Cade pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and tapped through a few screens.Then he leaned forward and slid the device across the top of the trunk.
A bit hesitant, she picked it up.
But as she scrolled through the photos, she was riveted.If she hadn’t been there, didn’t recognize the mole on her right hip, she wouldn’t have guessed it was her in the pictures.
“I told you that you’re beautiful.”
Through his lens, maybe she was.
The purple rope against her skin and wrapping her hair was stunning, and the arch he’d pulled her in looked more pronounced than she could have imagined.
“Model quality right there,” he said.
The screen went blank and she put the phone back on the trunk.
“So.Do I have to delete them?”
“As long as you don’t share them, I’m fine.”
“I’m going to print one picture for my private use.”
“You…” She opened her mouth in shock then slowly closed it again.“Are you serious?”
“As long as you don’t mind.”
Sofia couldn’t believe she was considering it, yet the idea was kind of erotic.“Nothing with my face in it,” she offered as a compromise.
“I’d rather have your face, but the butt bling is pretty hot, too.”
“What?”She snatched the phone back.“There’s no plug in there.”
“No?”
She found the one he’d taken from the foot of the table and enlarged the picture.Sure enough, the little golden jewels shone from between her butt cheeks.
“That’s the one,” he told her.“Next time, I will coordinate the jewels with the color of your rope.”
Next time…
When she was already in danger of jumping into the deep end of the emotional attachment pool with a man who wouldn’t fully share himself with her.“So the picture, are you planning to put it on the shelf near the one of you and your dad?”
Silence hung.Even she couldn’t believe she’d asked the question.She had a momentary twinge of regret, but she realized this conversation had been coming.He meant too much to her to let it go.
“What did you say?”His voice was chilly, unlike anything she’d heard from him before.
She could apologize and change the subject.Or she could boldly continue, hoping for the best, prepared for the worst.“When I was in your room earlier, it caught my eye.”When he said nothing, she plunged ahead.“I’ve told you about my mom, my alcoholic father, my family.I’m curious about your dad and his death.”
“Leave it.”The warning in his tone was clear and steel spiked in his eyes.
“You looked happy.You both did.Like he was really proud of you.”
He didn’t respond.
“I know he’s dead.That’s no secret.What was it?A car wreck?”
“As you said, he’s dead.It’s no secret.And it was a car wreck.”
“And?”She sought to understand him more, learn what haunted him.
