Camera Shy (Lessons in Love, #1)(83)
“It’s okay,” I say. “Thank you for listening and apologizing.” I know what she’s about to say next. It’s always the way we end these uncomfortable exchanges.
“I don’t deserve you,” she mumbles.
I follow up with my part, like a rehearsed scene. “Doesn’t matter, best friend. You’ve got me.”
The stone path that leads to Finn’s photography studio is beautiful…but uneven. I’ve nearly rolled my ankles three times in my heels by the time I make it to the clients’ entrance. Across the yard, I see the gate that leads to Dex’s hot tub. Finn’s backyard is beautiful and well-kept, but small—it’s about half the size of Dex’s.
Strangely enough, in the entire time we’ve been hanging out, I haven’t been inside his studio once. Finn always picks me up or meets me at Dex’s. Plus, he claims Lennox is always lurking at his home, and we wouldn’t have privacy. What a wonderful freaking change of pace. A man who puts in the effort. The next man I date most definitely needs this quality. There’s nothing better than opening the front door and seeing your hunky knight in armor smoldering at you.
As a break from our normal tradition, Finn asked me to meet him in his studio before we head to dinner with his dad. I’m barely in front of the glass doors before he greets me with a smile as he slides the door open. He clutches his heart.
“God, I love this dress on you. You look gorgeous.” He cocks an eyebrow and stares at me warningly.
“Thank you,” I say.
“There it is.” He winks at me. “Good girl.”
“I wish I had something new to wear for tonight, but it’s my only fancy dress.” I shrug. “Sorry, you’ve seen me in this before.”
“Why be sorry?” His dimples deepen as he looks me up and down. “You should live in this dress, Queen. Day in and day out.” He plants a quick peck on the top of my head and brushes my hair behind my back and follows up with a kiss on my neck, then my bare shoulder.
“You clean up nice yourself.” To no one’s surprise, Finn is dressed impeccably. His clean tan slacks are wrinkle-free and pair nicely with his long-sleeved black dress shirt with subtle gray pinstripes. Does he have this much style on his own, or does Lennox dress him too? I poke him in the chest playfully but let my fingers linger when I feel the electricity pulsing through them. When am I going to get tired of this? When will enough be enough? Because lately, I have to cross my legs when I’m around Finn to control the instant urge. I’ve never felt like this. I’ve never needed sex like this before. It’s never been this fun.
My fingers trail down his chest, over the bumps of his tight six-pack covered by the thin fabric of his shirt. He lets me tap teasingly against his belt a few times before he grabs my hand. “No time, Avery. And anyway, I want to show you something.”
He laces his fingers with mine and leads me past the small seating area. We pause in front of a closed door and Finn turns to face me. Sometimes, he takes me off guard. At times when I’m least expecting it, he stuns me with his gaze. I gawk at him like a deer in blinding headlights because it’s so easy to talk to him that sometimes I forget how fucking incredibly good-looking he is.
“You okay?” he asks, his brows furrowing in puzzlement.
I clear my throat and force myself to blink, feeling how heavy my fake eyelashes are. “Yes. Fine. What’s up?”
“Remember how you said I should use a model for the new website?”
“Yes…”
I ran Finn through a lot of suggestions. None of which he seemed particularly thrilled about. I suggested that he set up partnerships with lingerie stores within a twenty-mile radius and offer a discount on his services for customers of boutiques willing to hand out his card. He shrugged. He said it felt like heckling.
I also suggested he film a few photography lessons for educational purposes to give tips and tricks to amateur photographers just starting out in the business. Educational content is fantastic for SEO. Again, he thanked me for the suggestion but brushed it off.
I ran him through click traffic, promotion packaging, raising his pricing, adjusting the studio hours, and paying for ads in newsletters and bulletins. All fell on deaf ears, except the rebranding. I came up with a new logo and new business name. Finn Photography. No Harvey. We ditched the lousy tri-circle design he had and instead, I mocked up an iridescent shark fin on a clean black surface. That he loved. He was really enthusiastic about the designs I drafted for the new business cards and flyers I emailed him. They are just mockups. I’ll send them to a professional designer to really take them to the next level. In the meantime, we’ve been stuck on the website.
I always tell my clients that a website needs to tell a story…without telling a story. It has to be subtle. It has to be an energy. There is a way to evoke emotion with colors and fonts, and good branding is what hooks and keeps a client.
Finn needs a model to show off his boudoir photography skills. We need images that are tasteful, yet edgy. We need women to see an image and want to picture themselves in the scene. I was under the impression Finn would reach out to a former client to get their permission to use certain pictures, but judging by the look on his face, he wildly misjudged what I meant.
“You,” he says simply. “I want you. You’re perfect.” He opens the door and I suck in a sharp breath at the sight.