cup.

When we’re all topped up, Carrie replies, “Some of the new things on the menu. The new salsas and guacamoles. They want to change up the website with some pictures of the food, and Marco even suggested I put some on Instagram to try to get the word out.”

My stomach tightens at the mention of the new menu items. “That’s a great idea.”

“Yes! Finally, Sid is coming around.”

I wrinkle my nose, peering down into my coffee. Sid is getting the credit for my great ideas.

I knew this would happen and I thought I could deal with, but . . . it kind of bugs me.

I’m enough of a diva that I want the credit. On the other hand, I don’t want the attention and the questions that would follow, so I keep my mouth shut. But . . . “If you need any help with the styling, let me know,” I offer, hoping this isn’t another mistake. “I had some experience with that at my old job.”

“Oh, that would be great! Food photography isn’t my specialty, even though I like doing it. I know there are some tricks to it, for professional photographs. And I want the Conquistadors website to look professional.”

“Youarea professional.” Hayden nudges her friend.

Carrie smiles. “I know about lighting and composition. But the actual food—the presentation on the plate, garnishes, that kind of thing—I could use help with that.”

“Sure.” I shrug casually.

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