As if this were a sign of acceptance, Madison’s face lit up, and she returned the handshake. “Same. My mom told me all about your photography business.”
Gwen stepped up, and her hand fell on Madison’s shoulder. “She’s thought about modeling, and I wanted to see how much it would cost for you to take a few photos.”
Erica’s brows arched. “A model? That’s cool! I think you’ve got the perfect face for modeling.”
At this, Madison’s face colored in bashfulness, though that slight rise of pink in her cheeks only made her prettier.
“She’s been talking about it for a while,” her mother said, “but any photographer we talked to would charge an arm and a leg, and they were all the way in Springfield or Chicago. I’m not saying that to make you give us a discount or anything, but we were curious what you might charge.”
She eagerly explained how photo sessions like that were structured, almost defending the other photographers who charged hundreds of dollars in the process.
While Gwen listened, her daughter browsed through the albums but continued to glance every which way as if she couldn’t focus on the task at hand. Erica could see the pages of the albums tremble as she turned them carefully and wondered what she had to be nervous about. There was also the way Madison’s face twitched and pinched, as if she were uncomfortable but trying hard to hide it.
“Just a couple of headshots to send to modeling agencies shouldn’t be a big deal at all.” Erica picked up one of her business cards from the stack on the table to hand to Gwen. “I think we could work something out. Whenever you’re ready to—”
Her thoughts were derailed when Dominic walked up to the table and stood next to Madison, clad in the leather jacket she had seen him in so often. His sudden appearance threatened to buckle her legs beneath her.
It didn’t take long for Erica to get the sense that Dominic hadn’t come up to the table to see her. His attention was riveted upon Madison. But the impression was one of serious concern, like he thought the girl was in trouble. Could he have noticed her nervousness too? But he was nowhere to be seen a minuteago, and Erica wouldn’t have seen any signs of Madison’s unease if she hadn’t looked down at the portfolio. Where had he been hiding?
“Are you okay?” His voice was so low and rumbly it made a skitter course up Erica’s spine.
Madison looked a little startled by his sudden appearance and shot a stare at him, eyes a little wide with the faintest bit of fear in them.
A few awkward seconds passed, and Erica watched the scene. Or more accurately, she felt the scene. Slowly, some weird aura of peace filled her vendor space. All the rest of the festival carried on around them, but under her tent, they were all still and calm like the eye of a storm. She hadn’t even realized her own nerves until they settled almost instantly in the wake of a feeling that she could only attribute to Dominic’s nearness.
Madison’s shoulders released and whatever tension she’d been holding ebbed away. Gwen’s hand tightened on her daughter’s shoulder as if to comfort her, now just as worried as Dominic.
Madison gave Dominic a strained smile, and her stare darted between the other three at the table, as if she hadn’t realized she had become the focal point of attention. “I’m fine.” Her voice was so soft in the response that Erica barely heard her.
Both Dominic and Gwen seemed satisfied, and Erica forced herself to return to the conversation to address Gwen. “Whenever you’re ready, just give me a call.”
The mother grinned. “Thank you, Erica. That’s very nice of you, and we appreciate your help.”
They talked a little longer about something that Erica barely remembered, and soon, Gwen and Madison left to return to the Lunar Lantern. She and Dominic were now alone, but Erica’s mind spun with a million questions about what had just happened.
Remembering herself, Erica said, “Thanks again for the booth spot.”
Dominic grazed his fingertips on the plastic tabletop as he glanced over the photo albums. “No problem at all.”
“Mary seemed to think it was a problem,” Erica murmured.
Dominic snickered and she fought back that light, airy, wonderful feeling that it produced in her. “She’ll get over it. She always makes a fuss when I change plans on her.”
Erica’s face pinched with curiosity, but she was too enraptured with his blue eyes poring over the pictures, her pictures. A certain, excited light shone in them as if he were impressed by her work.
Erica chewed on her bottom lip, replaying the moment Dominic walked up to her table, and she tried to make sense of it. Did it have to do with what he and Gwen talked about in his shop last week? Were they distantly related or had some sort of weird brother-sister friendship? And how could he even know she was upset without seeing her face? And what was with the feel-good aura thing that had happened? A quick sniff told her that Dominic wasn’t wearing some calming fragrance, so what could have caused her and Madison to relax like that?
Dominic’s head shot up, and he pinned her there with an intense gaze that startled her. “What’s wrong?”
Erica jerked back. “Nothing’s wrong.”
His brows lowered in that way that told her he didn’t believe her and demanded honesty.
She caved. “I was just thinking about what you might have done to make Madison calm down.”
Dominic blinked and leaned closer. “What are you talking about?”
Erica jerked her chin toward the Lunar Lantern. “Are you kidding me?” When he betrayed no hint of understanding, she went on. “She was upset about something and you came up,practically out of nowhere, asking if she was okay. Then, it was like…” She held up her hand, reaching for the right way to describe it. “I don’t know. Like you put something in the air and we—I mean, she instantly chilled out.”
