Page 63 of With Stars in Her Eyes
Denise entered from the stairway and growled. “Christ, it’s boiling up here too. I’m calling the building manager. Did youfinally get that camera working, Thea? Sorry I couldn’t come up earlier, that client took forever. Wow. Look at all this…”
Thea mouthed an apology. I shook it off and stifled my laughter, trying to act nonchalant rather than like some horny youth group kid caught necking in the sound booth during church.
“This all really looks great.” Denise swept her attention over the room. “You’re right, this space would be perfect for social media shots. Just let me know when you want me to start booking.”
“Great.”
“I’ll talk to Dr. Powell about it. We might need to get some kind of extra permit, and I don’t want to run into issues down the road.” Denise scanned the room, eyes landing on me. “Oh hi, Courtney. Came up to check out Thea’s new studio too? What do you think?”
“I think it will be great. Thea seems really…” I coughed away the constriction in my throat. I could still taste Thea’s lip balm on my tongue, which made it a struggle to form a coherent sentence. “Really talented.”
Thea winked while Denise’s focus was on her phone.
“Ahh, the building manager is finally calling back.” A muffled voice came through the speaker, and she lifted it to her ear. “This is completely unacceptable…” After a wave at Thea, she headed back out the way she had come.
“So…”
“So… you’re coming to the book club tomorrow?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
“Good.” Thea peeled the protective paper off the developing photo. Itdidlook like something out of a romance cover. Our faces were closer than they’d seemed in the moment. The tension of Thea’s splayed hand was just visible. My palm cradled her face. The entire image burst with red, orange, and gold, almost like the room had in those moments of the sunset. Everything in the room had muted into a dusky blue now.
“I think you’re going to have a problem if you try to do this at the book fair.” My lower lip jutted out appraisingly.
“Really?” Thea lifted the photo as if looking for some technical error.
“Yep.”
Correctly interpreting my expression, her mouth angled in an expression that was a little too wicked for me to feel in complete control of myself. Smugness gilded every plane of her face.
“Well, I think it turned out pretty good.” She handed it to me.
“Thephoto’snot the problem.”
“Then what exactlyisthe problem, Courtney Starling?”
“The problem will be…” I shouldered my bag and leaned toward Thea again, letting my lips graze the outermost edge of her ear. “Getting the people in photos to keep their clothes on after you take it.”
Feeling a little daring, I gave Thea’s earlobe the gentlest of tugs with my teeth before letting my tongue explore the line of hoops along its delicate shell. My thumb rubbed against that tarot card on her forearm.
A tremor went through Thea.
I kissed her cheek once more. “Well, it’s getting late, and I have to finish the book before book club tomorrow. And pick up potatoes and cupcakes…”
“Don’t forget Colin Firth.” Thea’s voice was breathless.
“I would never.”
“So, I’ll see you at book club tomorrow?”
“How many times do I need to tell youyes, I’ll be there.”
Thea’s eyes went a little softer and wider in a tacit question—the turn of her head sayingjust once more, okay?
“I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch.Andtomorrow night at the pub. And then you’ll come to my house hungry for potatoes and cupcakes.”
“And Colin Firth.”
