Chapter 8
Kira scrolled downone row of pictures after the next on her computer, her heart aching as something horrible sank in: She’d been shooting in the wrong setting. The images were promising. Decent lighting, acceptable cropping, and if she said so herself, beautiful portrayals of the willing volunteers who’d taken time to let her photographthem.
Each photo had looked perfect on the camera’s display screen, but sadly, the dimensions had been set for previewing only. Kira looked at the thumbnail-sized portrait of Harper on her screen, clicked and dragged out the corner, and cringed as the girl’s lovely face began to pixilate, making the photo look more like a scrambled puzzle than a portrait. She scaled back, wondering if perhaps a wallet-sized picture could work, but it was no good; all the shots she’d taken on that day wereunusable.
“I can’t believe I did that.” She scooted her chair away from the small kitchen table before striding toward one end of the dining area. And then back. Arms folded, lips and jaw tight, Kira resisted the one thing she knew she had to do. Call them. Call Cam and Kate and Frankie and her stepdaughter, Harper, who could probably go on Broadway, she had so much charm shining through her face. Kira needed to thank them for their time, assure them that the sitting had served its purpose, giving her a refresh course and all, but that she wasn’t able to give them the digital images like she’d hoped. At least she hadn’t charged for any of the sittings. Perhaps she could at least give them a gift certificate, since she had no photos to offer in exchange for theirtime.
She reminded herself that even Gramps suffered his share of mishaps. The worst being the time he’d shot at a family reunion. People had flown in from out of town, were together for just a small space of time. He was shooting with film then, and when he went to switch out the roll, he noticed the back of the camera had a hairline crack. Enough to expose the roll of film and ruin the pictures. But a miracle had happened, because the very first slide had escaped exposure. And luckily, it was a picture of the entire group. Kira could nearly hear him now, retelling the way it had been a perfect picture. The little ones were looking at the camera, most smiling, even. The great-grandmother, a woman in her nineties, had struggled to keep from hunching during the shoot, but even she looked poised and ready. The woman’s dog, who’d been kenneled during the remainder of the shoot, had somehow run right in front of the group as he snapped the picture. And the family lovedit.
The recollection made her breathe easier. She only wished she could salvage a few of the ones she’d taken. Anthony’s pictures came to mind as Kira shuffled back to her laptop. She plopped into her chair and scrolled down to the final round of pictures she'd shot that day. If the images were life-sized, they could likely sell at every mall in the country, advertising anything from tattered jeans, beat-up boots, hair gel, or cologne. Heck, digitally place a motorcycle beside him and he’d sell thattoo.
Kira lingered over her favorite one of the bunch. Anthony wasn’t exactly smiling, but there was a spark of amusement in his dark eyes. The slightest hint of a dimple in his roughly shaven cheek. And something that made Kira’s limbs turn hot and melty. The worddreamboatcame to mind, making her laugh at memories of Grandma Moretti using that word to explainGramps.
She thought back on the last few days, recalling Anthony’s kiss in the bowling alley parking lot. In the days that followed, he’d offered a cup of hot coffee each time she strode inside the diner. He’d been as sweet and flirtatious as he’d been on their date.But—and this was a big but—he hadn’t asked her for another date. What was she supposed to make of that? She’d decided to skip the diner this morning and brew her own coffee, which paled in comparison like she knew it would. There was something else bothering her, too, something that indicated he might not be so into Kira after all: When Anthony walked her to the door after their perfect date, he’d simply given her a hug and kiss on the cheek. Like he might do with a friend or one of the girls who’d tried hitting on him thatnight.
Kira knew she was forward, that she shouldn’t be the one initiating kisses on first dates, but the knowledge only frustrated her more. That’s simply who she was. Playful and impulsive. If that scared Anthony away, he wasn’t right for her. A conclusion she’d already come to dozens of times since theirdate.
She groaned and allowed her body to slump off the chair, where she spread out over the sun-drenched rug like a starfish. “Why am I the way I am?” she asked the ticking clock and dancing dust speckles. Couldn’t she just be likePrissy Marissy,who wouldn’t dream of initiating a kiss if her life depended on it? Who never even had urges to wink or flirt or smack a guy on the arm while joking withhim?
Guilt caught up with her before she entertained those thoughts further. It wasn’t fair to call her sister names. Especially when Marissa was like most women out there. Kira was the one who stood out like a sorethumb.
