Markus leaned forward and looked through his camera lens. ‘Well, the balcony of my apartment had a really great view overlooking West Hollywood, and every morning when I’d wake up, I’d go and set up. Just sit with my coffee and wait. For two years, nothing really interesting happened. The traffic below, the same people hurrying to work, the yogis moseying to get their sweat on. And I’d get a few good urban lifestyle shots. But then just last month, I’m sitting there, not really paying attention, and I accidentally kicked my tripod.’
‘And you got the perfect shot?’ Sierra asked.
‘No. I snatched out a hand to grab it,’ he said, and comically mimed making a huge dive for the tripod. ‘I caught it just as it hit the balcony rail, and I turned my head. And right there, just around the corner, was a nest. And this gigantic pigeon was sitting there, giving me the stink eye for interrupting her morning snooze. So, I unclipped my camera from the tripod and took a picture of her, and she moved – just climbed off the nest. At first, I thought it was because I’d scared her, but then I looked at the nest again, and there was a single egg. And it wasmoving.’
‘It was hatching?’ Nina asked.
He nodded. ‘It took a while. But I got the whole thing on film, including when his first little leg pushed through the shell.’ Markus stole a sip of Nina’s coffee. ‘Theshot. One that will never be matched from that precise location.’ He laughed sadly. ‘At least not by me.’
Sierra nudged him with her foot.
Nina reached forward to rub his shoulder.
Markus continued, ‘So, I’m waiting forthe shot.’ He leaned forward to look through the lens. ‘And in the meantime, I get all of these perfect dawns.’
Nina sighed happily. ‘Itisperfect; isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’ Markus snapped a few shots as he talked. ‘I gotta say, I didn’t get it when you first came out here. I like the city. I like the noise and the energy. But … I don’t know. It’s growing on me. The peace. The quiet.’
‘Wanna try and ride a horse?’ Nina asked, her dark eyes glinting.
‘Hell no.’
‘You never know,’ she argued. ‘You might like it.’
‘Nope. I’m sticking with Sherlock on this one,’ Markus insisted.
‘Sherlock?’ Sierra queried. ‘Sherlock Holmes?’
‘Horses: Dangerous on both ends and crafty in the middle,’ Markus explained.
Sierra laughed appreciatively. ‘Well, you don’t have to ride to appreciate the ranch. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here.’
‘Me too,’ Nina affirmed. ‘I love having all my people in one place.’
Markus strung his arm over Nina’s shoulders. ‘I’m happy for you, babe.’
‘I’m happy for me too.’ Nina looked over her shoulder to where Mav sat quietly. ‘I’m getting freaking married!’
Sierra noticed that Nina didn’t mention the pregnancy again, and although she felt guilty, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about it either. Instead, she said, ‘So … speaking of weddings, you really need to finalize the place settings and tableware today if we’re going to reserve the rentals in time. If we don’t get the order in by tomorrow, latest, you’re going to be stuck with what we have at the resort.’
‘I know.’ Nina tucked one long strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I’m just having a hard time deciding. You sent me too many options – and they all look so good. At this point, I’m considering just printing them out, putting them in a hat, and pulling one out.’
‘I can help you,’ Markus offered. ‘We’ll get it done this morning.’
‘If you let me know what you decide on while I’m at work, I can place the order before I come home tonight.’
Markus leaned around Nina to look at Sierra. ‘Girl, do you ever take a day off? You’re gone before the sun is up and home once it’s gone down again. Then you cook dinner, and unless one of us shoves you aside, you clean up too.’
Sierra shrugged. ‘I like to work.’ And being still gave her thoughts too much time to breed and multiply. And now, after her breakdown the day before, it seemed as if all those thoughts were bigger, more ruthless than before.
‘I’ve been trying to convince her to hire an assistant for over a year now,’ Maverick chimed in.
‘IfandwhenI need help, I will hire my own assistant,’ she shot back.
‘If you need any help, I can chip in,’ Nina offered.
Sierra shook her head. ‘No.’
