He smiled, quick and warm. “You got it. The inn, the lake, the main street. My editor will want the same. Magazines like a lot of smaller shots, too, to showcase different areas of town.”
Krista shifted her weight, the strap of her camera bag sliding against her shoulder, and her hip bumped lightly into his. He glanced at her and wondered if she felt as unsteady as he did.
“We should take some photos while we’re hiking on Monday, too,” she said. “Give her options.”
“Exactly.” He lowered the camera and looked at her. “That spot where we met yesterday morning? It could make a great banner. Or any overlook with water and trees. Then we layer in close-ups of locals, storefronts, all the little details. Coffee cups, flowers, that dog bowl outside the bookshop. The stuff that makes people think, ‘I want to be there.’”
“Alright, now how do I make sure I don’t overexpose the photos?” Krista asked.
“That would be your ISO, and yes, I should’ve covered that before.”
He angled the camera so she could see the back display. “See this grid? You want the line right in the middle. That’s your sweet spot.”
Krista leaned closer, her chest brushing against his arm as she leaned in, not bothering to pull away. “Okay, so if my subject is in motion…”
“You’ll need the faster shutter speed so the image isn’t blurry. Usually, the cloudy or darker it is, the higher the ISO you’ll need, but yesterday was bright and sunny, and the ISO got bumped to 6400…”
Krista nodded. “Which let in too much light.”
“Exactly.” His eyes flicked to her. “You’relearning.”
“Okay. Let me see what I can do.” Krista walked down the sunlit street, camera strap around her neck.
Joe followed, normally so used to working alone. Yet with her, explaining light, angles, and composition felt…right. Better even. And when Krista tried again and got it right, that little spark on her face did something to his chest.
He liked letting her into his world. More than he ever would’ve guessed. Of course, it helped that his “student” was balancing his camera in those maddening cutoff jean shorts she loved. The soft V at her tank top neckline caught his eye, the glint of her thin necklace matching the gold hoops in her ears. Her curls were yanked up into a ponytail, loose pieces escaping around her face. Even her hair couldn’t quite behave.
He told himself to focus.
“Okay,” he said, stepping in behind her to adjust the strap at her neck, fingers brushing her warm skin. “Think about what you want people tofeelwhen they see this shot.”
What he didn’t say was how he felt, standing this close to her. How he liked seeing Maple Falls through her eyes.
“So, you’ve been…everywhere,” said Krista, breaking the tension. “Tell me more about the last few years. The highlight reel.”
He adjusted the strap of his camera bag. “Okay. Last year—I told you about Scotland. I did a piece on coastal towns that live and die by the weather. The light there is unreal. Moody one minute, holy the next.”
Krista’s eyes brightened. “Scotland sounds so dreamy. Was it all like…castles and mist and men in kilts?”
“Sometimes,” he said, and the corner of his mouth lifted. “Mostly it was rain and fishermen who could out-swear me. But yeah. Mist. Castles. A pub that served chips so good I considered moving in.”
She laughed.
“And before that,” he went on, “Portugal. A story on old tile makers. Prague…an assignment I didn’t deserve. And Iceland—once. Felt like I was standing at the edge of the world.”
Krista slowed, turning so she could see him. “Which one is the most memorable?”
“Now? This,” he said, and the word left his mouth before he’d planned it.
Krista blinked. “Maple Falls?”
“It’s not the biggest,” he said, as if that explained it. “But it’s…full. People here know each other and show up. You have festivals for every occasion, an inn that smells like cinnamon and a lakeside bar that feels like home. You can’t beat it.”
Krista’s mouth softened, blinking. “That might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about this little town.”
He watched her line up another shot. “You act like your life is small.”
“It is,” she admitted. “Compared to yours. You’ve been to Iceland.”
