“It’ll go straight to your main email. I got all this information from Aanya. You’re basically set up and ready to go if you like it. Also, I listed key hashtags I think you should use for social media pages. Using the right hashtags will get eyes on your images, then you can add a link to your Etsy page, and it’ll be easy for people to purchase from you. If your cousin doesn’t have time to run the social media pages, I can fill in until she’s ready. I really don’t mind.”
Ross couldn’t wrap his head around the gift Mia gave him. It was clear she put a lot of thought and work into it. “Mia, I…” It was hopeless. He was lost. He couldn’t find one adequate word to fill the void. “This wasn’t part of our favor-for-a-favor deal. Now I feel like I owe you.”
She ejected the jump drive before standing to face him, her body much too close to his. Her eyes took their sweet time scanning the features of his face. “Maybe it’s time we stop keeping track of favors.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.” The pulse rate of his heart increased as the distance between them began to shrink.
“I have an idea,” Mia whispered.
“You do?”
“Mm-hmm.” Her eyes dropped to his lips before lifting again. “Maybe you can be my friend.”
“Why settle for so little? You could have asked for that matching necklace?” His gaze surveyed the edge of her jawline, debating where would be the best spot to press a kiss.
The corners of her mouth pulled into a smile. “I don’t consider it to be little.”
It would be so easy to—
His hand couldn’t resist any longer, the pads of his fingers traced the edge of her jaw. Before he realized what was happening, his lips pressed to hers.
“I’m still not looking to start anything,” he said before bestowing another kiss to her tender, responsive mouth.
“Neither am I,” was Mia’s light as air reply, returning his kiss with one of her own.
“So, it’s settled then, this doesn’t mean anything.” He tasted her again.
“Nothing at all.” Mia did her own tasting with a slow, torturous slide against his mouth, killing him in sweet, short increments.
“I’m serious, Mia.”
“Me too,” she exhaled between a delicate caress. “Do you think I actually want to be kissing you right now?”
“Probably not as much as I don’t want to be kissing you.”
“This is the very worst kind of dilemma.”
It needed to stop. It couldn’t continue. Ross grabbed at the first wild idea his brain could envision. “How about the camera?”
Mia pulled away. “What?”
“Favor for a favor. The camera. It’s yours.” Serving as a perfect excuse, he made his escape, almost tripping over his feet as he went to the part of the office where the black camera bag was located.
“Does this mean you’re rejecting my offer of friendship?” Her face held an expression he couldn’t read. Disappointment? Sadness? It hit him straight in the gut.
“I’ve always been your friend,” he heard himself say. “But the time and work you put into this seems like it should be worth more.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Take it.” He pushed the bag into her arms, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You’ll get more use out of it than I will. I don’t want to spend the time figuring out how to use it anyway.”
“Really?” Mia’s chest expanded from a deep breath as if a burst of happiness would soon rupture out of her. Amber eyes glowed. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever witnessed. “It’s funny. My boss was talking to her friend, who runs the boutique shop next to Pony Expresso, about the images I took. She might be interested in hiring me,” she said.
“Great. Looks like I just helped by making a major contribution to your new business. Go do that.”
Some of the glow shuttered from her eyes. “I haven’t decided to do it yet. I really shouldn’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
