by Chelsea Hale
She shook her head. “I didn’t even make it through the pre-reqs. I hated school. Almost quit four times my first year. I felt physically sick in my classes, like the inside of me knew this wasn’t my passion in life. So, I called my parents about it. The fifth time we talked on the phone, I finally got through to them.”
“They listened?”
“After three semesters of taking classes and getting mediocre grades, they did. I had signed up for a photography club, and that was the one thing I looked forward to every two weeks. It was my saving grace through all of the calculations, rules, and principles I had to memorize.
“There was this other girl who was a Film Studies major and she would occasionally bring clips of her assignments and talk about them when we’d go on our photo excursions. One day she asked my opinion about a terrible piece of footage.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her it was terrible.”
“Just like that?”
“I’m full of tact,” she said sarcastically, then shrugged. “But I told her the truth. Then she grinned at me and said that it was an example from one of her film classes, and each of the students were supposed to grade it. They were given a lecture about how amazing the man who filmed this piece was, and then were told to grade it.
“Most of the students in the class graded it high, like there was nothing wrong. They praised everything about it. The girl said she was one of two students who said anything critical. Then the professor pointed out that anyone who can judge art based on its own merits and not on the merits of the artist has a true gift and will go far in this profession.”
“And you being blunt—”
“Proved I have what it takes to be a film student. I enrolled the next week, switching all of my classes for the next semester.”
“Why did your parents want to see you as an accountant?” He couldn’t imagine her creative personality lasting long in such a regimented career.
“They thought because I got good grades in math that somehow translated to me wanting to pull my hair out every spring to do other people’s taxes. They finally understood it, too, though. I think they’re proud of me now. I graduate in May, so that’s something they can celebrate. I’ll do wedding videos again this summer until I figure out my plans.”
A weight hung around him, and Peter thought it best not to bring up the idea of having her partner with his studio. It would be an amazing opportunity, bringing them both more business, but while she was still deciding what she wanted to do, he didn’t want to add any extra pressure. “You’ll do great things.”
“Thank you.” A smile splayed across her very kissable lips. Pink nipped the apples of her cheeks.
Peter’s breath hitched. He shouldn’t be thinking about her lips.
Chapter Thirteen
Saturday morning dawned chilly but sunny. It was perfect for a wedding in an indoor solarium. The sun shone through the windows, but with the cold weather and no radiating heat, the area was bearable.
Peter arrived early and scouted out the area. The flower-adorned walkways would complement the bride and groom pictures. It’d be easy to get unobstructed angles before the guests arrived. He checked his watch. The bride and groom wanted to take pictures and videos before the ceremony so they could go straight to the luncheon after the group shots. They’d take more pictures before the reception, but if they hurried he could get a beautiful silhouette against the large paned windows.
He set up his tripod and reflectors, then checked his watch again. Where is everyone? They should have started the photo shoot ten minutes ago. There was buffer built into the schedule, but he would lose this angle of light and have to reset the shot if they were too late.
A woman in a bright pink bridesmaid’s dress ran up to Peter. “Oh, good. Hi, I’m Lucy, the maid of honor. The bride and groom should be right out. We’re having a small crisis.” She put her hands to her temples, massaging them.
“How small?”
“The videographer got sick. Possibly food poisoning, but not sure.”
“Is the company able to send a backup?”
“That’s the crisis part. He’s a family friend who owns his own business. Which is fine, but there’s no one to call. He’s been…” She covered her mouth with her hand as she made a few gagging sounds. “We’re waiting for him to be able to catch his breath to see if he has any associates in his network that might be able to pinch hit. The bride is hyperventilating. I told her we could just do pictures now and video later, but she started looking green.”
Peter put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “Breathe. It will be fine. I might have an idea.”
He prayed Coco was near her camera and her car. He found her number in his phone, but hesitated before he pushed the call button. He’d be asking a huge favor of her.
“Hello?” a sleepy Coco answered.
“Please say I didn’t wake you.”
“I’ve been up for a few hours editing. Staring at a screen this early sometimes makes me tired.”
“Well, that’s good, because I have a huge favor to ask.”
“You want me to help you with another product shoot?” Coco guessed.
He straightened at the idea. He’d like that. Last week’s shoot at Brainard had been fun. Maybe in the spring they could hike together for the summer line products. He shook his head. He needed to stay focused. “No. I’m wondering if you can pinch hit for me this morning. I’m really in a bind.”
“Sounds serious. You need a second candid photographer for this wedding party?”
“Photos are fine. The video on the other hand will suffer. The videographer is sick.”
“How sick?”
“Like he can’t carry a bag and keep the camera steady at the same time.”
“Oh dear. Does the bride know? Liz has had that nightmare a few times. She’s specifically asked me not to eat any shellfish or raw cookie dough the week of the wedding.” She giggled.
“Would you be able to come and fill in?”
“What was the package? How much am I filming today?”
He could hear her rummaging. “You’ll have to change your dinner plans. I’m here all day except for the lunch.”
