Page 23 of Bridesmaid to Bride

“Okay, just a few more shots.” Hayes snaps away. Our muttered laughter fades into silence, replaced by shutter clicks and crashing waves. A breeze skims the surface of the water, sending a shiver down my spine as we hold our post-ceremony pose.

I keep sneaking peeks at August, who right now, is lying flat on his belly to get the “right angle,” his concentration fierce.

“Looks like you’ve got competition, Hayes,” Eva says with a grin. “You might be out of a job soon.”

Hayes ruffles his son’s hair. “The world can always use more talented artists, right?”

“Absolutely,” I say. There’s something really cool about seeing a kid so passionate.

Hayes and Tyson circle us like hawks, cameras always ready. I glance at Eva, her dark hair fluttering, and I whisper, “If this were an oil painting, we’d be immortalized with a stiff upper lip for centuries.”

“Imagine modeling for those back in the day.” She clucks. “You couldn’t pay me enough to not scratch an itch for hours on end.”

“Mona Lisa was probably totally over it by the time Da Vinci finished.”

Eva’s shoulders shake in a silent laugh. “So true. I mean, her expression screams, ‘I have to pee and my cheeks hurt.’”

“That’s a wrap, people!” Darren claps his hands together. “Great job. Now, can you two stand on the mark and lock lips for the camera? We need to get our angles perfect for the magical moment.”

“The things we do for show biz.” I toss him a mock salute, but inside I’m doing backflips. Act cool. It’s just a kiss. A staged, totally-for-show, not-at-all-real kiss. I look at Eva and wink. “Looks like I’m getting my face kissed off, after all.”

She laughs and playfully slaps my shoulder. “Lucky you.”

But then her smile fades into a smirk playing on her lips, like she knows exactly what’s going through my head. Reading my mind is her superpower.

“All right, let’s make this look believable.” Eva steps closer, looking at me with those piercing eyes. “For art’s sake.”

“Art,” I echo, my voice oddly strangled.

The corners of her eyes crinkle. “Just think, hundreds of years from now, someone might watch this and believe we were madly in love.”

“Madly.” The single word feels like a boulder in my throat.

“And go!” The director’s voice cuts through the tension.

“Showtime,” I murmur, and then, screw it, I close the gap.

My heart’s pounding like it’s got its own set of drums, as Eva’s close enough now that I breathe in the scent of that damn shampoo. “Ready when you are,” she whispers.

“Born ready.” I’m fighting like hell to be cavalier but probably sound like a tween watching porn.

Our eyes lock, hers fiery, and it almost looks like she really wants this.

Our lips meet, and holy shit, it’s like every nerve ending in my body fires at once. The kiss starts off as just a brush, a static shock. I pull back, wanting to keep things respectful given what this is, but then her hand snakes into my hair as her lips seal tightly to mine. I change the angle of the kiss to make it deeper, and my hands find the small of her back, pulling her closer as my pulse races.

I move my tongue around in her mouth in a way that lets her know what it could do for her on her more sensitive body parts, and she responds by doing the same, the kiss morphing, growing, deepening until it’s like we’re trying to solve the mystery of the universe with our mouths.

The world fades. The clatter of camera equipment, the murmurs of the crew—it all disappears under the mesmerizing effect of her mouth moving over mine. We’re lost in the eye of a perfect storm, and for something fake, this is far too real.

She deepens the kiss, and our bodies melt into each other. It’s just me and her, and I never want this to end.

“Cut! That’s a wrap!”

Darren’s voice slices through the haze, yanking us back to Earth like a bouncer at closing time. Eva’s lips linger on mine for a split second longer.

“Seriously—the camera’s got enough footage to make a whole damn telenovela.” Hayes wipes his brow as if we’ve just put him through a workout.

Eva pulls away, a flush of red painting her cheeks. There’s this sparkle in her eyes, a mix of sweetness and something warmer, that sends my heart back thumping against my ribs.

---