She pushed her mind back to the photo dilemma she faced. It was a good thing that—since the test shoots—she hadn’t shot more than prop arrangements and scenic ideas. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t enlarge those; she could take what she needed from the small images. See what settings gave her the best lighting for the environment. At least she’d caught the problem and knew how to fix it. She needed to start making money off the studio, andquick.
The distinct vibrating of her phone rumbled the dining room table, causing Kira to sit up in a blink. She shot to her feet, shoved past her growing to-do list, and snatched up the small device. A text glowed bright on thescreen.
Is this Studio Click?
Kira grinnedas she replied with a simpleyes.
Isawyour sign about the studio reopening, and I’d like to come speak with you about an idea I have.When will you be in thestudio?
Kira tapped out a quick reply.I open today ateleven.
Great.The reply came.I’ll see youthen.
Kira shota fist into the air.“Woo-hoo!” She might get her first payingjob.
She glanced at the wall clock, realizing it was time to leave already. The laptop was warm against her fingers as she snapped it closed and zipped it back into its bag. She set her planner on its designated corner of the counter, her to-do list glaring at her as she moved. While she’d crossed a few things off likebuy groceries and update the storefront marquee,she had yet to introduce herself to the tenants next door or pull out their lease and see what the terms were. She also hadn’t looked into the payment details of the studio lease. Of course, it was mid-month and probably wasn’t due until the beginning of April. Same with rent. But she needed to make that a priority.Tonight. When she gotback.
Still, as she gathered her coat and keys, Kira couldn’t help but think the people next door were awfully quiet. Especially since it was a single mom and her kid. Of course, Kira listened to music a lot, so they’d likely gone unheard for that reason. Yet as she started up the car and retrieved the ice scraper Anthony gave her in the church parking lot, she realized the car in the tenant’s driveway hadn’t moved. No tire tracks had been made since itsnowed.
A shot of fear tore through her as she wondered if something horrible had happened to the pair. Kira stopped scraping the frosty windshield and rested the bar across the hood of her car. In mere seconds she was pulling open the screen door and ready to knock. But a note on the door stopped her short: a page ripped from a spiral-bound notebook, the tattered fringe waving in a ripple from thebreeze.
Hadan emergency and were forced to move. Keep the car in lieu of rent. It’s worth two months’ worth. The title and keys are in theapartment.
Whoa.Kira was really going to have to step it up now. The title and keys may be inside the duplex, but the weight of that four-door sedan was right on Kira’s chest. No more test shots and nature walks and hopes that people would walk right through that bell-chiming door. Kira needed to go out and get some business. She shuffled back to the car, careful not to slip on the ice patch along the drive, and snatched the scraper off the hood. Before buckling up, she lifted her to-do list off the passenger seat, rested it against the center of the freezing steering wheel, and scratched on yet another chore:Put a for-sale sign on car. Find a new tenant for theduplex.
By the time she stepped through the back entrance of the studio, Kira’s head was swimming.Thiswas usually the point where she started constructing an escape plan. She’d messed up on the first two hundred pictures she’d taken. She hadn’t hadonepaying customer walk through her doors. And now she’d lost the only tenants she had. Plus she had some beat-up sedan to sell if she wanted to make the mortgage payment, which—for all she knew—could’ve been due yesterday. She wasn’t used to being responsible for so manythings.
A knock sounded from the front door, reminding Kira she’d forgotten to unlock it. With an odd dose of emotion rearing up to blow, she shoved her hand in her pocket and scurried toward the front. She vaguely made out a pair of denim jeans visible through the glass door as she struggled with her keys. At last she snagged the right one and shoved it into the lock. A quick turn followed by a longer, swinging hitch caused that faithful clank to sound. The bell chimed as she tugged the door open, her eyes finally moving up the potential customer on the otherside.
“Hi there, kid.” With kind brown eyes and a smile more alluring than kittens, Anthony Marino stepped into the studio. Cool air clung to his leather jacket while his spicy cologne added to the reasons she was drawn tohim.
Filled with a sudden gratitude for her only friend in town, Kira flung her arms around Anthony’s solid build. “Hi,” she said. “I’m so happy to see you.” She held him like that for a moment, letting his wonderful energy seep into hersoul.
His arms wrapped around her in return, but soon he let them drop to where he cradled her elbows through her heavy coat. “I’m happy to see you too,” he mumbled, his lips dangerously close to herear.
Kira tugged back. “I’m having a bad … a lot of bad days in arow.”
