Page 15 of Definitely (Maybe) Dating
So caught up in the romance of it all, Piper nearly missed the moment entirely.
Romance?
Where had that come from? She was there to watch from the sidelines, not get emotional about something that didn’t concern her. She was there as a professional, and it was time to go back to professional.
Cradling the camera, she looked through the lens and moved the center of focus to get the desired composition. A tingle radiated in her belly, her gut telling her she had the shot, then she pressed the button. The shutter snapped and when it opened, Josh was looking directly at her.
Unlike before, he didn’t send her a flirty wink, and she didn’t move. It was as if they were frozen and the moment had spun a spell around them, making it impossible to look away.
“You okay?” Darcy asked.
“What? Oh. I’m good.” Piper lowered the camera and composed herself. “I was waiting for the right moment to, you know, snap.”
“Did you feel thesnap?” Darcy looked amused as if she knew exactly what had Piper rambling.
“For the picture?” Piper pulled up the photo on her screen. “You tell me what you think.”
“It’s beautiful.” Darcy met Piper’s gaze and held. “You’re really talented. Your pictures tell a surprising story.”
She knew Darcy was talking about Josh and the way he was looking into the camera as if he were looking right at Piper—which he had been. But what had her heart pumping hard washowhe was looking at her.
Like he wanted to eat her up whole.
Oh boy.“That’s my job. To capture everything.”
Before Darcy could comment further, Piper lifted her camera and snapped a closeup of the bride-to-be. Darcy put her hand in front of her face, and the two women laughed.
“I know we talked about photographing my party, but if you’re interested, I heard from the Ladies of Portland, and they’re considering hosting their annual Bid for the Cause here. It’s a dinner and auction that raises money for local charities.”
“That’s amazing. Seriously, congratulations.”
“It’s not a sure thing yet, but Margo is on the planning committee and really pushing for Belle Mont to be the venue. If, and it’s a big if, I land the account, would you be open to shooting the event? It doesn’t pay a lot, but it would be great exposure.”
Piper gasped. “Are you kidding? Even if I gained one client, it would be more than worth it. But why me? You have a dozen photographers on speed dial.”
“Because you’re talented.”
Uncomfortable with the praise, Piper lifted her camera, pretending to scan the room for another candid. This time when she looked through the lens, the entire Easton clan was dancing to nothing but background music coming from a lone speaker hidden behind a large potted tree. Each man had taken one of the elderly aunts for a fun spin around the room. They weren’t Fred Astaire by any means, but the sentiment was touching.
Piper had taken a few photos when Darcy’s face filled the frame. Her makeup was flawless, her blonde hair pulled up into a sophisticated twist with seated tiny pearls that matched the ones that ran the height of her knee length cape-like wrap. She was the kind of classy that made elegance look easy.
“So, is that a yes?” she asked.
Piper lowered the camera once again. “It’s a hell yes.”
To Piper’s surprise, Darcy pulled her into an embrace.
Piper didn’t have many girlfriends, nor was she a warm and touchy kind of person—PDA, even between friends, was so foreign to her she always felt awkward, like the too-tall teen who’d grown four inches in one summer. So when Darcy held on, as if waiting for Piper to return some kind of girl gesture, Piper gave her boss an awkward pat on the back.
Darcy laughed. “We’ll have to work on that.”
Piper had a list of things she wanted to work on. Making friends with her new boss wasn’t on it. Mixing business and friendship had never worked out for her. She was a bona fide, tried and true, relationship-phobe.
“Thanks for the chance. You’re totally doing me a solid.” Unsure how to end the conversation—another thing she found challenging: conversations—she waved Darcy off. “Enough about that. You shouldn’t be out here talking business with me. Get back inside and have some fun with your family and friends.”
“You can have a little fun too.”
Piper glanced at the impromptu-dance floor and a hive broke out on her right hand. “Thanks, but I don’t think fun is a Margo-approved-activity for the help.”
