The light in his blue eyes only burned brighter. “He said that?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Law’s voice, low and quiet, reached out to us from across the room. “It’s the truth.”
Snatching my hands away from Connor’s arm, I turned to see Law closing the door to the main part of the house. His gaze darted back and forth between me and Connor as he joined us, and my cheeks warmed at the odd expression on his face. Surely he didn’t think he’d interrupted anything between me and Connor. That would be silly. Law knew I was his girl.
I reached for his hand, lifting onto my toes to kiss him hello. “I was telling Connor how amazing he looks,” I explained, hoping to dispel the awkwardness. “I can’t believe it took me this long to notice how much he’s changed.”
“It was only a matter of time.” Law offered Connor one of the water bottles he’d brought from the house. “One hour a day, four days a week. That’s all it takes. Connor always shows up and never slacks off.” Pride shone in his eyes as he looked at Connor, and his grip on my hand tightened. “Consistency is key, and this guy is as consistent as they come.”
Connor’s chest puffed out at Law’s praise, and although he turned his head away, he couldn’t hide the grin on his face. My heart swelled with gratitude at the relationship that had unexpectedly popped up between them. As an only child, Connor had once confessed to me his wish to have an older brother, like I had in Frank. Perhaps, in some way, it kind of felt like he’d finally found one.
“Are you ready to ask him your question?” Law smirked as he tilted his head my way. “Now you’ve checked out the goods to your own satisfaction, I mean.”
The lingering warmth in my cheeks turned to flames. Okay, getting caught feeling up another guy’s muscles while standing in my boyfriend’s makeshift gym was bound to get me some ribbing. But again, it was only Connor. We were friends—always had been.
“What are you guys talking about?” Connor gave me a quizzical look. “Ask me what?”
Crossing my fingers for luck, I began my spiel. “I’m hoping you’ll do me a really big favour.” I told him all about the competition, including a brief description of the kind of photo I wanted to take. I didn’t want Connor to say yes, only to balk when I asked him to take his shirt off. “It’s about capturing the beauty of the masculine body in its raw, naked form.”
“Naked!” Connor squawked.
“No, no, no,” I cried, holding my hands up. “Not naked, naked. Just naked to the waist, naked.”
“Oh.” His shoulders dropped and he started breathing again.
“I know you’re busy studying for exams, so am I. But it won’t take long, and I could really use your help. Will you be my model?” I put my hands together in a prayer pose and offered him my best puppy dog eyes. Connor had proved powerless against them in the past and I wasn’t above using them to get what I wanted. “Pretty please?”
Still hesitating, Connor looked over at Law. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s a great idea.” A weird catch in Law’s voice drew my gaze, but he’d already turned away. He stooped to pick some discarded exercise equipment up off the floor. So much for helping me talk Connor into it.
Unsure what to make of Law’s odd behaviour, I turned back to Connor with a hopeful smile. “Is that a yes?”
His mouth opened and closed a few times. “I won’t be very good,” he said finally.
That was a yes.
“Thank you!” Squealing with excitement, I launched myself at Connor, giving him a tight hug. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll hold your hand every step of the way, I promise.”
I felt Connor’s nod against my shoulder. “I’ll be counting on it.”
* * *
The next Saturday, Law picked me and Connor up after lunch and we headed out to New Farm Park, managing to find a car park down near the Brisbane River, in the shade of a jacaranda tree. I dismissed the idea of using the trees themselves as the backdrop for the photo and led the way over to the old Powerhouse on the northern edge of the park. It had been converted into an arts and culture hub over a decade ago, but much of the external building remained in its original form. A huge expanse of brick wall towered over us as we approached, and I quickly fell in love with the idea of contrasting the aged rigidity of the exposed bricks with the smooth youthfulness of Connor’s skin.
“This is the place,” I said, grinning. “Let’s get started.” Connor stiffened beside me and I put a reassuring hand on his arm. “I’m going to start by taking some test shots, to get a feel for the light, okay?” When he nodded, I waggled my eyebrows at him and added, “Great. Now lose the shirt.”
He swallowed, avoiding my gaze as he sidled closer. “Maybe you should be doing this with Lawrence. He’s bigger than me.”
“Connor, this isn’t a body-building competition. It’s a portrait. The point is to capture the essence of who you are.”
“What if I don’t know who that is?” he muttered.
A few strands of hair blew across my face and I pushed them back before looking up at him. “How about you let me show you who you are to me?”
With the ghost of a smile touching his lips, he nodded. “Tell me what you want me to do.” He yanked his shirt off as he spoke, and my gaze lingered on the subtle curves of his body. I felt a low hum of appreciation in the back of my throat. I may not have been single, but I was still human.
The next hour passed in a haze as I placed Connor in a variety of positions. Sometimes leaning against the wall itself, other times dragging him away to sit on the bare concrete, the wall a distant blur behind him. At first, his movements were stilted and unnatural. I kept talking to him as we worked, reminding him of some of the hideously bad pictures I’d taken when we were kids and I’d received my first camera as a Christmas present. Eventually he began to relax, following my instructions without question, content to follow my lead. The real Connor began to show through, then. Reserved, uncertain, but emanating the constant, quiet sincerity that had warmed me my whole life.
