Wanna be my date to a wedding? It’s a paid gig.
Julia stared at the text. Was Taylor really asking her to be her date to a wedding? For money?
Oh, but you have to work.
The winky face helped, but still left her confused. But rather than starting with questions, she decided to play along. I don’t wait tables. She waited a beat, then added, Not because I think I’m too good but because someone would end up with a lap full of food.
LOL. No food service, promise. My cousin’s photographer flaked and I’m filling in. Could use a lovely assistant.
Julia got a flutter at Taylor’s referring to her as lovely, which was silly since she was probably making a joke. I don’t know anything about photography.
You were such the photographer in high school. That’s plenty. Promise.
Julia hesitated. Yes, she’d loved taking pictures when she was younger. She’d even considered photography as a major in college. But that was before Erica and getting swept up in the world of real artists. She hadn’t done more than snap candids with her phone in years.
She’d love to spend an evening with Taylor. But at the same time, she didn’t want to make an idiot of herself. She’d done enough of that lately. And she really didn’t want to make things awkward between them. Taylor was exactly the kind of friend she needed right now, and messing up or, worse, getting all sappy and emotional at a wedding, could send Taylor running in the opposite direction.
You’d be my wing woman. Consider it payback.
Even with all her waffling, she couldn’t say no to that. I’m at your disposal.
Taylor sent her the details; it didn’t even conflict with her work schedule. The universe telling her it was a good idea, perhaps. She just needed not to think too much about the fact that it was a wedding, full of promises of love and forever.
After nagging Taylor with questions about attire, she settled on a simple black wrap dress—subtle but not so much so she’d be mistaken for the waitstaff. When Taylor pulled into her driveway in her gorgeous red F-150, it felt for a second like they might be going on a date. She tamped down the notion.
But instead of letting her climb in, Taylor got out and walked around to open the passenger door. “You look amazing.”
Julia shook her head. “You don’t have to say that.”
Taylor narrowed her eyes. “But it’s true, and I want to say so.”
Not a date. Not a date. Not a date.
“You’re also an amazing person for helping me out. I may have agreed to do it based on the hope you would.”
Julia smirked, telling herself to keep it light. “Seems like the least I could do.”
Taylor helped her into the truck and they headed to the winery where the wedding and reception were being held. She helped Taylor lug equipment, wishing she knew enough to be more helpful. For the ceremony, Taylor set up a camera on a tripod and left Julia there to take photos while Taylor roamed around with a second camera. During the group shots, she watched. But instead of watching the bridal party, she mostly watched Taylor.
She had this relaxed confidence about her, like she was entirely in her element. Just like in her shop. Or tending the fire. It was really fucking sexy.
When the reception began, Taylor gave her one of the cameras and directions to wander, taking candids and group shots. “There’s no wrong way to do it.”
Despite feeling like she had no idea what she was doing, Julia did as she was told. It was sort of fun, actually. It reminded her of a time in her life when things were far less complicated. And since it was all digital, the worst that could happen was that they’d all need to be deleted.
When dinner was served, they took a break. Since the bride was Taylor’s cousin, they were guests, too. Julia didn’t know what to expect, but the easygoing conversation and minimal questions about her return to town wasn’t it. It was more low-key than anything she ever did with Erica.
When the dancing began, she was relieved to have a job. She did her share of kitchen dancing but preferred getting her groove on without an audience. She continued making the rounds with Taylor’s camera. In addition to people, she captured the cake and the centerpieces, the bride’s bouquet and a pair of abandoned heels. Taylor would probably laugh at them, but she didn’t care.
She was sad to see the night end. On the drive back to her house, she almost said as much to Taylor, but didn’t want to give the wrong impression. “So, where did you learn photography?”
Taylor shrugged. “I don’t have much formal training. I took a class to learn about angles and lighting and stuff so I could take pictures for my website. And I got a couple of decent cameras to play around with.”
“Is there anything you’re not good at?” She was sort of joking, but sort of not. Unlike herself, sadly.
Taylor laughed. “Plenty.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“We could go dancing.”
Julia laughed. “If I wasn’t terrible at that, too, it might make me feel better.”