“I have a battery charging right now, but I’ll find an outlet in the dressing room somewhere.”
“You’ll come?” Warmth spread through him. He could count the number of people he could rely on to drop everything for him on one hand, and Coco’s willingness added one more to the list.
“Of course.” She paused. “Thank you for trusting me with this.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Coco. I’ll text you the address.”
“See you soon.”
Peter was amazed that he squeezed his two-hour photo shoot with the bride and groom into forty-five minutes. Coco was a gem. She came promptly and was completely professional. She commanded respect and had great ideas. Although she had only a few minutes to take in her surroundings, she came up with creative shots.
Peter was glad he had already seen how Coco worked. He knew how to stay out of her shot so they could both get the pictures and videos they wanted.
They had only a few more minutes before guests would arrive for the ceremony, and the bride and groom needed to take their own places.
“Let’s do a dip now,” Peter suggested. He kept the camera clicking.
The groom awkwardly bent the bride back. Her smile looked more like a grimace, and she swayed, trying to keep her balance. It wasn’t the shot he wanted; they’d have to try again later. “Now give her a kiss,” he said, hoping it would hide the grimace on the bride’s face. It didn’t, and the pictures looked painful.
Coco paused her filming. “This isn’t working.”
“I caught that. I normally don’t have trouble getting a good dipping picture. I’m not sure what’s wrong. Maybe if we move to another angle?”
“Yeah. At no angle will this be a picture that they print.”
Peter sighed. Dipping
pictures added interest in the wedding portfolio filled with structured smiles and straight postures. Maybe it was nerves. He could always try to get the picture after the wedding, when the bride and groom loosened up.
“Permission to take two minutes to fix this?” Coco whispered to Peter.
“Permission granted.”
Coco breathed out loudly. “Thank you. Hold this.” She squeezed his hand and handed him her steady-cam.
She talked to the bride and groom quickly, waving her arms as she spoke, but Peter couldn’t hear the conversation. They laughed with her. She came back toward him, and took her steady-cam back, placing it on the floor. “I need you,” she said, grabbing his hand. “Okay, we’ll demonstrate, and you guys follow.”
Coco hooked her arm snugly around his neck. Peter’s pulse quickened as he inhaled her perfume. She put her left hand on his opposite shoulder. “Tina, follow what I do. Make sure your arm is firm around John’s neck. Good. John, now we’re moving to a dance pose, so put your hand on the small of Tina’s back.” Peter placed his hand on the small of Coco’s back, and she kept eye contact as she said, “That’s good.”
Better than good really. He followed her instructions, placing his other hand behind her neck. His fingers only slightly brushing the end of her dark hair. “How is that?” He looked down into her eyes.
Her smile parted her lips. “It feels right,” she said, then addressed the John and Tina. “Now ideally this would be a fast motion thing, especially for your video, but lower her down slowly.”
“Dipping is very easy,” Peter whispered. “Not sure why it looks painful.”
Coco glanced over at the other couple, who was still getting their position to mirror the one Coco set up for them. “It looks painful when it’s not done right.”
“I’m not so sure about this,” Tina said.
Coco smiled at her. “I know it’s nerve-wracking, especially in your beautiful dress. But trust me, you are in complete control of this. Watch. Peter, let go of me.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What?” John and Tina had the same shock on their faces.
“I’m doing all the hard work, not you. I’m not going to fall.” Then she moved her lips closer to his ear and whispered, “She’s on edge because she doesn’t want to be dropped. We need to inspire some confidence. Trust me.”
Peter took a deep breath, hoping Coco knew what she was talking about. He let go with one hand and then the other, and his jaw slacked when she didn’t move an inch from her position. “Levitation is one of your super powers?”
“It’s all in the right arm,” she said, smiling at Tina and lifting her left hand from Peter’s shoulder. “That’s the beauty of this. John is here for support … and to obviously make the picture look good, but whether or not you stay balanced is on you. You’re the one in control.”
Tina’s face brightened and she nodded.
Peter put his arms around her again, and Coco said, “One last thing, when you’re here in the dip, if the groom rests his elbow on his knee—yep, just like that, then Tina you can kick your leg up like this. Then go in for the kiss.”
Peter didn’t think twice about following Coco’s instructions. He bent his head lower, and drew her to him, pressing his lips to hers.
The kiss consumed his senses. All thought erased from his brain. He drank in the moment, noticing she held onto his neck tighter than she had before. Heat coursed through him as electricity raced between them.
Coco wound her other arm up, playing with his hair. The kiss was delicious. He’d be okay drowning in this kiss—never coming up for air.
Then he heard Tina say, “I knew they were a couple, John,” and he abruptly ended the kiss, and pulled Coco up.
Coco cleared her throat then smiled wide at John and Tina. “And that’s how it’s done. Nothing to it. Now it’s your turn and we’ll capture it.” She retrieved her steady-cam from where it lay on the ground, ready to film.
