Page 47 of Falling for the Photographer

“You thought Maddie and I had this amazing relationship. You thought it was the worst time of my life when she died, leaving me alone with a seven-year-old Lola. You probably thought that, if we ever had a relationship….”

There’s no if about it.

“You’d be in her shadow.”

She nods slowly, doing that cute-as-hell eye-widening thing again. It makes me want to kiss her, but that’s not saying much.

Everything does.

“That’s exactly it,” she says softly. “If I ever let myself think about this, about us…which I never do, not realistically.”

“You better start,” I tell her.

“That has occurred to me.”

“I can give you the truth about Maddie and me,” I say. “But depending on your viewpoint, it might make you like me less.”

“I highly doubt that.”

I shrug, my jaw clenched, my temples pulsing. “Shall we go for a walk? I need some air.”

“Sure,” she says, standing. “That sounds nice.”

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