Page 45 of A Heart Worth Finding
“Do you work for the resort?” Jessica asked the man.
“Yes!” he said, holding out a little business card. “I can take pictures of you, then you can go to this website”—he pointed to a web address in small print on the bottom of the card—“and pay for the prints you want! But I also take marketing photos for the resort, and you are such a beautiful couple. Your love is obvious, and I’d love to use these photos for some promo materials.”
Jack turned to Jessica, who studied the card intently. “What do you think, sunshine?”
Jessica looked up at him then, her eyes glowing in the afternoon sun.
“Let’s do it.”
THEN: April 7, 2020
“Let’s do it.”
Jessica surprised herself when the words flew from her mouth, and she clearly surprised Jack, too, based on the way his eyes widened.
“Are you sure?”
“About basically modeling for this guy? Absolutely not. But about having pictures of us to remember our time in paradise together? Definitely.”
Jack grinned, and she resisted the urge to rise onto her tiptoes and kiss him again. Truthfully, she was addicted to his kisses, got drunk on them. The rest of the world dropped away wheneverhe was near, and she couldn’t believe she’d been lucky enough to find him. To call him hers, even for this brief moment in time.
In her periphery, she saw the man hold his camera up, and the click of the shutter filled the space between them.
“It’s unbelievable how attractive a couple you two make,” the man said.
“You are pretty hot,” Jack whispered with a sly grin, resting his forehead against hers.
“You are, too.”
“Is this okay?” Jack raised his voice to ask the photographer, though he didn’t bother to turn in his direction.
“This isperfect,” the man responded quickly. “The waves, the sun, the sand, you two.Perfect.”
Jessica giggled at that.
It was late afternoon now, though still about two hours off from sunset. As the sun sank toward the horizon, the sky shifted from a vibrant, clear blue to something a little softer, dustier, paler. According to the photographer, it made forthe best lighting.
“Okay,” the man said. “I want you two right here.” He waded into the water and positioned himself so he knelt in the foamy surf. “And I want you to kneel like this, only facing each other.”
Once they were in position, Jessica sat back on her heels, and Jack reached for her arm, the one farthest from the camera, lifting it and walking his fingers up her wrist and palm until he threaded their hands together. The camera clicked away, and the photographer actuallysquealed.
“Okay, now lean in and kiss!”
Jessica rose onto her knees awkwardly, clasping Jack’s forearms for support—not that she minded having that strength and soft golden hair under her fingertips—and the camera shutter continued. Jack shuffled forward and bent his head, lightly pressing his mouth to hers.
And on and on it went. For the next twenty minutes, the man moved them across the surf and sand, asking them to pose variously—her on his shoulders where he was waist deep in the water, them laying on the beach, Jessica on her back with Jack propped up over her, the muscles of his arms and abs clenching deliciously as he braced himself.
“Kiss, kiss!” the photographer shouted endlessly, and as much as she loved having Jack’s tongue in her mouth, the shine had worn off several hundred pictures previously.
Or maybe her lips were just chapped.
Either way, she kissed Jack again in thank you when he pulled away from her where they were on the sand and said, “I’m sorry, man, but we’ve got a date tonight, and my girl has to go get ready.”
Right!Jessica mentally smacked herself.Our date!
Despite looking a little crestfallen, the man said, “Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you both so much for helping me out.” He stepped forward and shook both of their hands, placing a kiss to the back of Jessica’s. Then he held up his camera. “These will be up on my website in a few days, when I’ve had the chance to choose and edit the best ones!”
As they walked back up the beach toward the resort, Jack started laughing.
