by Chelsea Hale
“I get the feeling you’re making fun of me,” he said, planting her skis in the ground and positioning her hand exactly where to hold the skis. Even through her gloves warmth radiated from her hand. He pulled back.
“You just figured that out?” Her eyes sparkled with the reflection of the sun on the snow.
Peter put his hands on the sides of her cheeks, and she immediately stilled. He positioned her head with the proper tilt. “Like this. Don’t move a muscle, I’m just going to change me.” Her emerald eyes had dark rings around the outside, with small specks of yellow closer to her iris. They were mesmerizing. He took the camera off the tripod and moved in for a close-up, thankful he could add some distance and hide behind his camera.
She smiled ever so slightly.
He captured her … but with that smile, she might be capturing him. His hand hovered over the shutter button.
She cleared her throat. “Um, Peter?”
He looked above the viewfinder. “Yeah?”
“Did you take the picture? I’m trying really hard not to move my head from this angle, but my nose is itchy.”
Click. Click. Click.
“I think I got it. Let’s try a different spot.” He pulled the tripod together and put it on the duffel bag to carry it.
“Do you want a few action shots or pictures outside the lodge?” she asked him.
He shook his head to clear it. He wasn’t even thinking about the shots.
Coco stopped his train of thoughts when she put a hand on his arm. “You okay?”
He looked down at her hand, then back to her face. “Uh. Yeah. I’m good. I brought the tripod so I could be in some of the pictures. I should probably match the same background as before.”
She turned around. “Then it looks to me like we’re going the wrong direction. Let’s go take the pictures.”
She took the camera from around his neck and snapped a few pictures of him. “I’ll get the same shots you took of me.” She zoomed in and out.
“Okay, now Peter, this is a bunny hill.” She made bunny ears with two fingers on her left hand. “Follow the bunny. Look at the bunny.” She put the ears behind her head and took a picture.
He laughed. “Oh, you’re a natural with the camera.”
She looked down at the LCD screen and frowned.
“What’s wrong? Is the lighting bad?”
“No. The lighting is fine. It’s your head tilt.” She came over to him, stood on tip toes, and reached up to his face, mimicking what he had done to her. Her hands were slightly chilly on his very warm cheeks. “Okay. I really want it to look like this.” She pulled his head in an exaggerated position. She stepped back and took another picture.
He laughed.
In the middle of shooting, she stopped again, moving his face a second time. “Hmm,” she said as she studied him. “I’m not exactly sure what angle I want your face at, but rest assured, I want you to hold it wherever I leave it.” Then she got all sassy and started moving his head around before settling on a position.
“It’s the same place I had it before.”
“Well, what do you know? You’re just perfect then.” She laughed and clicked a few pictures.
She stared at the LCD screen for longer than she had with the other shots.
“Is something wrong?” He came over to her.
She looked up. “No. It’s a good shot. You’re very photogenic.”
They spent the next two hours taking pictures and laughing as they talked. His favorite part was trying to set up the couple shots with the two of them. It wasn’t anywhere near efficient to go back and forth with the remote, and then check the pictures for lighting, but they talked through the whole thing.
Coco went to the bag and grabbed out a pair of matching red hats. She changed her gloves and wore the dark gray coat to match his. “I think we need a nice cozy Christmas picture.”
“Set it up, genius,” he said playfully.
He waited to see what she would come up with. So far, he was impressed with her creative ability to see shots and make suggestions like, “This would make a great cover picture,” or, “This would be great next to an article on the ‘Top 10 Must Haves of the Season’ list.” She was full of ideas, and his head spun.
She came closer to him, putting an arm around his waist. She positioned his arm around her shoulder. “Now, let’s not give a deer in the headlights look this time, okay?”
He smiled, but it felt forced. She clicked the remote discreetly from her gloved hand. After two clicks, she ran to check the back of the camera. She frowned.
“Okay. That’s not what I was going for. Let’s try again. Don’t look completely disgusted this time.”
“Disgusted?”
“Pretend to be happy. You’re trying to sell winter gear. Having a happy couple enjoying their time on the slopes will go a long way for selling your friend’s line.”
He lost track of her suggestion when she referred to them as a happy couple. The idea sent his mind spinning. “Maybe we should actually go down the slopes,” he said as she resumed her previous position.
She smiled slightly and clicked the picture. “You’re not enjoying this? I think it’s fun.” She clicked the remote again.
He cleared his throat. “It has been fun.” Maybe too much fun.
“Jeffrey isn’t one for being in pictures. Especially not long photo shoots. Though he doesn’t complain too much when I want to capture the scenery.” She rushed her words.
“You never take pictures together?” He couldn’t imagine that.
“Oh, we do. Mostly selfies, though. He doesn’t like the hassle of a manual camera, especially not when we have to hand it to someone else to get a picture of us.”
Peter nodded, though he still didn’t understand.
“For the next shot, try laughing with me,” she said.
He gave her a laugh, and she laughed with him.
She ran immediately to the back of the camera and smiled with triumph. “That should be a cover shot.”
“Up for a few runs?” He packed up the reflectors, and she collapsed the tripod.
“If we can get me a different size boot.”
