Page 89 of Obsessed

“Right?” Marci turned, putting her back to Isaiah’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. “He tells me that and then he covers my entire wedding.”

Several people, including Rain, yelled “What?” and Mason used the distraction to grab a few more sneaky photos of Rain, keeping their tradition going.

“True story.” Isaiah held his hands up, his broad shoulders stretching the suit jacket. “I’m still in shock.”

“Wait, I’m wheezing.” Ollie let out a surprised laugh. “He reallyisa good guy at heart.”

In his peripheral vision, Mason noticed Owen nodding in agreement. Had John helped him and Liam too?

Stepping forward with a serene smile on his face, Tristan easily grabbed the room’s attention.

“Sorry to interrupt but guests are starting to arrive.”

“I should be upstairs already!” Marci exclaimed. With the help of her maid of honor, she gathered her dress and led everyone up to the bridal suite, blurring the line between bride and maître d’. Mason and Rain followed at the back, both of them taking photos, and even though Rain had assisted more than a dozen times now, Mason still marveled at how well they worked together. Being able to speak to each other without words came in tremendously handy, and teaching Rain about photography on the go had reignited his interest. It was good for him to review the basics and Rain was soaking it all up like a sponge, taking thoughtful, well-balanced pictures that held a lot of potential.

It was odd, nurturing Rain in his photography journey, and it reminded Mason of how Gran had pushed him. It was also odd having pride for someone else, but every time he thought about how hard Rain worked on himself and how far he’d come, Mason felt light, buoyant.

But Rain wasn’t the only one making strides because Mason had been asked to do another show this summer, one that Dolores was heading up, and he still hadn’t come down from that high. When he’d first gotten the call, he’d curled up on the studio floor in disbelief and when Rain had found him, he’d thought that something was wrong, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Things were finally, unbelievably, right.

“Did you get establishing shots of the glass room?” Rain asked, going over the checklist on his phone as Mason grunted affirmatively. “Good, I can go downstairs and take pics of the guests.”

“Stay here. You’re responsible for Marci from the suite to the ceremony.” Mason lifted Rain’s camera, nodding in approval at the settings.

“You trust me with that?” Rain tilted his head, his eyes wide and sparkling. While he still served at The Pointe, he’d been slowly shifting to part time. Far too busy assisting Mason with his plentiful bookings and preparing for his drone license, he planned to leave the catering hall by autumn.

“Yes.” Mason gave him a good frown. “Get the back of her dress as she comes down the aisle.”

“Okay,” Rain straightened up, letting out an excited breath. “Thank you, Mason.”

“Don’t thank me. You’re a photographer, this is what you’re supposed to do.” Mason’s pride for him surged. “I have to go downstairs. The ceremony is going to start soon.”

Going up on his toes, Rain gave Mason a quick kiss that he tried to savor, letting Rain’s lavender ocean scent wash over him until he had to pull away. Walking down the hallway, Mason stopped at the door to the main staircase and turned back, but Rain was looking away, overtly fixing his hair in the shiny marble wall.

With a grin, Mason raised his camera, zooming in and capturing Rain’s reflection as he stared right into the lens, making a small heart with his hands.

While weddings were a lot of hurry-up-and-wait, Marci and Isaiah’s day seemed to flow easily, and before Mason knew it, he was standing in the glass room, thumb on the shutter as the music started and the doors at the back opened, revealing the first bridesmaid.

Now that Mason had been working on himself, attempting to heal, he found that he wasn’t as overstimulated as he used to be when he worked weddings. Maybe it was because he’d found the perfect assistant, maybe he was actually improving, or maybe it was both, but these events no longer felt like an assault, allowing him to unfurl his muse-fueled inspiration as Marci came down the aisle. Rain stayed several feet behind her, out of frame while he captured the back of her gown, and the excitement in his eyes had Mason grinning.

As Marci approached with her parents on either side, Mason darted over, grabbing the perfect angle as they stopped to place a rose on a chair dedicated to her brother, who’d passed when she was young. Sometimes Mason’s taciturn nature came in handy because while everyone else, including Rain, blinked away tears, he was able to catch the bare emotion on Marci’s face.

After Marci’s parents hugged Isaiah and the couple settled at the front, Mason couldn’t help himself, he snatched a quick photo of Rain with camera in hand, looking sultry and stunning and every inch a dark elfin prince. He now understood why Liam had been so distracted by Owen because as the ceremony went on, Mason had to concentrate more than ever, especially during the vows when Rain met his gaze from across the room and Mason saw his entire future in those clear, gray eyes.

Are you hearing wedding bells, Cricket?

RAIN

“How are you doing?” Soda in hand, Rain caught up to Tristan during the second course.

“Good, good.” He seemed a bit flustered, which made sense since he was still new to all of this. Marci had taken him under her wing over the last month, putting him through maître d’ boot camp, but she’d told Rain that Tristan didn’t require much training because he was a natural. Of course, the staff had been drooling over him nonstop but Rain and Marci had shut them down, giving Tristan some breathing room.

“Do you need help with anything? I’m kind of on a break.” Rain’s eyes tracked Mason as he weaved through the guest tables behind the newlyweds, taking photos while they greeted everyone.

“No thanks, kid…” Distracted, Tristan drifted off, and Rain followed his gaze to Jax, who was tucked in the corner talking to one of the new servers. Unlike the rest of the kitchen, Jax wore a black jacket and pants, which suited his post-apocalyptic vibe, and while he had a resting angry face and was a bit standoffish, he consistently worked his ass off.

Unfortunately, Jax had attracted almost as much attention as Tristan, especially with the doe-eyed server who’d backed him into that corner. It was like a car crash; the poor guy asked Jax a question and Jax leaned in, eyes flashing as he gritted out several words through his teeth.

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