“Okay, what’s going on?” she asked.
“Connor proposed that I don’t mention divorce for the entire month and that I date him until New Year’s. Then, if he couldn’t prove to me that we belong together, he’d sign the papers.”
I wanted a gasp or anoh noor ahell yeahfrom her, but she was annoyingly silent.
“Well, Soph, what do you think?”
“The question is more what do you think? How does that offer make you feel?”
“Are you therapist-ing me right now?”
“Laney, if you thought I’d judge or tell you it’s a terrible idea, I’m not going to.”
“I don’t know what to do. A part of me wants it. Even in the car today, it was like things used to be. We laughed and joked, and he was so thoughtful. I forgot that we were divorcing. If I date him for the month, what if I fall hard and he breaks my heart again?”
“I think that’s the hard part about love; you gotta take a chance.” She cleared her throat. “I’d never tell you what to do, but you gotta follow your gut, and I’ll support you and cheer you along the way.”
“I sense abutcoming.”
“But… I think you should use this month to really share how you feel. You keep your thoughts to yourself more than you should. Tell him all the horrible nights, the questions, the tears you shed. Don’t shy away from anything because it’s hard or because you’re worried about disrupting his life. It’s already disrupted, girl.”
“You frighten me.” I almost laughed, but tears were right behind the amusement. “In the car, I told him how I actually felt about something. I didn’t brush it off.”
“And how did he take it?”
“He agreed with me and owned it.”
“Hmm. Have you already decided?”
“I told him I’d have an answer tomorrow.” The group of elves moved toward the Santas, and they lined up in pairs as the DJ turned up the holiday music. It was a spin on Mariah Carey’s classic. I snapped shot after shot, losing myself in the celebration.
A woman holding up her arms, her blond hair going everywhere, winked at me. Wynona was the one who had hired me and knew that one of the Santas was going to propose tonight. That’s why she brough me in—to capture the surprise. The music shifted to a slower version of “Santa Baby,” which was the cue.
“One sec, Soph.”
“Take your time. I’m just nursing a glass of wine before figuring out what romance novel to get lost in.”
My favorite part about photography was the way people displayed feelings. They were subtle but so evident to me. One of the Santas got down on one knee and opened a box, and the elf dressed in purple spun and gasped in surprise.
I took a hundred photos of the scene, capturing the smallmoments that followed. The way her fiancé kissed her forehead, his lips moving, probably saying how much he loved her. The way the group jumped up and down and cheered.
“I love my job,” I said to myself more than Soph.
“You’re brilliant at it.” Connor joined me, his warm gaze on me. I loved his proud husband look, and it was all over him right now. “Look at what you did, staging this scene to have these memories live on forever.”
“Oh, he sounds smitten,” Sophia’s voice whispered in my ear. “I bet he’s staring right at you too, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said to both of them. This was too much. “Soph, I gotta go. Bye.”
I hung up on her and pointed to my ear. “Sorry, was catching up with her.”
“Sorry to intrude. You just had this huge smile on your face, and I couldn’t stop myself from joining you.” His hands were in his pockets, his tie a little crooked.
“Come here.” I slung my camera over my shoulder and smoothed out his tie. “It’s not quite right.”
“I loved when you knotted my tie for me.” His voice was pure gravel and lust. His hand landed on my hip, and he dug his fingers into my skin. “You smell divine, Laney.”
Heat spread to my core as I finished adjusting his tie.
