Page 21 of Blade

“Go for it,” War answers. “Tell him we’re looking forward to having him at the next barbecue.”

Fuck! Is this really happening? I’ve been dreaming of operating my own shop for years. The guys leave me alone to wander around my new space. I would have signed on the dotted line right then and there, but the guys are right in having me think this through. Am I ready for this?

Twelve

Lady Luck

Emryn

Blade called earlier to tell me he’ll be by sooner than expected with some great news. He sounded so excited on the phone that I pleaded for him to share, but he refused and told me we were going out so he could show me his surprise. He wants to celebrate by having dinner at a new restaurant that just opened.

The restaurant is fancier than the diner and Hanna’s and totally out of my budget, but the menu looks amazing and it’s on my list of places to try when I have a steadier flow of clients. Today was extraordinary. I worked on my website, uploading some of the newer photos I’ve taken of special occasions I’ve been part of, with the permission of the couples who hired me, of course.

In college, I studied business, but nothing prepares you for social media promotion like jumping in with both feet. You can learn the inner workings of the sites, but there’s a whole marketing piece that I struggle with. The stuff they call “keyword optimization” is a whole new language to me. The best part of my day was booking two more weddings for the spring. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, and it’s nice to know that the work I’ve done up till now is appreciated.

That reminds me to put a thank-you card along with a fifteen-percent-off voucher to the Robinsons, who referred my newest bookings. I’ve been so caught up in figuring out the back end of my website that I forgot to eat lunch. When I look at my watch, I see that it’s almost four o’clock, and eating now would spoil my appetite for dinner. I grab an apple from the fruit bowl to tide me over and appease the growl in my belly.

A rap on the door catches my attention, but when I open it, expecting to see Blade, I see Vi and Orion instead.

“Hi!” I greet them happily. After getting to know Orion better, I discovered that he’s a sweetie, and when he’s with his wife, I can see the love between them. The distraction from my computer is also welcome because I’m getting frustrated from not getting any closer to where I want to be.

“You’re chipper this afternoon,” Vi says. “I thought you’d be exhausted after yesterday.”

I laugh. “I have these amazing friends who came over, and they did most of the work.”

“What have you been up to all day?” Vi asks, looking over my shoulder at the table piled high with books on social media marketing.

I step aside to let them through, throwing my hand out to the table. “It’s a nightmare, I tell you. This social media stuff is impossible for me to wrap my head around.”

Orion walks over to the desk and lifts the book I have open. “You’re trying to do keyword optimization,” he says. “I can help you with that.”

Immediately, I get a pang in my gut. Everything inside me is screaming to let Orion help me out. But this one little voice tells me that I have to do this on my own. It’s illogical, and I know it, but I hear my father’s voice in my head telling me I’ll never make it on my own.

Ever since I confided my dream of owning my own photo studio to my father, he made it all about him. Dad would fund the studio, and his team was going to create the image for the business. It stopped being about me the minute I opened my mouth. When I took a stand and told him I wanted to do this on my own, Dad went on and on about how I’d never be able to get it off the ground.

After too many arguments to count, I left. I didn’t take any of the money my father offered, and I refused to let my mother “put in a good word” for me at her club meetings. All the work I contracted has been my own. It’s only been a couple of years, but I’ve managed to make enough money to buy the advanced equipment I need to make the photographs clearer and sharper, hopefully drawing in more clients and finally opening up a small studio in town.

“Emmy, hon, are you still with us?” Vi says to snap me out of my walk down memory lane.

“Oh yeah, sorry. I’m a little scattered.” I walk over to Orion. My notebook is open with pages of my handwriting scrawled all over it, trying to make heads or tails out of the book he’s holding. “I kind of need to learn how to do it myself,” I say quietly.

“I get that, but I can teach you.” Orion shrugs. “This book is complicated, and it doesn’t have to be. I can teach you enough to get by for now. And just saying, everyone has something they’re good at. This is my expertise.”

“I can’t afford?—”

“This isn’t a handout. We’ll barter. I’ll teach you this stuff, you do a photoshoot of my family,” Orion suggests. “My wife’s going to get her pictures regardless, so you might as well do me the favor of trading off.”

Vi has come to stand by her man, her arm hooked through his, looking up adoringly at her husband’s face.

“Oh, babe, that would be awesome. We’ve never had family photos done. I know exactly which wall I’ll mount them on when they’re done.” Vi exclaims. She turns to me. “You’ve gotta say yes! I can’t wait. When can we do this? I would love the autumn colors as a background. We can use the park and set up there. Gabby will have a blast picking out her new outfit.” Vi is on a roll and has already decided that this is a go.

Orion gives me a grin. “Good luck trying to talk her out of it,” he says with a chuckle.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” I ask him earnestly.

“I can do this in my sleep. And I can show you how,” he says decisively.

Orion promises to come back tomorrow and is going to go through the basics. Vi is busy on her phone exploring clothing options for the shoot, after deciding that next Sunday works best. “Babe, would you consider a red shirt?” she coos when she thinks Orion’s distracted.

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