Page 44 of Our Big White Lie
“I didn’t either. But I’m glad we did it.” I turned to her. “Thanks for playing along.”
“Of course,” she whispered. “We’re doing this for her. Whatever she wants, I’m game.”
My heart fluttered. “Thank you. For everything, but even the small stuff like this.”
Tori’s smile made me warmer than it had any right to. The temptation to step in and steal a quick kiss—all I dared out in public—was stronger than it should’ve been.
I held back, though. This wasn’t the time or place, and it wasn’t who Tori and I were.
No matter how perfectly natural it felt to think it was.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Tori
On Tuesday, Ava and I met our photographer, Mariah, at a local park for our engagement photos. She’d wanted to catch the golden hour for the best lighting, and a number of shoots in her portfolio were at this park. Perfect.
We’d opted for one outfit change. We’d start out wearing what we’d arrived in—jeans and blouses—then switch to sundresses. Fortunately, despite this still being early spring, the afternoon was warm enough that the dresses wouldn’t be too cold.
Mariah was already here when we pulled in, getting her gear ready in the parking lot. She had an assistant with her who was carrying some reflectors and other equipment I didn’t recognize, and they both smiled as we approached.
Mariah was a lovely white woman who was probably in her forties or fifties. She had gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, and though she was warm and friendly, she had a very no-nonsense air about her. I’d liked that during our face-to-face consult, as had Ava. Her portfolio had sold her, of course. Her style was soft, dreamy lighting with intense colors and poses that were romantic, silly, sexy—a little bit of everything, really. Exactlywhat we were looking for, especially since we hadn’t really been sure what our style was.
At our previous meeting, she’d said,“Some couples are very low-key and mellow together. Others are silly and chaotic. I take your natural energy and work with that.”
That had left me at a bit of a loss. I knew what kind of vibe Ava and I had as friends, but as a couple? I mean, weweren’ta couple. So how the hell would I know what kind we hypothetically were?
On the way home, Ava had said,“Well, think of Derrick and Marco. They were friends before they got together, and they didn’t change that much once they started dating. So maybe our friend vibeisour couple vibe.”
Okay, yeah, I could work with that. Friend vibe it was.
Mariah shook hands with both of us. “It’s great to see you two again. Are you excited?”
“Definitely,” I said despite the confusing rock in the pit of my stomach.
Ava was grinning. “This is going to be so fun!”
Mariah smiled. “Engagement shoots usually are. So much less pressure than wedding portraits, and you can really see how much a couple adores each other.”
It took work to maintain my own smile. And to stop myself from asking if it would be obvious if a couple was faking it.
Or if one of them was dying inside because this didn’t feel as fake as it should have.
“How affectionate are you two comfortable being in public?” Mariah gestured around us. “I always like to check in with my same-sex couples before we start. Obviously we’re going to keep it PG, but are you okay with kissing? Cuddling?”
I gulped. “Oh. Um.” I glanced at Ava, then shrugged. “We’re fine with it.” I didn’t come out and say we’d practiced kissing forthis; that would sound just a tad weird and might give away our whole plan.
“Yeah, it’s fine with me,” Ava said. “I mean, we’re not going to be making out or doing anything inappropriate, so…”
The flutter in my stomach made absolutely no sense. I’d never been a fan of PDAs beyond some kissing and hand-holding, but the thought of doing something inappropriate with Ava—here, at home, anywhere—didn’t make me uncomfortable or embarrassed.
Instead, my mind went to another page of Mariah’s portfolio. Could we skip the engagement photos and go with a boudoir shoot instead? Because oh my God, I would be so down with?—
Victoria. Get a grip. Holy crap.
I shook myself and fought the urge to nervously clear my throat. Hopefully I wasn’t blushing or something; the last thing I needed was Ava or Mariah seeing right through to my wildly impure thoughts.
“All right,” Mariah said, pulling her camera strap over her head. “Let’s get started.”
