Page 64 of The House on Firefly Beach
Juliana cut in. “From what Nate tells me, you are an incredibly talented writer. He still reads over old writings of yours that he has.”
That was the old Nate, Sydney thought. But Juliana’s comment did strike something within her: she didn’t believe in herself anymore. Gavin was right: we all have to start somewhere.
“Will you have them walk this way?” Juliana asked, getting right to work, swinging her arm along an imaginary path and bringing Sydney’s attention back to the photo shoot. “It might be good light from the sun if it hits them at the side—it would create depth, I think.”
“It would be easy to shoot too,” Gavin agreed. “We’ll just have to watch how the shadows fall on their faces.”
“We can tilt your speedlight out of the shot but toward their faces,” she suggested.
“Brilliant.” Gavin tilted the large screen toward them to shield some of the direct sun.
Juliana put her camera to her eye and peered through the lens, taking a shot. She pulled back to view the screen. “Oh!” she called out. “It’s exquisite. The lighting is perfect.” She guided Sydney, leading her over to the spot she wanted. “If you can stand here, face the wind so your gorgeous hair flows behind you, that would be perfect. Logan, come over beside her and take her hand.”
Logan stepped up beside Sydney and lightly touched her fingertips before clasping her hand. She looked up at him, and before she could process anything at all, the camera went off, causing spots in her eyes.
Gavin peered down at his camera. “That’s a great shot,” he said. “Sorry.” He beamed over at Sydney. “You two just looked so perfect in that moment that I stole a photo. Just perfect.”
Juliana laughed. “Those are the best shots,” she said.
“The cloud cover from the storm coming in is also allowing fantastic lighting,” Gavin said.
This creative process was sort of like Sydney’s writing. It was all about forming ideas and emotion around parameters. Her parameters were written language, but both Juliana’s and Gavin’s were light, wind, and movement. She could see how certain expressions and lighting would affect the overall feel of the picture just like her choice of words did.
“When you walk, Logan,” Juliana said, “turn your other hand to the side and relax your fingers like this. She demonstrated the position she wanted. “It feels unnatural but actually looks more normal on film than your regular pose…”
The entire time they worked, Gavin moved around them snapping photos. The freedom to think outside the normal day-to-day that Sydney felt as the shoot progressed gave her a buzzing need to start writing. She couldn’t wait to get back into the house. Tonight, once everyone had turned in, she was going to write the remaining piece and send it toNY Pulse.
Robby sat on the dock quietly between Sydney and Logan, his feet swinging above the water, his eyes on the spot where the fishing line met the water’s surface. He wasn’t as open with Logan, but he’d agreed to come out and fish with them, which was encouraging.
“I’ve got some homemade raspberry lemonade in a cooler in the truck,” Logan said, reeling in and setting his rod on the dock. Ben’s dog Beau, who had been lounging beside them, stirred and his ears perked up. “My mom made sure she didn’t leave me empty-handed before she headed back home to North Carolina. She packed a whole bunch of snacks.” He leaned in to Robby’s view. “Including her famous chocolate chip cookies. I asked her to be sure to leave some behind so I could bring them for you.”
Robby’s gaze slid over to Logan.
“Want me to go get them?” he asked.
Robby nodded.
Logan was so kind, and thoughtful. His mother seemed lovely, and it was clear that she’d raised a wonderful man in Logan. But something held Sydney back. Her feelings were totally cut off. Her head told her that he was a great catch, and he seemed interested in her, but any time she tried to stir up affection for him, it just felt forced. She couldn’t deny the comparison to Nate. Even with everything against them, it was easy for her to love Nate. More importantly, she reminded herself, perhaps it was because she knew deep down that she needed to focus on herself.
Beau wandered over to Sydney and dropped down at her feet. “One more day,” she told him. He looked up at her as if he knew that she was talking about Ben’s return. His head popped up and turned to the side, then he got to his feet.
Robby handed his fishing rod to Sydney, scrambling up the dock toward Logan. But her heart slammed around in her chest when he ran past Logan to Nate, who’d just come over the hill. Logan turned around and they greeted each other, walking together toward Sydney. She reeled in Robby’s line and got up to face them. Nate had a new football in his hand.
“Robby, go long!” he said, and he tossed it into the air. “I brought that back for you. All the way from Malibu.” Robby ran up to him and he tousled Robby’s hair before throwing it again as her son sprinted across the yard to catch it.
“Hey,” Nate said when he reached Sydney, but his gaze devoured her. She realized then that she still had her hair and make-up done from the photo shoot today. He seemed to be assessing the situation, his gaze darting from her hair to Logan and the blanket they’d spread out on the grass, the cooler in Logan’s hand…
“Hi,” she said, not wanting to make a scene. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Logan feel uncomfortable.
“You’re… going somewhere?” Nate asked, clearly trying to make sense of her appearance.
“Juliana got a hold of me,” she said, allowing a smirk. “I had the photo shoot with Logan today and he’s staying for a dinner date tonight.”
Nate’s jaw clenched just slightly, as he regarded Logan. Sydney suddenly felt a rush of empowerment. She was making him uncomfortable. Having Logan there was evidently spoiling his plan of sweet-talking her into thinking she was doing something wonderful by selling Starlight Cottage and moving in on his land. Perhaps she wouldn’t set things straight at all about Logan, and Nate would give up and go back to LA where he came from.
“You’re back so soon?” she asked.
He clamped his eyes on her and the pain in them almost made her falter, taking her back to long summer drives next to him with the windows down and the ache in her heart that she felt when she was headed back to school, away from him… She stood her ground, lifting her chin.
