‘The stables,’ Jo said. ‘Then that small paddock with lots of green grass. How much can we handle the animals?’
‘The twins, Lilly and Sophie, have had so much medical handling that they’re not too bad,’ Anna said. ‘But slowly and gently. Alpacas generally like to set their own pace when it comes to getting up close and personal.’
Justin nodded. ‘We’ll be gentle. You don’t have to worry.’
Anna looked at his hands. Such big strong hands looked like they could break a tree branch in a second. But everything about Justin told her the man could be gentle. Would be gentle. Her thoughts strayed away from the alpacas to another place and she almost shivered.
Anna had seen a couple of professional photographers at work before, most recently when she and Bree had been interviewed for a vet magazine about the birth of the rare twins, but she hadn’t seen anything like this before. The photographer had an assistant, who suddenly materialised from the back of their car carrying lights and tripods and other strange things that Anna couldn’t identify. At Jo’s directions, he set lights, moved bits of scenery and generally made himself useful.
The session started with Jo taking a few snaps of the brothers, alone and together. She seemed to be testing angles and lighting. Then she turned her focus to the other twins. Lilly and Sophie found the attention interesting and even went so far as to sniff the camera and snort.
‘Okay,’ said Jo, handing the camera to her assistant. ‘We’ll get the alpaca snot cleaned off my lens and we can make a proper start. Gentlemen, shirts off, please.’
‘Yes, ma’am!’ Ben grinned as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Anna couldn’t help herself. She had to watch Justin take his shirt off.
He seemed not at all self-conscious. He simply undid the buttons and slipped the fabric off his shoulders, as if every move he made didn’t cause her pulse to skip a beat. His body was well muscled, but not overdone. He’d obviously been in the sun, or swimming or something, because his skin glowed with a healthy golden sheen. There was a light dusting of hair on his chest, just enough to run a girl’s fingers through.
Stop it!
Anna forced her eyes away from Justin to the young alpacas, but they seemed as interested in Justin’s bare torso as she was, pushing him with their noses. They must have tickled, because Justin started to laugh. It was a low, rumbling sound that was almost musical.
Oh, you have got it bad, she told herself.Stop it now. She turned away and went in search of a bottle of water.
***
Ben watched Justin watch Anna walk back to her car. So that’s how it was. He couldn’t blame his brother. The vet was attractive. Except for that dreadful scar on her face. He wondered how that had happened. Looking at Justin’s face, he had a feeling he might not be seeing all that much of his brother while they were stationed here. That was fine. Justin had always had a soft spot for injured animals and waifs. When the job was done, the two of them would move on together, as they always had. They were identical twins, with all that implied. Nothing comes between identical twins. Not even a girl.
Not even their mother, although she was coming close. Ben thought back to last night’s conversation. He’d been pretty drunk, but it was clear to him that Justin planned to see their mother again. Well, that was fine, too. Just as long as he left Ben out of it. As far as Ben was concerned, there was no going back. He thought he’d put that day behind him, but seeing their mother had brought it all back. The feeling of neglect. All the times the boys had turned to each other, because their mother wasn’t there. And the final straw—opening that envelope and seeing proof of the lie. Once again, he was wondering how different his life might have been if she had told him the truth from the start. A small voice deep inside him suggested that things might have changed if he had reacted differently to that discovery too, but he beat that voice down, as he had so many times since the day he had learned the truth.
‘Ben. Stop frowning,’ the photographer instructed him. ‘Come on. Loosen up. This is supposed to be a happy picture.’
‘Sure thing.’
An elbow struck his ribs. ‘Hey?’ Justin was grinning. ‘Wake up, baby brother. This is work, you know.’
‘For you maybe,’ Ben jested then stretched his shoulders to relax them. ‘But I’m naturally handsome, so I don’t have to try.’
‘That’s much better,’ the photographer said. ‘You boys don’t look half bad when you smile. Now, we need some glow. I’ve got some oil here to rub on. Or, if you prefer, five minutes of exercise in this heat should raise a sweat.’
Both brothers chose the exercise, a decision that Anna seemed to appreciate, as she leaned against a fence, watching. Her eyes were all for Justin. Ben didn’t mind. Not really. The vet wasn’t his type. And he was used to his big brother being the one who got everything. All the attention. All the credit and praise. It wasn’t Justin’s fault. He didn’t mean to put his brother in the shadows. And he wouldn’t have, if their mother hadn’t lied. Ben would have had his own chance to shine. To make his own way in the world. He would always be Justin’s younger twin. He loved his brother. Of course he did. But …
‘Ben? It is Ben, isn’t it?’ The photographer looked exasperated. ‘You look like thunder. See that animal there? It is the cutest thing most of us have ever seen. Try looking as enchanted by the alpaca as we want the women to be by you.’
Ben nodded and turned to look at the small creature in front of him. He wondered if it, too, was the younger twin. Well, if it was, he’d make sure it got all the attention it wanted, today at least.
***
Justin was dying of embarrassment.
‘Just slip those braces off your shoulders,’ the photographer instructed him. ‘Yes, now flex those shoulders a bit. I want to see some muscles.’
‘Sorry.’ Justin pulled the braces over his shoulders, letting them hang at his sides. This shoot wasn’t going well. At least he didn’t think so. The kitten shoot the previous year had been easy by comparison. Scratches and all.
A few metres away, Ben was sitting on a water trough and laughing at his big brother as Justin did his best to follow the instructions, while keeping one hand draped over the withers of the alpaca standing next to him. The animal was being very patient. It had even yawned widely a few minutes ago. Having seen those teeth, Justin was keen not to get on the creature’s wrong side. It would hurt. More importantly, it would make him look like a fool in front of Anna.
She was sitting on an upturned metal feed bucket in the shade of a tree. Close enough to see what was happening, but not close enough to intrude on the shoot. She was also close enough to intrude on his thoughts. He was very conscious of her eyes on him when she looked his way. Which she did. A lot. Maybe that was why this shoot was proving so different.
