Page 25 of That's a Wrap

It took almost two weeks of coaxing, and some help from Susan, but I was finally able to convince Ella Kate to take a full weekend off from work. She was dead set against it at first, since weekends are the busiest times for the cafe. But when her mom threatened her with a full week of mandatory paid vacation, my girl caved and agreed to come to Savannah with me. Ella Kate works too hard. She deserves a break and I’m more than happy to give it to her.

“I still can’t believe you’re making me do this,” she says, fidgeting with her seat belt.

I look at her and smile. “Believe it. We’re ten minutes from the hotel so there’s no turning back now.”

She pretends to be mad but I can see the excitement in her eyes. I’m excited too, since I have a couple of surprises in store for her.

We pull into the lot, and after I put the car in park, I turn to her. “I have something for you,” I confess, reaching behind her seat to grab a simple, nondescript brown box.

She hesitates before taking it. “Peter, you didn’t need to get me anything.”

“No, I didn’t.” I shrug. “But Iwantedto get you something.” Now it’s my turn to be nervous as she cautiously opens it. “I hope you like it. Even if you don’t, you can always exchange it for a different one or something else entirely. Or we could?—“

“Peter,” she cuts me off with an awestruck gasp. “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. I love it!” She holds up her new camera as though it’s the most amazing thing in the world, and pride fills me with warmth.

“I’m glad you like it. I don’t know a lot about cameras, so I had to do some research to figure out which ones are the best.”

She finally takes her eyes away from her gift and gives me the biggest smile I think I’ve ever seen. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.” Then she leans forward and presses her lips to mine as a show of her appreciation. It’s a quick, soft kiss, but very welcomed.

“Come on.” I give her a peck on the forehead. “Let’s put your new camera to work. I looked up some of the most scenic places in the area.”

Her jade-green eyes widen. “Are you sure you’ll be okay with that? You won’t be bored just taking pictures with me?”

I cup her cheek. “Sweetheart, nothing would make me happier than to see you fully in your element. I promise.”

Her cheek warms under my touch and she actually leans into it, making me feel like I hit the lottery.

“Just wait here for a minute so I can check us in and have our bags brought up.”

She tries to help me, but I insist she stay in the car so she can scope out her new camera. Thankfully, the lobby is fairly empty so I check in and drop our bags off faster than I anticipated. When I return to the car, Ella Kate doesn’t even notice because she’s so engrossed by her gift.

We spend the rest of the day driving around Savannah, and between photo ops, we pop into various shops and boutiques,grab a couple of coffees, and hit up a small museum. It ends up being a pretty busy day, but the both of us are grinning from ear to ear. She even takes my hand a few times, offering me kisses here and there. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say my plan is working and just maybe this girl is falling in love with me the way I am with her.

While Ella Kate takes most of the pictures, she occasionally lets me snap a few as well. Some of them turn out blurry and out of focus, but she tries to convince me they’re actually good. I tell her she’s a better photographer than she is a liar. And she just laughs, making me want to do anything to keep hearing the sound.

We get dinner at a quirky pub and spend the evening relaxing and eating and pointing out the interesting decor. By the time we return to the hotel, I’m actually disappointed that our trip is almost half over, and in my head, I’m already planning our next getaway.

Laughing, we stumble into our hotel room, dog tired after the long day.

“Ugh, my feet are killing me,” Ella Kate groans as she collapses face-first onto the bed.

“I offered to carry you up here,” I remind her, lying down next to her.

“Ha!” She lifts her head up and gives me a lopsided grin. “There’s no way I’d let you carry me through a lobby full of people.”

I clasp my hands behind my head and lean against the headboard. “I guess that dream will have to wait a little longer then.”

Snorting, she rolls her eyes and pulls her camera from her bag. From my angle, I can’t see exactly what she’s doing, but I think she’s scrolling through all the pictures she took today.

“Which one’s your favorite?” I ask her.

She pauses for a second and chews on her lip, clearly debating. Then, after a bit, she flips the camera around to show me a photo of, well, me. It’s from earlier when we were sitting outside the coffee shop. My shoulders are relaxed, and my face is tilted up toward the sun with my eyes closed. My fingers lazily stroke the ceramic mug and I truly look like I don’t have a care in the world.

I’m framed in such a candid, effortless way that it makes my heart ache. “That’s… Wow. I look so happy and peaceful,” I say, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It’s a great picture.”

“I think so too,” she quietly replies.

When I look up at her again and see her studying the image, I can’t stop the next words that spill from my mouth. “Ella Kate, I’m falling in love with you.”

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