14
Ava was back at the park doing more photo shoots for Valentine’s Day, which was quickly approaching. She had bought some props to set up a fun photo booth-style shoot and was doing quick mini sessions of fifteen minutes each. Cole was watching Ruby since it was the weekend, and she was thankful he had been willing. She knew she needed to think about where to get a babysitter in the future if she ever needed to head to a shoot and Cole wasn’t available.
Ava tried not to get her hopes up about getting permanent guardianship of Ruby. The court date was only a few days from now, and she was getting antsy. She hadn’t heard from her mom or Frank at all since she gained temporary custody, but she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Two hours later, her last session was ending. She was cold despite constantly moving to get different angles for the photos. She said goodbye to her last group and moved to put her camera away when she heard her name being called. Ava looked up to see Cole and Ruby approaching from the parking lot.
“Hey! What are you two doing here?” she asked.
“We want to get photos too,” Ruby said.
Ava looked at Cole, who smiled back. “Ruby begged me, and who am I to say no?”
“Softy,” Ava said.
“Does that mean we aren’t doing them?” Ruby’s lip jutted out in a pout.
“No, we can do them. Go look through the props.”
“Softy,” Cole retorted.
Ava smacked his arm lightly and giggled. “Go get some props, and I’ll take photos of you two.”
“Oh, please,” Cole said. “You’re going to be in the photos too. Get your camera set on timer mode and let’s do this.”
She watched him walk over to where Ruby was digging through the props. She handed him a fake pink mustache and a pink hat, which he promptly put on. Ava smiled softly as Cole interacted with her sister. It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, but the more it happened, the more she realized how in love she was with him. His kind heart had always been one of his greatest qualities, but this last week, his unwavering support had shone through.
She blinked back tears at the realization and took a steadying breath before setting her camera up on the tripod with a timer.
“Ready?” she called over to them.
“Ready!” Ruby shouted back. “I have your props ready, too.”
Ava giggled under her breath and turned the timer on before rushing over to them. She quickly put on the large pink glasses she was handed and held up pink sparkly lips on a stick. The three of them posed for over twenty pictures while passing around their props. By the end, Ruby was laughing hysterically and asked if she could see the photos.
“I’ll show them to you when we get home, but right now I want to get out of the cold. I’m freezing,” she said.
Cole was already filling her bins with the supplies and taking them to her car. She wouldn’t complain about the extra pair of hands.
“Maybe we should get hot chocolate,” Ruby said. The pleading look in her eyes had Ava laughing.
“What did I miss?” Cole asked as he came back to grab the last bin.
“Ruby thinks we need to get hot chocolate since I said I’m cold.”
“I think that’s a great idea. And I know just the place.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Of course you do.”
Ava drove her car back to their place, where she met Cole and Ruby, and then hopped into Cole’s car. He drove them to Storyville’s Stories. Katie was behind the counter and smiled brightly at them when they approached.
“Girl, do you always work?” Ava asked. “I feel like you’re always here.”
Katie laughed lightly. “These days it feels like it, but we’ll be hiring an extra hand soon. Interviews start next week. But enough business talk. What can I get you?”
“Hot chocolate, please,” Ruby said.
“Oh, the best. Whipped cream and marshmallows too?” Katie said.
