AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe you need to find out the answers. That might help you figure out what you need to do.”
Derek walked into the room, a camera around his neck, and sporting a pair of jeans. Nara almost swallowed her tongue. When had he purchased jeans? Must have been yesterday when he went shopping. Dang, he looked mighty fine in them. What was he trying to do? Kill her? Her heart rate tripled.
“What you need to do about what?” he asked.
Nara glanced at Brielle, waiting for her to tell Derek. It wasn’t her story.
Brielle groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Levi wants to get back together.”
Derek stiffened, his back muscles showing through his T-shirt. “That’s easy. Tell him to jump off a cliff.”
Brielle huffed and hopped off her stool. “Thanks, but Nara had much better advice. Maybe you should stick to taking pictures.” She exited the room, brushing past Derek.
He turned to Nara, frowning. “What did I do?”
“Nothing. Just let her figure it out. She still loves the guy.” She took a swig of her drink, then pointed to his camera. “Where are you going? I thought you’d be at work today.”
“Your dad doesn’t want me back until next week. He said we should still be on our honeymoon, so he wants me to stay away from the office.” He lifted his camera. “I thought I’d go out and take some photos.” He paused, then said, “Want to come?”
Was that a pity invite? She wasn’t sure, but she nodded anyway. What else was there to do? She didn’t want to lounge around the house all day, waiting for her father to call, bemoaning the fact that Derek didn’t love her. Although, the thought of spending the day with Derek sounded a bit like torture. But what could she do? She’d already nodded. “Sure,” she said, already regretting the decision.
“Okay, great. It’s supposed to be a nice day. In the seventies.”
Nice. The perfect weather to spend time with someone who thinks of you as a sister. She rubbed her forehead. “I’ll need a few minutes. Can you wait for me to get ready?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Nara went upstairs, glad her headache had subsided a bit with the caffeine. She didn’t want to fight a headache all day. She already was setting herself up for a terrible day. She should go back downstairs and tell Derek she didn’t want to go after all. Make up some excuse. But in the end, she couldn’t do it.
Maybe it was dumb, but she wanted to spend the day with him.
She quickly dressed and slipped on her good walking shoes. She wasn’t sure how long they would be out taking pictures, but she thought maybe it would be a good idea.
As she joined him back in the kitchen, passing by several framed photographs, she realized they may not be Ansel Adams prints. They might be Derek’s. She stopped short to take a closer look. Sure enough, his signature was in the bottom corner. She entered the kitchen, pointing at the picture in the hallway. “You took all these photographs?”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
“Derek, these are fantastic. I thought you paid a lot of money for them.” Her face heated. “Wait, that didn’t sound as great coming out of my mouth as it did in my head.”
He did his little smile-not-smile thing. “It’s okay. I know what you meant.”
“They really are wonderful. You captured the light perfectly. The images are moving. You could totally sell these.”
He seemed to grow self-conscious. “I don’t know. I’m not really a professional.”
It struck her that she and Derek weren’t so opposite. He lacked confidence in his skill as a photographer, just like she did in her fashion design. At least he’d pushed her to enter that contest. She felt good about it.
“You could be. Just sayin’.” Nara slapped his shoulder and headed toward the door, hoping to keep the atmosphere light. “Let’s go. You can show me your favorite picture-taking spots.”
An hour later they were hiking along the trails of Griffith Park, Derek snapping shots as they walked. Nara tried not to pay too much attention when he squatted down, his muscles straining against his T-shirt. She didn’t want to think about how attracted she was to him right now.
I’m like a sister to him, she repeated in her mind, so she would stop ogling. He was nothing more than a temporary means to an end. After the two years, her father would give her what she wanted, and she could be out.
Except…she kind of didn’t want to be out. Was that stupid or what? She shook her head, trying to clear it. What was she thinking? That she wanted to stay married to Derek? That was dumb.
The park was the perfect place for photos. The trees gave enough shade that it wasn’t too hot, but yet let in enough light for some amazing shots. The path they followed was paved, a nice width so they weren’t crowded. Nara breathed in the scent of the sycamore trees. Living in California did have its perks. New York didn’t feel like this in January.
The path turned and forked, one side hugging the hill, the other side branching off onto a bridge. “Which way should we go?” she asked.
