The DJ at this wedding had not gotten the memo that playing “Single Ladies” for the bouquet toss was the ultimate cliché and so overdone. Charlotte met Lauren’s eyes across the dance floor. Her friend wrinkled her nose just slightly enough that no one but Charlotte would catch it. She smiled in return, giving her agreement to Lauren’s feelings. Shooting together for many years, they’d acquired their own sort of facial sign language in order to communicate across the room during loud receptions and silent church sanctuaries alike. It was wedding photographer 101 that you try to never draw attention to yourself.
Except of course when your crush was in the room. Then you definitely wanted to be noticed. But as the bride’s friend ran to retrieve the toss bouquet, Charlotte quietly watched Dean speak with one of the wedding guests. A woman. A rather attractive woman who looked to be somewhere in her mid-to-late forties. She’d almost bet money Dean wasn’t the type to fraternize with guests, but one couldn’t deny that receptions made hookups ripe for the picking. It was Charlotte’s experience that attending weddings sometimes had the power to make the single guests behave in interesting ways. Almost out of panic and desperation. She’d witnessed hookups a million times.
The lady in question wore a tight black dress, her hair pulled off her neck and pinned in a loose chignon. Charlotte’s stomach tied in knots as she watched the woman laugh and then touch Dean’s arm. As they often were, his hands were in his pockets, his entire hot body evoking a look of ease and confidence. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the woman’s face. Until he did, and he looked straight at Charlotte, as if he’d known exactly where she was in the room the whole time.
Based on his expression, he didn’t seem surprised to find her watching him, and he winked at her before giving the guest his attention once again. It was almost imperceptible, like an eye twitch—or would be to anyone else. But to Charlotte, who was fluent in subtle facial expressions, it was unmistakable.
Biting her bottom lip, and trying not to overanalyze what the wink had meant, Charlotte turned back to the bride who now had her bouquet in hand, ready to toss to her only mildly eager single maidens. Silly girls. They should run as far as they could from the offending bunch of flowers.
Charlotte glanced over at Lauren to make sure she was ready with the flash, only to catch Lauren giving her a slight eyebrow raise and a small head tilt toward the door.
Damn, Lauren was also fluent and had obviously witnessed the exchange between Charlotte and Dean. Oh well, they’d discuss it later. Right now she had a job to do.
Lifting her camera to her eye she focused on the bride and shot a few of her with the flowers held over her head, ready to aim and fire.
“One, two, three, go!” Charlotte called. The bouquet shot into the air as the front bridesmaid soared into a jump that would make a basketball star envious. All the while Charlotte’s shutter rapidly took frame after frame. As the bridesmaid landed, stems in hand, someone else’s arm flung into her face, effectively startling her and sending the flowers to the floor. A third woman—somewhat older—surprised all the bystanders by quickly swiping it off the floor.
Charlotte laughed as she took a shot with the bride and the gloating bouquet winner, and then immediately got back into position as the DJ started up “Another One Bites the Dust” for the garter removal. She inwardly groaned. This guy needed some new material.
When the groom was done sticking his head under the bride’s skirt and making a spectacle of himself, he lined up, ready to send the little scrap of lace and elastic into the—somewhat small—mass of young men.
“You ever notice how the guys always look as if they’re participating under duress?” a deep familiar voice said close to Charlotte’s ear. Goose bumps rose on her neck and arms.
She grinned but didn’t lower the camera from her eye. The music and conversation in the room were loud enough that she knew they wouldn’t be heard. “Can’t say that I blame them.”
The words had come out without any thought and Charlotte really wished she could see Dean’s reaction to them, but the groom released the garter right at that moment. The male recipients were nowhere as enthusiastic as the ladies had been, but one guy did reach out and snag it, almost as a reflexive action.
Yep, the shocked look on his face said that’s exactly what it had been, and he glanced around like he wanted someone to throw it at.
Charlotte laughed and looked at Dean. “He looks like he’s wishing he’d sat this one out right about now.”
“Yes he does.” Dean crossed his arms and smirked as Charlotte stepped forward to set up the customary shot of the groom and the reluctant garter catcher.
She was happy to find that Dean was still waiting for her on the edge of the dance floor when she was finished.
“I’ve missed talking to you tonight,” she said.
One corner of his lips quirked up. “You have?” His tone was all teasing, but she could have sworn there was a hint of uncertainty. Surely he knew she was into him.
