Page 95 of Confusing Hearts

She looked at Zander. He was still relatively clean despite the meal and dressed in a cute little suit that I had been told was courtesy of his obsession with his Uncle Liam, who had taken over as CEO of the Westin Foundation.

“Yeah, okay, but the sun is already setting. Do you have any ideas for indoors?” she asked.

“Mary, may we be excused?” I asked.

“For pictures of my handsome grandson? Certainly,” she said, and it was obvious she was head over heels in love with her grandson, both of them actually.

“Can I help?” Oscar asked.

“Sure, come on.” I got up from the table and ran upstairs to gather my stuff. I was thankful I had brought the tripod, wanting to take some pictures of the town and local sceneries. Oscar proved to be a great extra set of hands. As I looked out the bedroom window I saw the most gorgeous sunset. There was a cliff not far from the house that would capture it perfectly if we could make it in time.

“Kelsey, I have an idea, but we have to hurry,” I told her.

She grabbed Zander and they quickly followed me. The sun was almost down by the time we arrived at the spot I wanted, but the valley below was on fire in brilliant shades of red and orange. I quickly posed Zander near a small boulder and began shooting right away. I only had about five minutes, but he got restless quickly, wanting to explore the surrounding woods. I threw Oscar in with him and got a few good ones of the two of them for Mary.

“Okay, boys, let’s head back to the house and see about a few inside shots,” I told them. They both nodded, and Oscar helped me carry my gear back while Kelsey carried Zander.

Inside I set them up in the nursery. Zander had just upgraded to a big boy bed and it made a perfect backdrop for his age. A fun milestone. After a few posed shots, I pulled a pair of his PJ’s from a drawer and changed him. Kelsey just sat back in the rocking chair, watching. I had never changed a baby before or even been around someone so small, but after a little wrestling match, I managed.

Z climbed into his bed and under the covers.

“Okay, now pretend to sleep,” I told him, and he giggled but shut his eyes. “Okay, all done,” I said, and he gave me a look of pure mischief. I was grateful I still had the camera raised, as I shot a few candid pictures while he played peek-a-boo with me by pulling the cover over his head.

Last, I had Oscar climb in bed next to him with a book. It was so precious I couldn’t wait to see the end results.

When we were done, and I went to pack up, Zander ran over and climbed up on Kelsey’s lap. He was talking and pointing to her belly. I pulled the camera back out and started taking a few pictures without them noticing. It was a beautiful moment.

I walked out into the hallway and hollered down for Kyle to come up. When he did, Chase joined him.

“Would you mind?” I asked, pointing to his mate and child.

Kyle grinned and walked over next to them. “Where do you want me?” he asked, and Kelsey and Zander looked up for the first time.

I shook my head at him. “Just act natural. Talk to them like you normally would.”

“What are we talking about?” Kyle asked his son.

“Baby,” Zander said, pointing to his mommy’s tummy.

Kyle probably wasn’t aware of it, but he beamed with pride. I was confident I’d gotten several good pictures when I decided to continue with the baby theme.

“How about I take a first pic of the four of you?” I asked.

“That’ll still be quite some time off,” Kelsey reminded me.

I shrugged. Kyle was kneeling next to the rocking chair, leaning in towards Kelsey. I walked over and posed their hands so that Kelsey and Kyle formed a heart on her still flat stomach. Zander was on her other side and without me telling him, he placed his small hand just below their heart. I snapped a few closeups and then pulled back to get all three of them. Zander leaned down and kissed his mom’s stomach as a tear slipped down Kelsey’s cheek and Kyle wiped it away. I already knew without checking it was a perfect, one of a kind picture.

After that I really did pack up and take my things back to Chase’s room. He followed me, closing the door behind him. I already knew the dampener was on so we were free to talk.

“That was really great what you did back there,” he said.

“Thanks. I’m sorry about dinner and putting you on the spot like that. You just have such great ideas for the company; I didn’t know you were keeping them to yourself.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know if I would ever have been ready to speak up and tell them, so I’m glad you pushed me out of my comfort zone to talk about it. Elise seemed excited. I think it’s going to work, Jenna.”

I hugged him. “I’m really proud of you. And you know that these pictures could take me a few days to format. Would you, um . . .” I bit my lower lip. “Would you want to stay here a few extra days?”

He perked up. “You mean it?”

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