Oh, there was something to it alright. He forced a smile. He’d just kissed her, in front of his clients. And the only thing he could think of was dipping her again and repeating it.
Tina’s face quickly changed into a flirtatious smile, and she put a hand on her hip. “I’m pretty sure you’ve mastered it.”
Peter took a deep breath and tried to focus for the final few minutes before the ceremony started, but Coco’s kiss still hung on his lips.
She nudged him. “This is the perfect shot you wanted,” she said. Coco created the perfect moment. He took a picture of the dip quickly, analyzing the pose. Tina looked more at ease, and John smiled at her.
“You’re amazing.” His words came out ragged, even to his own ears. John and Tina faded into the background as he focused on Coco. “Thank you.”
Her face flushed. Had she thought he was talking about their kiss? “You’re welcome,” she said and started filming. “I’m moving closer. Follow me so I’m not in your shot.”
Peter nodded, but didn’t agree. After that kiss, he wanted her in his shot.
The luncheon dragged for Peter. Eating pictures were never flattering. He captured the head table and took pictures during toasts, but mostly he just watched Coco.
She zoomed in and out of each table, circling around the entire room, and filming every toast offered to the happy couple. When silverware clinked on the glasses, Coco panned in close as the bride and groom obliged the crowd with a kiss.
Toward the end of the luncheon, she wandered over to where Peter sat on a bench. A server brought them both food, and they sat down at a small table removed from the wedding guests.
His nerves were on high alert. This was the first time they’d had a moment to themselves since he kissed her. He knew he shouldn’t care, but he had to know what she thought. “Are we going to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said.
“The dip. We kissed.” There was a lot to talk about.
The corner of her mouth twitched so slightly he almost missed it. She shook her head. “We got caught up in the moment. We were demonstrating to the bride and groom how to dip and kiss. It happened. We can move on.”
What had he expected? She wasn’t going to dump her boyfriend and suddenly have feelings toward him because of one kiss. It was a demonstration, in her words. But it felt like more than that. He nodded. The sooner they moved on from this, the better. “The food looks good,” he said.
“I hope so. There’s no time to find an alternative.” She took out a small bright purple notebook from her camera bag and wrote a few things down.
“Keeping track of your hours?” he asked.
Her brows pulled together. “Should I track them?”
“No. I always bill by the job, not the hour.”
She smiled. “I’m just jotting down a few things about the luncheon, things I want to remember to keep in mind for my own wedding.” Her face colored, and she looked away. “I mean, I’m not planning my wedding yet, just making notes.” She pushed the small book toward him.
Today’s date was written at the top with their location and the wedding info. “Make sure luncheon centerpieces are short enough people can see each other over them.” He looked up at the tables. She was right. The overdone flowers impeded the view and socialization of the tables. “An excellent point.” He flipped through a few other pages, skimming as he went. She certainly took copious notes at the different weddings she attended.
“If I don’t write it down when I see something, I forget it and the whole day runs together.”
He handed her back her notebook. “Looks like you’ll have the whole wedding planned before you even find the right one to marry.” He wished he could recall the words as soon as he saw the look in her eyes. Of course, she was making this book with Jeffrey in mind. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”
She waved her hand in the air. “It’s fine. I just like keeping track of things. I’m a much better help to Liz when I have some proof to back up my opinions.” She tapped t
he top of her page and smiled.
He needed to change the subject. “I think my favorite part of the day was when the bride’s nephew slid down the banister.”
“Classic moment. I’m so glad you got my attention for that. The video is going to be priceless.”
Through the rest of the wedding party photos and the reception, Peter couldn’t get Coco’s kiss out of his mind. What had he been thinking? She had a boyfriend. There was nothing else to think about.
But they’d had such a connection over the last few weeks. She wasn’t available, but that didn’t change the fact that he was falling for her. He shouldn’t. But he was. Still … he’d enjoyed the kiss too much, and he needed to apologize. He wouldn’t chase something he couldn’t have. It wasn’t fair to either of them. After John and Tina made their exit, he’d find a moment to tell her.
Coco stood next to him and bit her lip. “I’m not sure how we’re going to make it work.”
It was the opening he needed. He fiddled with the camera dials he’d already adjusted. They weren’t going to make it work. She had a boyfriend. The kiss had been impulsive … and so … perfect. “I know.”
“You have no suggestions? No solutions?” She leaned toward him, her eyebrows stretched high over those emerald eyes that had mesmerized him since Aspen.
“None. I’m sorry.” He thought of something else to say, anything to remove the crestfallen look now clouding her expression. She leaned closer and he held his breath, taking an involuntary step backwards.
She huffed. “It’s not like we can recreate it if we don’t get it right the first time. We can’t take turns here. We get one shot.”
“One shot?” He’d already blown that with a premature kiss.
“Yes, and I didn’t get to talk to them about their expectations for this video. I could use your input.”
Realization dawned on him. “You mean the going away shot?”
“Of course. What’d you think I was talking about?” Her brow creased and her mouth formed a perfect O.
How was she okay? He’d kissed her.