“Of course. I would assume it was because you were busy, but you had time to talk with black dress lady for a long time.”
“Charlotte,” he whispered, shaking his head. One of his go-to body movements when they spoke. He huffed out an embarrassed laugh. “What am I gonna do with you?”
“Well, you can start by not making me so jealous.”
His eyes flicked to hers, his lips parting. She could tell he wanted to respond, that her words had taken him by surprise. She continued to watch him as the music filled in the silence between them. It was hard to believe she’d let the teasing between them just go where it had, but she didn’t really regret it. She liked this man, and she’d done everything she could to tell him that except physically coming on to him. Was that what she needed to do? Finally, he appeared to mentally shake off her comment, his lips pursing as he inhaled a deep breath. Damn.
“How much longer are you here?” he asked.
She pulled out her phone and grimaced at the time. “Over an hour.”
He nodded. “Can you spare me a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Oh God. He was going to finally make a move. She could feel it. Her brazen comment about jealousy had worked.
Or maybe he was going to finally let her down easy. Shit.
She swallowed. “Of course. I’d love that.”
Following him toward the bar, Charlotte caught Lauren’s attention and sent her an I’ll-be-right-back look. Lauren nodded but Charlotte could see the curiosity written all over her friend’s face.
Dean stepped behind the bar, grabbed a pint glass, and proceeded to fill it with ice, lemon-lime soda, and then the tiniest splash of grenadine. Her favorite, and she couldn’t help melting inside that he always remembered. She couldn’t decide if it was a good sign or not. He slid it across the bar to her and then angled his head toward the little break room. Suddenly panicked, Charlotte dug in the bottom of her bag for a piece of gum and stuffed it into her mouth.
Dean stepped into the room and held the door open for Charlotte. She followed and then turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest.
But instead of walking toward her, he headed for the sofa. “Have a seat.”
“Oh, okay.” She did just that, and when she sat down, he took the sofa across from her.
Ouch. Definitely not a good sign. Was he … mad at her? First she’d embarrassed him with the sexy photos, and then she’d just now crossed the line with the jealousy comment. Oh shit. He was totally going to confront her about it.
“So, first I should apologize for what I said out there. That was so completely inappropriate and I should have known better,” she blurted.
Dean froze, his eyes meeting hers. “What are you talking about?”
“When I said you should stop making me jealous. I was out of line and I—”
Dean began to chuckle. “Did you think that’s what I brought you in here to say?”
Charlotte exhaled, relief washing over her. “Yes. I did.”
He grinned. “Charlotte, I’m going to be the one to cross the line here when I say … my … inappropriate conversations with you are my favorite thing about working weddings here.”
“They are?” she asked with a smile.
“They are. In fact, I probably like them a little too much.”
Okay. That wasn’t great. So, while it was a relief he hadn’t brought her to this room to confront her, it also sucked he hadn’t brought her here to make out. “Then what did you need to talk to me about?”
He reached up and scratched at the back of his neck before leaning his elbows on his knees. “It’s actually something I need to ask you.”
A wedding party of butterflies came to life in her stomach. “Oh? Okay, shoot.”
“You might recall last weekend I mentioned my sister was engaged.”
Charlotte’s happiness deflated a bit. If all he needed was to hire her for photos, such a production hadn’t really been necessary. It was what she did for a living, for goodness’ sake. “Of course. So do you need a photographer?”
“Well, yes. But I need more than that.”
“Oh? Well, I’m afraid my skills beyond that are incredibly limited. Unless you want me to enter a wedding cake-eating contest. I could probably help you there.”
Dean chuckled and she preened under his genuinely appreciative gaze. She loved making him laugh.
“Well, there is a possibility that eating cake would be required. You see, my sister’s re-enlisted and will be going to Italy after her two-week leave in July.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I know you were eager to have her home. But Italy, wow. That’s exciting.”
“Yes, it is. At least they’re excited. Anyway, she still wants to get married when she and Nate are home. And … well … she’s asked me to plan her wedding so she can basically just show up and tie the knot.”
Charlotte’s eyes went wide. She knew how much work went into planning a wedding. “You? Will your mother not do it?”
“She would have, but my mother and Alex’s father passed away several years ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Dean. I didn’t know.”
“Thanks, but like I said, it was years ago. A small-plane accident.”