When Taylor pulled into the driveway, she got out and came around, offered Julia a hand down, and walked her to the door. “Thank you again for your help tonight.”
“I had fun.” Julia smiled and tried not to think about what it would feel like if Taylor kissed her.
“Do you want to come over tomorrow and help me go through them?”
“I wouldn’t want to be in the way.”
“Julia, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want you there.”
Right. Why did this whole thing make her so nervous all of a sudden? “That would be cool.”
“When do you work?”
She cringed. “Eleven to six.”
“Why don’t you come over after? I’ll make dinner again.”
“You keep making me dinner and you won’t be able to get rid of me.”
Taylor grinned. “I can think of worse things.”
Julia sighed. That’s what she was afraid of. “What can I bring?”
“Wine?”
“That I can do.”
“Excellent.” Taylor leaned in and kissed her cheek.
Julia closed her eyes and, for a second, thought Taylor might kiss her for real.
“Good night, Ms. Pierce. I look forward to tomorrow.”
She opened her eyes and cleared her throat, a strange mixture of relief and disappointment swirling through her. “Good night.”
Taylor stepped off the porch and turned. She was waiting for Julia to unlock her door and step inside. The realization did not help the weird mix of emotions Julia had going on. She let herself in and gave Taylor a final wave. She closed the door, but watched Taylor leave. She didn’t bother trying to suppress the sigh of longing.
Developing a thing for Taylor was the absolute last thing she needed to be doing right now. And yet, like so many things in her life, knowing it was a bad decision didn’t seem to stop her. If anything, it made her want it all the more.
* * *
Taylor shook her head. She hadn’t expected the pictures Julia took to be terrible. Modern cameras made that virtually impossible. She hadn’t expected to be blown away, either. But that’s exactly what she was.
They weren’t perfect. A few were out of focus. And some of the group shots looked clumsy, like she was hesitant to give too much direction. The candids were great, though. And the stills. Without a hint of coaching, she’d captured some absolutely stunning images. The combination of composition and lighting, even the objects themselves, seemed to tell the story of a wedding—from the bride’s bouquet next to a half-drunk glass of champagne to one of the groom’s nieces, sound asleep in her flower girl dress. Whether she knew it or not, Julia had an eye.
At five, she tore herself away from the screen to start dinner. She wanted to show off a little, making her signature stuffed chicken breasts and pasta. She cranked the radio, jamming out to songs about women and whiskey and pickup trucks while chopping and pounding and assembling.
“Taylor?”
Julia’s voice, unexpected and right behind her, caught her by surprise. She jumped, and much to her chagrin, let out a yelp. “Julia. Hi.”
“Hi.” It was a good thing the playful smirk looked so good on Julia or Taylor might not have taken it so well.
She crossed the room and turned the volume on the portable speaker down. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
Julia continued to smile. “I knocked but you must not have heard me. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Taylor shook her head and chuckled. “Don’t apologize. I must have lost track of time.”
Julia eyed the breading station—flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs—and the inevitable mess that came with it. “You’ve got quite the setup here.”
“I do my best.”
Julia nodded slowly. “So I’m learning.”
Was Julia flirting with her? Taylor cleared her throat in an effort to cut off the path her thoughts had taken. “I hope you came hungry.”
Julia swept her hands up and down her body. “I think it’s pretty apparent I like to eat.”
“You better mean that in a good way.”
She shrugged. “Eh?”
“You are utterly gorgeous. This is an objective, unbiased truth.” She didn’t even want to think about the number of people who’d line up to agree with her.
Julia frowned and shook her head. “You don’t have to say that. I’m not, like, wading around in a vat of self-loathing.”
“Look, I don’t know what kind of number that sorry excuse for a wife worked on you, but you shouldn’t even know the phrase ‘vat of self-loathing.’” The expression on Julia’s face, kind of a wincing smile, told her she’d been more vehement than she’d intended, but she couldn’t bring herself to take it back. “I’m serious.”
“Thank you.” The look of surprise faded, but Taylor could tell Julia didn’t believe her.
“I respect you too much to objectify you, but I could totally objectify you.” Unlike the previous comment, Taylor would have preferred to filter that one before saying it out loud. Not that she didn’t mean it, but still.
