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“A lot of it is lighting. And angle. You have to be willing to take the shot from a different viewpoint than you would normally see. We are all used to seeing flowers from here,” he said, motioning a person’s height. “But rarely do we get down on the ground and look at flowers from down here.” He crouched down to prove his point.
Understanding hit Nara and she grinned. “You’re right. Taking the photo from down there makes it so much more interesting. You’re a genius!”
Derek chuckled, and a full smile spread across his lips. “Hardly.”
Nara pointed at him. “Ha! I made you laugh. I can’t believe it. Is my evil plan actually working? Is Emperor Derek loosening up?”
His smile faded away as quickly as it had appeared. “You called me a genius. That’s all. It made me laugh because everyone knows those photography tricks.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You’ve probably never picked up a photography book.”
“That’s true. How did you know? You must have superpowers. I think we should call you The Masked Emperor. That can be your superhero name.” She peered up at him, hoping his smile would come back, but it didn’t. Too bad. She liked it on him.
She walked along the gravel paths with him, the sun beating down. At least she’d remembered sunscreen this morning. She’d be burned to a crisp if she’d forgotten it.
They entered a new section of the park. She pointed to a patch of flowers. “Wow, look at all the butterflies.”
“They planted flowers that attract them. Those are swallowtails, I believe. There are over sixty butterfly species here, five of which are native to the Cayman Islands.”
Nara looked up at him. “How do you know so much about butterflies?”
“I read the pamphlet.”
She snorted and shoved his chest. It was like shoving a brick wall. “Geesh, I thought you were some romantic or something.”
His mouth dropped open. “What? I am a romantic. Are you saying I’m not? I studied a pamphlet about flowers and butterflies, for Pete’s sake.”
He had a point. “Okay, you got me there.”
He squatted to take another close-up shot of a flower.
“You must like taking photos of flowers. I think you’ve got about fifty thousand now.”
He stood up and shrugged. “Flowers remind me of my mother. When I was growing up she always had them in vases around the house. We didn’t have a ton of money, with my father pouring it all into the business he started with your dad. But my mother loved flowers, and he would save up and bring them home for her. She said they brightened up her day.”
Nara’s throat grew dry and she blinked back moisture. “I don’t remember a lot about your mom, only that she loved to laugh. I can still hear the sound of her laughter ringing through the building as she tried to catch us when it was time for us to go home.”
Derek chuckled. “Yeah.”
“You miss her, don’t you?”
“Yes.” His answer was quiet, and she had to look at him to make sure he’d even said it.
“Then let’s take many pictures of the flowers today. To remember your mother by.”
Derek clenched his jaw, and she saw a wave of emotion come over his face before he nodded. “Okay.”
The sprinklers turned on, and Nara squealed as one of them, pointed the wrong direction, doused her leg with cold water. She did a dance, trying to get out of reach from the water.
“What are you doing?” Derek asked, his face stoic, as usual.
“I’m getting wet! Can’t you feel that?”
“It’s not hitting me.”
Nara grabbed his shoulders and swiveled so he was in the line of fire. “Hey,” he said, repeating her dance. “That’s cold.”
