Page 89 of Capture The Moment

She peeked inside and caught Kelly’s attention at the front counter. With her usual exuberance, Kelly sashayed to the door and let Harper in.

“Come on in. This is so exciting! Emma’s running a few minutes late. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Amazed at the level of energy that Kelly exuded at this early hour, Harper decided that a cup of coffee might do her some good. Even then, she probably wouldn’t come close to matching Kelly’s energy level. “Sure,” she said warmly.

“Come on back to the office,” Kelly said and led Harper behind the counter and into a small office space.

Kelly motioned to a chair in front of the desk while she poured them each a cup of coffee from the pot on a side table and then sat down beside her.

“I couldn’t believe it when I was searching for a local photographer and saw your name,” Kelly said.

Harper had been surprised too when she’d received an email from Kelly indicating that they were looking to hire a photographer to take some in-store photos. She’d been expecting an email about the next book club meeting instead, which came a couple of days later.

“I’m glad you contacted me,” Harper said sincerely. She had grown quite fond of the bookstore and its friendly owners.

And then Emma fluttered in, hair pulled back in a casual knot and dripping rain from her trench coat. “So sorry I’m late,” she said, peeling off her coat and hanging it on the metal coatrack. “My kids didn’t want me to leave this morning!”

“Wasn’t Grandma Kostas there to help out?” Kelly asked familiarly.

Harper had discovered that not only were Emma and Kelly co-workers and best friends, but they were sisters-in-law as well.

“She was, but sometimes, only a mother’s touch will do,” Emma said before plopping down in the chair behind the desk.

A few weeks ago, Harper might have felt envious of these two beautiful women. They had jobs that they loved, men that they loved even more, and their family was expanding, as evidenced by Kelly’s baby bump, which she rubbed lovingly every so often. But Harper had a lot to be grateful for too, and she immediately thought of Finn, smiling softly as she did.

“So, Kelly probably already told you why we contacted you,” Emma said, “but I’ll reiterate. We’re looking to update our website, and we need some new photos of the store and of us and even some of our customers. I’m sure you’ve already met Mrs. Simmons.”

“I have,” Harper said, smiling at the memory.

“We want the website to have a homey, community vibe, so we’d like to include some of our regular customers too.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Harper said, pulling a notepad and pen out of her tote bag. “What kind of time frame are you looking at?”

“We’d like to roll out the new website by June, if that works with your schedule.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Harper said confidently.

“We looked at some of your work on your website and were very impressed,” Emma said. “You definitely have a creative eye, so we’re excited to see what you come up with.”

“Thanks,” Harper said. “I love what I do.”

“It shows,” Kelly said sweetly.

They talked business for a while longer, and Harper gave them some printed materials to look over before they concluded their meeting. At the end, all three of them seemed satisfied with the arrangement.

“So, when I come to the book club meeting next week, I’ll bring my camera and take some candid shots,” Harper said. “You might want to warn people ahead of time in case they don’t want their photo taken.”

Kelly laughed. “Are you kidding? Most of the women in that group are hams!”

“Especially Mrs. Simmons,” Emma added.

They made small talk for a few minutes more until they heard a loud knock on the front door.

Kelly poked her head out of the office and said, “Speaking of Mrs. Simmons…”

Kelly went to open the door while Harper gathered her belongings and followed Emma out of the office.

“Thanks a lot,” Emma said, turning to shake her hand. “I’m really looking forward to working with you.”