Julia waited a long moment before responding, long enough to make Taylor squirm. Eventually, she said, “A little objectification isn’t bad.”
Taylor laughed. “I’m going to remember that the next time I’m struck by just how smoking hot you are.”
Julia blushed. An actual, honest to God, blush. But then she met Taylor’s eyes. “Deal.”
“Hey, Julia?”
“Yes?”
This was almost too easy. “You’re smoking hot.”
Her shoulders dropped and her head tipped to one side, but the exasperation seemed feigned. “Settle down now.”
“I will not. I will, however, finish making you dinner.” She gestured to the pot of water on the stove. “Will you turn that on high?”
“Sure.”
Taylor finished chopping garlic and pulled the chicken from the oven to rest. She poured wine while the pasta boiled, then tossed it with a mix of garlic, olive oil, and black pepper. Julia watched her with more intensity than the whole thing warranted, and Taylor tried not to wonder why. She assembled plates and they sat at the small table in Taylor’s kitchen.
“This is nice.” Julia pointed to her plate. “And this is amazing.”
“Again, you sound surprised.”
“Again, I’m trying to make peace with you being good at everything.” Julia laughed, taking any sting out of the comment.
“Thank you on both counts, then. And agreed. It’s nice to hang out.” She left off the rest of the thought, the part about preferring her house to a bar and not having Julia waiting for her next hookup.
“I’m glad we bumped into each other, reconnected.”
“Yeah.” She wanted to say more, but couldn’t decide what, so she opted for a change of subject. “We need to talk about your pictures.”
Julia made a face. “Are they that bad? I’d hoped at least a few of them would be keepers.”
“No, no. Not at all. The opposite.”
“What do you mean?” The genuine confusion in her voice made Taylor smile.
“They’re really, really good. You have an artistic eye.”
“Stop.” Her voice held an edge of exasperation.
“I mean it.”
“I know I’ve been a sad sack lately. You don’t need to stroke my ego about something I haven’t done in years.”
“Come with me.” Taylor took Julia’s hand and led her to the office at the back of the house. She ignored the intimacy of the move, the images her mind conjured of leading Julia to a different room for a completely different purpose. She sat Julia at the desk chair and pulled up the album. “I deleted a few, but not many.”
Julia took the mouse and started to click through. Since she’d already seen the pictures, Taylor allowed herself to watch Julia. She looked suspicious at first, but it didn’t take long for her to expression to soften, like it might over a pleasant memory. She angled her head and, eventually, propped it in her hand. When she got to the end, she turned and met Taylor’s eyes. She shrugged slightly. “They came out nice.”
The lack of confidence in her voice made Taylor sad. “They’re more than nice. I’ve seen professional photography less inspired than this. You have talent.”
“You think so?” Julia frowned, as though unwilling to consider the possibility.
“I get your reluctance to embrace my many and varied talents, but you should at least embrace your own.”
The comment broke the tension and Julia laughed. “You’re funny.”
“If I gave you one of my cameras to play with, would you use it?”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t take one of your cameras.”
Taylor raised a finger. “Loan, then. I really think you should give it a try, see what happens.”
Julia’s expression said she remained unconvinced. “What would I take pictures of?”
The idea popped into her mind and she didn’t let herself overthink it. “We should take a ride, let ourselves be inspired by nature.”
“Right now?”
“Not tonight. It’s getting dark and it’ll be buggy soon. But we should make a day of it, pack a picnic and everything.” It would be amazing and absolute torture at the same time.
“That sounds fun.”
Taylor imagined her truck parked off an old dirt road, sitting with Julia on the tailgate while music wafted through open windows. A slow song would come on and Julia would eye her hopefully. She’d take Julia’s hand and they’d dance in the shade of a hickory tree. She could see it so clearly.
“Or not?” Julia’s frown had returned.
“Sorry. My imagination got the better of me.” No need to confess where it had gone.
Julia chuckled. “Yeah. Happens to me all the time.”
“So, my schedule is flexible. You let me know when’s good for you.” Because she’d pretty much bend over backwards to spend time with Julia anytime Julia said the word.
“Next Tuesday?”
“Perfect.” And even though she knew she shouldn’t, she would be counting down the days.