Be professional.
Take the pictures and be done with it.
‘Where would you like me?’ Heidi stood, hands on hips, surveying the grounds. ‘It’s rather chilly, so as quickly as possible if you wouldn’t mind.’
‘Yes, madam,’ he grumbled, reaching for his camera bag. ‘If you go and sit on the bench over there, that would be great. Eleanor, can you come and grab this for me, please?’
‘Sure,’ she replied, walking quickly over to join him. ‘Look,’ she whispered, ‘I know she’s being a complete arse, but you saw her face earlier. It was like you said to me, thismeanssomething to her. Come on, Fin, don’t let her rattle you.’
‘Who says I’m rattled?’ He forced his voice to become bright and nonchalant.
‘You’ve run your hands through your hair about twenty times, plus you keep clenching your fists.’ She flashed him a smug smile.
‘Eurgh.’ He sighed. ‘Fine.I’ll try to be nice. And if not nice, then civil.’ He handed her his tripod. ‘You did an amazing job on the hair and make-up, by the way. The artist still lives!’
Eleanor’s face instantly dropped. ‘Oh no.’
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, indicating the spot opposite the bench where they needed to set up.
‘I forgot to cancel art club yesterday.’ She dragged the tripod along the ground, which made Fin’s insides cry out. Did she know how much money she was hauling haphazardly through the mud?
‘You’re going to art class? That’s great!’
‘Yeah.’ She blushed. ‘Not so great when you don’t turn up for them though.’
‘Maybe not,’ he agreed.
‘I’m not used to having so many social plans – I forget that I need to actually organize my life a bit more now there’s things in it.’ She laughed sadly to herself.
‘Organization is overrated.’ He lifted one leg of the tripod up off the grass. ‘I think spontaneity will be good for you.’
‘Just because that’s the way you choose to live your life doesn’t mean it’s the right way, Fin.’ She smirked.
‘Excuse me?’ Heidi’s cry cut through their warm back-and-forth. ‘Am I going to be left to wither away over here while you two chit-chat?’
Fin gripped the metal leg of the tripod a little tighter. He opened his mouth to speak, but Eleanor gave him a familiar look of warning and then painted a giant smile on her face.
‘Sorry, Heidi, we were sorting the equipment out. You know how these technical things can be a little complicated.’
‘Funnily enough, I don’t,’ she stated flatly. ‘I’ve only ever been infrontof the camera.’
Fin took a deep breath in and allowed his frustration to subside. ‘Make sure you’re in a position you’re comfortable with, Heidi.’ He quickly assembled the equipment and peered through the camera lens. ‘I’m going to take a few test shots to make sure the lighting is all OK.’
‘Whatever,’ Heidi mumbled, fixing herself into a serene pose. She had clearly done this before, her body finding the light as naturally as if she were a flower tracking the sun across the sky.
‘Perfect,’ Fin marvelled. ‘Right, are we ready?’
‘I’ve been ready for what seems like hours.’ She rolled her eyes at Eleanor, who he could see out of the corner of his eye was relishing the whole interaction.
Fin chose silence as his best option and happily began to lose himself behind the lens. As cold and cruel as her exterior was, Heidi seemed to bring a softness and elegance through her eyes. He was loath to admit it but she was truly striking.
‘How long do you think you’ll be staying for then, Mr Taylor?’ Heidi asked.
‘Not sure. Depends on how my mum does,’ he murmured, focusing his attention on angling the camera.
‘Ah, yes. Eileen.’ Heidi nodded almost imperceptibly. ‘She mentioned she had a son, but I wasn’t totally convinced you existed until your recent visit.’
Fin felt his heart begin to pound violently in his chest, the abated anger rearing its head once more. He gritted his teeth and continued to stare down the camera lens.
