If I put my mind to it, I could be done in ten minutes, but I can’t rush him out that quickly. If he tells Constance, she’ll think she overpaid me for sure. “Maybe an hour,” I answer, making sure not to look him directly in the eye.
After flipping on the studio lights, I grab my camera before turning back to Thomas and asking, “Would you like me to play some music?”That ought to fill any awkward silences nicely.
I’m reaching for my phone when he says, “No, thanks. I’m good.”
Shoot.
“Well, then.” I lift the camera to my face. “Pretend you’re a doctor.”
“Iama doctor.” His smile is soft and sweet and it’s all I can do not to walk up to him and go ahead and run my fingers through his hair again.
The temptation to touch him persists so I count to five slowly until I can trust myself not to do it. I snap a good thirty pictures of Thomas, and his smile never falters. Which is perplexing given our previous session. Those expressions ranged from looking like he had contracted food poisoning to suffering from severe intestinal distress.
“Take a break,” I tell him before walking over to my laptop station. I sit down on the stool in front of it and check out the photos. I turn around and tell Thomas, “They all look good. We can try it with your doctor coat on, if you’d like.”
He stands up and moves toward the hanging rack. I pretend to be busy clicking around the computer while he puts on his coat. Unfortunately, the pirate shots pop up on the screen ashe approaches me. He stops dead in his tracks when he notices what I’m looking at. “Those were pretty awful, weren’t they?”
Crud, now I have to say something. But what?Opening my mouth, I try to come up with something semi-intelligible. Not surprisingly, that’s not what comes out …
CHAPTER TWELVE
THOMAS
Seeing Finley this afternoon is even more uncomfortable than I thought it would be. I mean, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but even so, I was prepared to persevere and get the job done. Then I got here and woke her from a dream she was having about “Pirate Thomas,” and my plan fell apart.
Finley is not your average bear. She’s completely unexpected and adorable. Imagine making someone dress up like a pirate when they were there to have a business picture taken. The whole thing is too funny to believe. That’s why when I see her looking at those very images, I have to say something. “Those are pretty awful, huh?” I ask.
I expect her to laugh with me, but she doesn’t. Instead, she demands, “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t here to have pirate pictures taken?”
“I did,” I tell her. “Repeatedly.”
Her indignation turns to embarrassment in a split second. “It’s just that I thought Constance was talking about Margaret Rogers.” She sounds so disappointed, I want to console her.
“It was an honest mistake,” I say. “Really, it could have happened to anyone.”
Her mood shifts back to angry. “No, it couldn’t have,” she snaps. “Any normal person would have figured out there had been a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstandings happen all the time,” I tell her. “That must mean there aren’t many normal people out there.” I walk back to the set and sit down on my stool.
Finley eventually picks up her camera and joins me. “Why are you trying to make me feel better. You should be mad.”
“What’s the point?” I shrug. “And now, just think, I have all these amazing pirate pictures of myself that I didn’t before. I’m thinking of using one on my Christmas card.”
“Did you look at them closely?” She doesn’t seem to get the joke.
I snort laugh. “I was teasing.”
Finley’s head bobs up and down three times. “You’re a terrible model.”
I figure that now is as good a time as any to tell her the truth. “I did it on purpose.”
“Sure you did.” The accompanying eye roll makes it clear she doesn’t believe me. She really does think I’m a lousy model.
“I didn’t want those pictures to be used in a calendar, and you told me that’s what Constance was going to use them forifthey were any good.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t have used them if you asked her not to. What kind of girlfriend exploits her boyfriend?”
Boyfriend?“I’m not Constance’s boyfriend,” I tell her.
