2
H ow long after the first dance is it acceptable for a photographer to leave the wedding?
Rose schooled her face as she watched Indy and Draven circle the floor, surrounded by their friends and family. The last thing she wanted was for all the military types who’d come out in their dress uniforms to celebrate with the happy couple to figure out she shouldn’t be here. She didn’t exist. At least she didn’t think she did anymore.
Agreeing to do this was stupid.
What were you thinking?
You weren’t thinking.
She huffed silently in her head. When she’d offered to be the official photographer at Indy’s wedding, she’d known she was breaking the rules, but she hadn’t been able to resist the chance to do something she loved and had missed every single day for months. For just one day, she wanted to be freaking normal. When she’d shown Indy and Lizz the photos she’d taken at her cousin’s wedding, they’d insisted she wasn’t an amateur and that she’d rock at photographing the biggest day of Indy’s life. Rose was sure that confidence was misplaced, but she did need the money she’d save on a wedding gift, and she also wanted to help her friend who’d been let down by the fancy photographer she’d initially hired.
Normal, my butt. There isn’t one single thing normal about you.
“You are looking mighty pensive there…” The voice just behind her nearly took ten years off her life, and even though she did her best not to jump, she suspected Caleb Hunt, one of the groomsmen, knew she wasn’t as relaxed as she tried to appear. He’d been eyeing her weirdly all day as she’d directed the wedding party into poses for the photos Indy had requested. “This is a happy day,” he told her. “That frown,” he reached one finger toward her, and she stepped back to avoid contact, “will make everyone think you aren’t happy for them.”
Rose quirked up an eyebrow. “I am happy for them. Indy deserves the best, and for her, that’s Draven.”
“Hm.” As if he didn’t quite believe her, he quirked up an eyebrow, then leaned over the bar, grabbed a bottle of champagne from the ice bucket, and nodded to her glass. “Want a top-up?”
“No, thank you.” She nudged her glass away from him. “I don’t really drink very often, so it’s better I stick with what I have. Plus, I think I’m still on duty for another hour or so, at least.” She lifted her camera from where it rested on the bar next to her elbow. That sounded plausible, right?
“Want me to grab you a juice or a soda?”
Thank God he wasn’t going to push it. Some people didn’t know when to accept no for an answer and kept insisting someone who would rather not drink could just have one for the road or similar.
Don’t be a bitch, and don’t make him think you are weird.
I am weird.
She knew to most people she probably did appear weird, but that didn’t mean she wanted everyone to know it for sure. She smoothed a hand down her dress and forced a smile. “I’d love water, please.”
“You got it.” Instead of topping up his own glass first, he put the champagne back in the ice bucket and went around further down the bar to the coolers and grabbed two bottles before coming back to her. “Want me to open it, or would you prefer to do it yourself?”
It’s as if he knows I won’t drink it if someone else opens it.
“I got it.” She reached for the bottle. “Thank you.”
“I like that you’re cautious when you are out with people you don’t know well.”
His praise shouldn’t make a swarm of butterflies show up in her belly, but it did. “Why do you say that?”
“I noticed all day.” He lounged against the bar next to her seat. “Every time you sipped from your water, you put the top back on again. That’s a smart thing to do, especially if you don’t know everyone you are with.”
“I’m a klutz. If I didn’t, I’d hit it with my elbow and send water flying everywhere.” Her go-to explanation should be enough. “The last place I want to spill a drink is at the top table at my friend’s wedding while I’m taking the photographs. Her ivory dress wouldn’t look as awesome with my drink all down the front of it.”
“I was kinda worried I’d drop some of the soup or something.” He grinned. “It made me nervous to be on display and facing everyone as we ate.”
She was sure he was just saying that to make her feel better because she couldn’t picture Caleb Hunt being nervous about anything, never mind something as mundane as eating dinner. She didn’t know what to say in response, though, so she made a non-committal noise and hoped he heard it over the sound of the band.
“Tell me about you, Rose.” Caleb sipped his champagne and met her gaze over the rim of the glass. “How do you know Indy?”
How does he know I’m not just some random photographer she picked from the Yellow Pages when the other guy let her down?
Don’t freak out.
Act normal.
Who was she kidding? Normal wasn’t in her wheelhouse—not anymore. “We met at Aces Bar and Grill a few months ago. I work with Jessyka.” She still didn’t know why on earth she’d opened her mouth and offered to be Indy and Draven’s wedding photographer when she knew it was against the rules. Desperation, maybe. The need to feel normal for once. The need to lift some stress from Indy’s shoulder was definitely a factor. Once she’d seen evidence of her skills, Indy had insisted she wanted nobody else to take the images, which would remind her of the biggest day of her life when she married Draven, and the original photographer canceling must have been fate. “I guess we hit it off and became friends. When the photographer let her down, I offered to do it.”
Rose would never admit she was also relieved, as she wouldn’t have been able to attend the wedding if she wasn’t here for work. Being part of the wedding in this capacity meant she didn’t need to fork out a load of money she didn’t have for a new dress. She had been about to send her RSVP saying she couldn’t attend when the photographer called Indy and canceled.
“Mysterious, I like that.”
No, no, he wasn’t supposed to like it or supposed to have that intrigued look on his face. She wasn’t a puzzle Caleb Hunt should get tangled up in, and she definitely wasn’t a puzzle he should want to solve. She put the top on her bottle of water and curved her lips up into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but hopefully, he wouldn’t notice that either. “Will you excuse me for a moment?”
She didn’t wait for his reply. She turned away and made a beeline for the restroom. She needed a minute to regroup. Being in a crowd was getting overwhelming. Most women might think she was nuts from walking away from Caleb’s flirting, but she wasn’t here to hook up, and one-night stands weren’t her jam. Nope, if he was looking for a notch on his bedpost, then there were plenty of people at this wedding who could fill that space for him. She was supposed to stay under the radar. That was another one of the rules she lived by. Getting involved with someone so well-known in the community was not something she could or should do. Period.