She removed some large white panels with a roll of duct tape. “I wanted to make a cheap lightbox, so I made this with some foam board and tissue paper. I just need to put these panels together really quick.” She placed two of the panels side-by-side and began taping them together.
“You have your own lights?” He removed rickety, cheap, metal lamps from the box. “Are you sure these are safe? They look like an accident waiting to happen.”
She glanced at them. “Oh, yeah, I’ve already used them before at the coffee shop. If you’re really concerned, you can bring out the shop’s fire extinguisher and have it on hand. But they work great and, with the lightbox, I can diffuse the light more evenly. I actually picked up those lights and the tripod at one of the antique stores, the one across the street. Have you ever been there?”
“You mean the junk shop.”
“It’s notalljunk. It’s a treasure hunt. And the guy who works there was really nice. He had some cool political memorabilia that I guess is something he personally collects. I listened to him talk about it for forty-five minutes.”
Ross’s brow shifted in confusion. “Why?”
“Because I found it interesting. I like to listen to people talk about things that get them excited, and I learn something new. You can watch when someone gets energized about a topic. They get a little gleam in their eye. I always look for the gleam.” She returned to taping, her hair falling across her shoulder. “You had a gleam when you were talking about making jewelry in your workshop.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think my eyes have ever gleamed.”
“Oh, I remember them gleaming a few times in high school, Rosso.” She slid him a coy smile, with the dimple making a marked appearance. “I know for sure there’s still a gleam in there.”
Ross shoved his hands in his pockets while rocking on his heels. He couldn’t escape a need to steady himself whenever she was around. “You were saying something about the antique store.”
“Oh, yes. Anyway, we had a really nice conversation, and while I was there, I found these table lights and the tripod. He gave it all to me for ten bucks.”
“That was very generous of him.”
“Wasn’t it? He’s definitely a more generous shop owner than you.” Mia propped the handmade, standing lightbox on the table. A falling leaf could probably knock the whole thing over. “There. What do you think?”
What did he think? Ross wasn’t sure. Mia being here seemed to be both a mistake and the best decision he’d made in a while. While the first was a given, the latter went against his instincts. “I think if you can get some decent images with this setup, it’s going to be a miracle.”
The coy smile returned. “Yeah? Maybe we should make it a bet then, make it interesting. If I can get some decent pictures, I get jewelry.”
“Yeah, this bet is already way too expensive. What could you possibly offer on your side to be worth jewelry?”
“You’re already getting a bargain with my level of expertise and photography skills. What are you afraid of, Rosso?”
Ross studied her for a moment. As usual, he wasn’t sure how much of her was pure bravado. “You seem way too confident. I have a feeling you know you’d win this bet.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Like I said, the guy at the antique store is way more generous than you.”
She set the lights on either side of the makeshift lightbox. “Voila! I think that’ll work. Can you bring me some of the jewelry you want pictures of?”
He unlocked the display cabinet and removed a few pieces to start with. He handed her a pair of silver earrings. The thin, precious metal dangles, woven together like a rushing river.
She put an old wooden board with pale blue, distressed paint in the center of her lightbox. A tuft of brittle, vibrant green moss was placed on top. The earrings hooked into the moss, setting them upright.
Mia tinkered with the camera settings. “In high school, I bought a vintage camera at a yard sale for seven dollars. I was so excited, I moved stuff out of my bedroom closet. I had the idea that I’d create a darkroom to develop my own film.”
“What happened?” As much as he tried to quash his curiosity, he couldn’t help it. Mia always had the ability to draw him into conversation, like a grumpy moth to a dimpled flame.
“Well, let’s just say my parents insisted I start using my closet as a real closet again. Especially after the curtain rod got ripped from the wall. For some reason, it couldn’t handle being used as a makeshift clothing rack. They definitely were not on board with the idea.” She sighed. “Just as well. I never got any film for the camera. But I’m still disappointed I never got to use it.”
“You can still buy film for those?”
“Oh, sure. Not anywhere around here, of course, but there are photography places around LA where you can buy film. And there’s this magical place called”—she paused for dramatic effect—“the Internet.” A single hand, with fingers spread apart, swept through the air as though she was explaining the existence of Mount Olympus. “Also, it’s where cat videos, memes, and jewelry store websites go to live. You should look into it.”
“Shut up, Russo.” But a grin escaped his lips, rendering his words less potent.
For an hour, Ross assisted in handing her jewelry to be photographed. He grew fascinated watching her work. She kept her thick, golden-brown hair locked behind her ears as she hunched over, becoming level with her subject. Mia didn’t say much. She was so focused, the corners of her mouth would shift and pull at different angles. In between, she’d make minuscule adjustments to the jewelry, fixating on the smallest detail before snapping more images. Her movements were confident and graceful, like the rest of her. While she was completely focused, he allowed his gaze to linger lazily across her back, following the gentle slope of Mia’s neck, down the length of her spine until his eyes reached the luscious curve of her—
“You know I was thinking,” she said, breaking through the silence and causing Ross to flinch at the sudden interruption of his daydreams. “We should take some images of the jewelry on someone. People like to see what it looks like on an actual person, especially if they’re purchasing online.”