“Let’s get them at the pro-shop.”
“I can wear the rest of this gear?”
“Pick your favorites. They’re all samples to try out.”
“I’ll let you know my review of them.”
They were almost to the pro-shop when Coco slipped on the snow. “Good news,” she said, the gray gear she wore sprinkled with heavy snow, clumps clinging to the dark strands of her short hair.
Peter pulled her up, helping her regain her balance. “What’s that?”
“These pants are waterproof!”
He chuckled. She didn’t release his hand as they continued walking. Probably she was steadying herself down the slight slope, but he found himself enjoying the situation a little too much and wishing that there weren’t gloves between their fingers.
“Hey guys!” Tyler’s voice called to them.
Peter immediately dropped Coco’s hand, but regretted it as soon as he had. “Hey,” he said. “We were planning on joining you on the slopes, after we get Coco the right boot size.”
“It’s getting windy at the top. We thought we’d take a break for a while and do some night skiing after dinner if the storm blows over.”
“Dinner sounds good,” Coco chimed in.
“Rain check on skiing?” Peter asked.
“Or snow check. However it makes sense,” Coco said.
“Hi, my night owl friend.” Liz gave Coco a hug.
“Sorry I missed your meeting with the event planner this morning. I wanted to help you.”
Liz waved Coco’s comment away. “It was no big deal. I tried waking you up so many times, but you were fast asleep. I didn’t want to keep bugging you. Today’s meeting was easy, but there’s another one tomorrow afternoon, if you want to come to that.”
“And Peter and I will go skiin
g.” Tyler put his arm around Liz’s shoulders.
“I’m up for it. I’ll postpone my nap.” Coco laughed.
“Colette Beaumont?” one of the front desk employees asked when they walked past.
Coco turned. “That’s me.”
“One moment,” he said, disappearing into a room behind the desk. He came out carrying a large vase of three dozen yellow roses. “These are for you.”
Coco’s eyes widened. “Thank you,” she said, taking the silver envelope with her name on it from the center of the flowers, and skimming the contents.
“Are they from Jeffrey?” Tyler asked.
“Of course they are,” Liz said. “They are, right?”
“Yes. I guess that’s why he wanted the name of the hotel. He’s always so thoughtful,” she said, smelling the flowers.
The man holding the flowers smiled. “Your admirer left a note with specific instructions to describe how you enjoyed the surprise.”
“Please let him know I love them,” Coco said.
“Shall I deliver them to your room?” he asked.
“That’s wonderful. Thank you.”
Chapter Five
Coco had set two alarms and asked for a wake-up call from the front desk. She wasn’t going to be late again.
Liz was already up and doing her hair. “You’re up early,” she teased.
“Sorry, the other night I couldn’t sleep and ended up working on your video clips until late.”
“It doesn’t bother me.” She scrunched up her red curls. “Any random pieces sticking out in the back?”
“You’re good.” Coco tucked her hair behind her ear and sprayed it in place. It would be sassy and in her face by the end of the day.
“It sounds like you and Peter had fun yesterday,” Liz said.
“Yeah. We had fun. We didn’t do anything.” She looked at Liz with wide eyes. “We just took pictures, I mean. We didn’t go skiing.”
“I know it was a lot to ask to have you spend the last five days of your winter break between semesters filming for us. It was the best time to do it, and I’m so glad that it’s working out better than the first day. You and Peter seem on better terms.”
Coco’s heart picked up speed. She didn’t want Liz to be concerned that somehow her wedding memories would be affected by their bumpy start. “Things are good between us now. Don’t worry; you’ll have the best engagement and wedding photo shoots and videos.”
The product photo shoot had helped them both loosen up. Coco respected Peter’s photography, and his work, and he had complimented her several times on her creative angles and different shots. Peter seemed to understand her on a creative, artistic level. He was great—fun to work with even—when he wasn’t in the way.
“You’re in my shot. Again,” Coco said to Peter as he maneuvered next to her.
“Oh. Your shot, huh?” He turned around to face her.
Her breath caught as they made eye contact. “Just a little.”
“My mistake. Ladies first.”
“Thanks.” She elbowed her way forward with a dramatic flair, and he laughed.
“Time to focus, or all we’ll get is Tyler and Liz making out every time you crack a joke.”
“That’s my fault?” She pushed the record button, walking in an arc closer toward the couple.
“Okay. Let’s reset over here,” Peter said to Tyler and Liz. He turned to Coco. “Will you come skiing with me this afternoon? You still need to try out the snow gear and give me your review.” His eyes sparkled.
“If there’s time, sure.” She’d enjoyed spending time with Peter. The idea caught her off guard.
“It’s a date then.”
Coco froze. “I … have a boyfriend.” Suddenly she was having a hard time thinking straight. Yes, she’d been having fun cracking jokes with Peter, but they were working together on her best friend’s wedding, so she wanted to be friendly. Maybe he’d taken it the wrong way.
“Lucky guy.”
“Thanks.”
“So, a non-date then?”
She cleared her throat. “I’d like that.”
She moved toward Liz and Tyler; holding her steady-cam steady proved to be a challenge. She used both hands, concentrating on keeping the camera level.
