“That’s fine,” Clara said. “And I understand if you’re not able to. If your need to protect me doesn’t allow you to forgive him, that’s okay. For now. But if Anthony and I do end up dating again, or if this goes somewhere, then I expect you to get onboard. Okay?”
He could do that. Maybe. “Okay,” he consented, even though he still didn’t like it.
“He actually wants to meet with you.”
“What? Why?”
“I said something to him about what you’re doing with your new place, and how Trinity’s been helping you with the whole decorating side of things. Somehow it came up when he was talking to one of his coworkers. She wants to interview the two of you for an article she’s publishing in Snowdrift Summit Living. It’s about local ranch renovations and the community efforts involved.”
Spencer didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, it might be good exposure for Trinity’s flower shop, and it might also highlight some of the contractors he’d been working with on the whole house build. He knew they’d appreciate the publicity. But the other part of him wondered how things might look to the average reader; if they’d be able to interpret the way he felt about Trinity through the images, the text, the story. Would that be an issue?
The only way he would know would be to ask Trinity herself.
“The journalist is going to give you a call tomorrow,” Clara added.
Looked like he needed to give someone else a call first.
CHAPTER 18
“Where should I stand?”
Why was she so nervous? She’d had her picture taken before. Plenty of times, really. And she’d even been interviewed for Snowdrift Summit Living a few years back when she’d first opened up Joyful Blooms. Sure, it was a different journalist asking the questions today, but it really shouldn’t make any difference.
“Right where you are is perfect,” Molly Jacobs, the local writer, said as she tipped her head back to whisper an instruction to the photographer. She brought her attention back to Spencer and Trinity and gave them a big grin. “You two look great together on camera.”
When Spencer had called to ask if Trinity might be interested in the interview, she’d readily accepted, mostly because she’d done a similar thing before. But she hadn’t realized howcouple-ythings would feel inside of his home, the two of them standing within the same frame. During the actual interview, Spencer had made it clear more than once that they were friends working on a joint project. No one would read the piece and assume they would both be living at Spencer’s place. But with each picture taken, things started to feel a little more intimate than Trinityhad anticipated. And she could sense that Spencer was feeling the same.
“Do you mind if we take a break?” he asked through a rushed breath after the photographer announced that he’d gotten the perfect shot of them in the kitchen, stacking plates and bowls onto the open shelves side by side like they’d just emptied the dishwasher after a family dinner.
“Of course not. That’s a good idea,” Molly agreed. “Tim and I will upload these pics and see what we’ve got. Is there a good place for us to do that?”
The house hadn’t been fully staged yet. Spencer was still waiting on his bedroom furniture to arrive from a warehouse in Utah, along with the kitchen table and chairs. But he had a folding table in its place, and he nudged his chin toward the breakfast nook.
“You can set up over there.” He turned to Trinity. “Would you want to take a walk with me outside?”
“I’d love that.”
For as much as she liked Spencer’s new place, and even for as large as it was in mere square footage, she’d started to find it almost difficult to breathe. Like there was an elephant sitting on her chest.
She followed Spencer out the front door that had stayed open all afternoon as movers rotated in and out with things like end tables, desks, and barstools. Trinity had thought the journalist would want to wait until everything was set up before the photography portion of the piece, but she assured them that they wanted to document the process, not just the outcome.
Once outside, she trailed Spencer down the porch steps and across the small patch of land where he had talked about setting up a future garden and chicken coop. It was out of earshot from anyone within the homestead, and she welcomed the privacy.
“Hey.” He turned to face her, surprising her when he gathered both of her hands into his. “How are you doing with all of this?”
“Oh, it’s really fun, Spencer,” she said with the hope that her voice held more excitement than apprehension. “I’m enjoying myself, are you?”
“To be honest, it feels a little intimidating. Haven’t been in front of the camera much, and I’m still not sure if I should be looking at it. Away from it. Smiling. Not smiling. It’s all a little confusing to me.”
“I think they’re going for candid. They just want us to look natural.”
“Does it feel natural to you?”
She paused, then breathed deep. “Being around you feels natural. But what we’re doing for the camera? I’m not sure I’m quite there yet.”
“Do you want me to call it off?” He was completely serious, and the sincerity in his voice and on his face was touching.
“No, no. You don’t need to do that. You should be proud of this place, Spencer. And you should show it off.”
