Page 6 of Her Greek Protector
As she scrolled through some of the candid shots she had taken during the wedding and reception, she bit her lip. She was already planning to find a local photography shop and create a memory book for Gemma. She paused when she found one of Leo with Gemma holding Damien. Father and son were eye to eye and Damien had his hand on his father’s cheek, while Leo’s hand caressed Gemma’s jaw. She felt a small twinge of jealousy as she thought of how nicely Gemma’s life had come together. Gemma had a husband who adored her and a son any parent would be proud of. Gemma had people who needed what she had to offer.
I want that. I want to be needed for what I can offer, not because of how I look. I’m tired of men seeing me as a stepping-stone to the man calling the shots. I want to call the shots!
A small tap on her door had her looking up. Kassi poked her head into the room. Kassi was the first and only cousin to Leo and Alexi, and had come to live with them after her father had died the year before. Her mother had died years earlier, leaving the twenty-year old alone in the world. Her uncle had opened up his home to her and she’d been living with them ever since.
“Hey!” Kassi’s eyes took in the sleeping child and she lowered her voice. “I thought maybe you guys might want to join me for a swim?”
Aimee smiled and waved her into the room. “Maybe when he wakes up. We spent the morning at the beach and he’s tuckered out.”
Kassi took a seat on the couch next to Aimee, glancing at her laptop screen. “Oh, that picture is awesome!”
“Not really. It’s just something I took while I was walking around the day of the wedding,” Aimee told her.
Kassi shook her head. “You’re really good. People pay lots of money for photographers who don’t take pictures half that good. Have you considered doing it professionally?”
Aimee raised an eyebrow. “Not really. Photography is just a hobby…”
Kassi smiled and then stood up, heading for the doorway. “Maybe it shouldn’t be.”
Aimee sat there for long minutes after Kassi left her room.
Could I really turn photography into a career? I’d need all new equipment, and a way to let people know about my services, and…
Aimee closed her laptop. “You need a job, not a hobby. Photography isn’t your future.” Seeing Damien start to stir, she pushed thoughts of the future aside, turning her mind to how she was going to amuse a one and a half-year old for the remainder of the day. Swimming with Kassi would take up several hours, leaving several more to go before Damien would be ready to retire for the night. Aimee would have plenty of time to ponder Kassi’s words.
I could take pictures. I would be my own boss, call the shots, be in charge of my own destiny. I would never again be at the mercy of men with too much power and money, who believe that money entitles them to act however they wanted. I would be completely in control of my future. That’s what I want. That’s what I deserve!