Behind her, Peter said, “You’re in my shot.”
She looked over her shoulder. “It’s my turn.”
“I didn’t say I minded.” He took a picture of her. “You’re also photogenic.”
“Thanks.”
They continued through the photo shoot, and Coco was much more at ease. She filmed Tyler and Liz as they strolled away from the camera and moved in the opposite direction, speeding up the effect of them walking away.
She stepped back, and her boot caught on a log. Trying to maintain her balance proved difficult as she jerked the camera toward her, but didn’t fall.
“That was a close one,” Peter said. Tyler and Liz were too far away to notice what had happened. “Are you okay?”
“I think my heel is wedged.” She handed him the heavy camera attached to her steady-cam and held onto his strong arms, trying to yank her leg free. It didn’t budge.
His cologne caught on the breeze, and she involuntarily inhaled, sighing at the musky scent.
“Here let me help.” Peter gave the equipment back and cleared a wedged stick away from her boot, then pulled on her foot. The effect pushed her forward a little more, but Peter steadied her shoulders, keeping her from falling with two very expensive cameras in her hand. “I’ve got you.”
His concerned eyes were framed by the kind of thick eyelashes girls envied. She cleared her throat. “Thanks.”
“Uh…” he said, pulling at his beanie, tugging it over a pair of what looked like bright red ears. “Let’s head in for a bit. Warm up before we head to the next photo shoot.”
After lunch, they piled into Peter’s SUV. Coco sat in the front seat so Tyler and Liz could sit next to each other in the back. The sun peeked out from the clouds, making it seem warmer than it really was. Filming outside in the winter was brutal.
They drove a few minutes away and had an amazing view of mountains, unobstructed by ski lifts and log cabins. It would be a great area to film.
As they exited the car, Peter unloaded his camera gear and Coco chatted a little with Tyler and Liz about the next shot, analyzing the changing sunlight as it pierced the area through moving clouds.
Peter came up to them. “I have a problem. I left my camera on during lunch, and my battery died. My spare is charging at the hotel.”
“I have an extra.” Coco reached into her bag, pulling out a dark gray battery.
“We’re not compatible.”
Coco coughed.
“I meant our cameras aren’t compatible.” He looked at his watch. “Round trip, I’m back in about thirty minutes.”
“Won’t the light be gone by then?” Tyler asked. “Should we just call it a day? Liz and Coco have a meeting this afternoon at 3:00. We could start skiing earlier.”
Coco surveyed their surroundings. It’s a shame to waste this perfect backdrop. She went back into the car and supplied a second camera bag. “You can use my extra.”
“You travel with an extra camera?” he asked, his hands brushing against hers as she handed him the bag.
“Don’t you?”
“Usually, but not today.”
“Use mine. We’ll make this a quick photo shoot.”
“Thanks, Coco.” He pulled the camera out of the bag, testing the weight of the lens he cradled in his hand.
“Happy to help. Just—”
“I know.” He smiled. “I’ll stay out of your shot.”
Coco cringed. Maybe she’d been too hard on him in making her point before. A smile tugged at her own lips, but she looked away and grabbed the hat she’d left in the front seat.
Two minutes into shooting with her camera, she could tell Peter struggled with the dials. “What’s wrong?”
“Eve
rything is dark.” He handed her the camera. Every single picture he had taken varied in shade, but they were all underexposed. The old camera’s dials didn’t slide as nicely as her new one, but it still created decent shots and footage. When on a time crunch for a client she brought it with a zoom lens to save time on switching lenses on her other camera.
“It’s more than being incompatible.” She grinned at him. “It’s our way of doing things. They’re opposite.”
“This applies how?”
She stood in front of him, leaning her back against his chest. She held her camera up in front of them, taking his hand in hers and guiding it along the dials. Her breath caught at how close they were.
“Any time you want to move this finger”—she tapped his index finger on the front of the camera—“use your thumb instead. If you think you need to use your thumb, switch to your finger. That should do it.” She kept her fingers on his, tapping each one, enjoying the heat between them. What was she thinking?
“And that’s going to solve all my problems?” He turned those blue eyes on her, and she was momentarily captivated.
She cleared her throat, pulling her hand away from his. “If your problem is underexposed pictures with a different camera, then sure, consider all your problems solved.”
He took a few test shots, but Coco focused on her dials as she manually moved through each of her settings and ran her fingers across the buttons on her camera. When she looked up, three pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter Six
When they returned to the hotel, Liz and Coco hurried away to meet the event coordinator. They turned down a corridor, disappearing from Peter’s line of sight. “Don’t worry,” Tyler said. “They won’t be long.”
He wasn’t holding his breath for Coco to return. Going skiing with her would be fun but she had a boyfriend. “Let’s go skiing now,” Peter said, avoiding his friend’s eyes.
“Four runs. Then we’ll come back and get them to join us,” Tyler said.
They grabbed all of their gear and headed to the slopes. The lift line was short, and they were able to get right on. Once on the chair lift, Peter said the only thing that was on his mind. He wanted more information about Coco and her boyfriend. Maybe it would be less awkward talking about it in the air.