Page 7 of All I Desire

“Good. Natalia, I love that vintage wagon you drove up in. Is that from the 1950s? Can we do some shots near it?”

Interesting. I pay attention to cars and planes and vehicles of all types, and I didn’t even see the car. All I saw was her. Now that I glance around the parking lot, I spot a perfectly restored, aqua, chrome and wood paneled vehicle, straight out of a 1950s beach blanket bingo kind of movie.

“Sweet ride,” I say.

“Thanks. We can use it. It’s an old Mercury. My dad’s. My car’s in the shop…oh, sorry, no personal details.” She makes a zip motion across her pretty, pink lips.

“No problem.” Nina steers us in the direction of the car. “I want you two to kind of lean against the side of the car. The passenger side.”

Feeling slightly foolish, I take my place near the door. Nina’s assistant approaches, cameras hanging off her neck and shoulders. She hands one to Nina.

“Okay, Natalia, move a little closer to him. Okay, closer. Now angle your bodies toward each other. Natalia’s left shoulder should almost touch Matthew’s right shoulder, so your bodies form a V. Like that. Perfect. Now I’m going to take some photos while you chat a bit. Do what feels natural.”

She backs up and points the camera at us. Even though it’s not that hot, I feel pinpricks of sweat on the back of my neck.

I shift my eyes and get an eyeful of Natalia, who’s grinning.

“You don’t feel awkward?” I ask.

“Maybe a little, but that’s part of this, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“That she’s going to capture us feeling awkward at first. Then we’re going to get more comfortable with each other. That’s when the magic photos will probably happen, right?”

I can’t stop looking at her mouth. I grin. “You seem pretty sure that magic will happen.”

She licks her lips, and now her eyes drift to my mouth. My face grows warm. The click of Nina’s camera shutter is the only thing I can hear, other than a few seagull cries.

“I believe in magic,” she says, then busts out laughing, doubling over. Nina’s camera sounds like it’s about to break, it’s clicking so hard.

I can’t help but laugh. “Really cheesy.”

Natalia straightens, and I stare into those beautiful, blue eyes.

“Lemme have the Nikon. And you two, Matt and Nat. Don’t hesitate to touch each other if you want,” Nina hollers.

We’re staring at each other, unblinking. The breeze blows a lock of her blonde hair across her face.

“Do you mind?” I ask.

“Mind what?” Natalia inches closer to me.

“If I touch you? I know Nina wants this to be spontaneous, but I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

“Trust me, I’ll tell you if I’m uncomfortable. I’m a pretty vocal person.”

Jesus, this woman’s like a magnet. I move a millimeter closer. “I like vocal.”

Her hand grasps a layer of the fabric dress and she rolls the jagged hem between her fingers. “The same goes for you, okay? If I do anything that makes you feel weird, tell me.”

“You got it.”

I lift my hand and the sounds of Nina’s camera fade. With my fingers, I slowly brush Natalia’s hair out of her face. Her lock is silky, and I wind it around my index and middle fingers.

“You have beautiful hair.”

“Thank you,” she murmurs.

I tuck the lock behind her ear, pausing to stroke her cheekbone with my thumb. Holy shit, what am I doing? It’s so weird, since I literally just met this woman.

But it feels so right.

A flush of pink creeps across Natalia’s cheeks. Nina leaps closer, crouching and snapping away.

“Perfect, you two. Just perfect. Love it. Keep it up,” she cries.

Natalia looks deep into my eyes and that space inside my chest —which has been frozen for so long — softens into something molten and warm and happy.

Something way moreis happening here, and I’m going to say yes to every minute of it.

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