“That’s awful.” She didn’t know what to say, but felt like she should acknowledge this tragedy. “Even if it was a long time ago, some parts of you never heal completely.” She gave him a small smile as he studied her intently. Would he ask her who she’d lost? Would she be honest if he did? The thought that she might want to share scared her a bit because she’d never shared it with anyone. Not friends, not even her own mother.
“That is true, yes, but I still have my dad. Alex … she lost everyone.”
“She lost her parents, but she obviously still has you. You’re pretty great.”
He gave her a sad smile, which Charlotte reciprocated. She desperately wanted to move to his sofa, put a hand on his shoulder, wrap her arm around him. But she stayed put. She’d wanted to come in here and kiss him, but in a small way she was more grateful for this moment of intimacy. It suddenly occurred to her that she had a very surface relationship with the man she’d crushed on for so long.
“So I guess you agreed to plan her wedding then?” Charlotte asked, sitting up straight, trying to ease them out of the deepness they’d found themselves in. Because while she was appreciating their newfound connection, she couldn’t tell if he was.
“I did. Alex is much younger than I am. I practically raised her after the accident, so … you were right when you said she has me. But Nate’s family is in Georgia. So basically … I need help.”
He stared right at her, and there was a certain pleading in his eyes that she couldn’t look away from. That was when she caught on. “You’re asking me to help you plan your sister’s wedding?”
An almost pained expression crossed his face, and he cursed under his breath. “Hearing it out loud, I realize what a stupid thing that is to ask of you. I just thought … I don’t know. I enjoy your company and I just need a woman’s perspective, I guess.”
Charlotte’s lips twitched. He was so adorably disconcerted right now. She’d never seen him this way. “I am a woman,” she teased, happy when he smiled and appeared to relax.
“Yes … you definitely are.” The warmth of his words, and the way his eyes drank her in, made her inner butterflies spring back to life.
“And I do know quite a bit about weddings.” She left off but I hate them at the end of that sentence. Not necessarily a selling point under the circumstances, because although she thought marriage was overrated, the opportunity of working alongside Dean was too great to pass up.
“That’s what I was thinking, too.” He smiled, his voice turning playful. “Your expertise would be very appreciated.”
“Hmmm,” she said. In her heart, she already knew she was going to say yes. This was Dean. But her one concern was her lack of time to devote to such a project. She was already stretched thin between weddings, countless hours of editing, and of course trying to promote her other shoots …
And that was when the most brilliant idea popped into her head. It was almost too perfect. If she could convince him of the same it would be anyway. Spending a few months overworked and exhausted would be worth it.
“So, I just thought it over,” she said with a head tilt.
“Are you sure? You can let me know—”
“I’ll help you plan your sister’s wedding, but you have to do something for me.”
He sat up, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Of course. Anything.”
“Anything? Even if it might make you uncomfortable?” She smiled and lifted an eyebrow. “And required you to take your shirt off?”
The shocked look of understanding on his face made her laugh. “Did it just come to you?”
“I hope I’m wrong, Charlotte.” His voice was wary.
“Oh, come on, Dean. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen you shirtless, but I have a feeling that Jen was right, you would be good at it.”
“Oh shit.” His large manly hand scrubbed down the length of his face and then lingered on his chin for a long moment. Finally, his eyes homed back in on hers. “You’re serious about this.”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.” Or more excited, she realized. Her heart pounded and her mind began processing all of the possibilities. Please say yes.
He quickly stood up and walked slowly toward the far end of the room. Then back. He sighed and eyed her again, his hands settling on his perfect hips. He was truly contemplating doing this for her. Which meant his sister’s happiness must really be important to him. All the better for Charlotte. And some lucky book cover, of course.
“You promise there’s no nudity.”
“Only if you want to,” she said, laughing when his eyes bugged out. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. No, no nudity. Promise.”
“So you’ve never taken photos of a guy naked?” The tone of his question implied that the answer was important to him. She wondered why.
“No. Never.”
His shoulders sagged a bit. He nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Charlotte gasped and stood up also. “Seriously?”
She was almost embarrassed about her shrill reaction but he seemed to enjoy her enthusiasm, an embarrassed smile showing on his face. The truth was she probably would have helped him no matter what. Saying no to a request from Dean would have been almost impossible for her, but this was hitting the jackpot.
“You do know you’ll probably be regretting this once it happens,” he said.
“Not a chance, pal. I’m ready to compare your real naked torso to the one in my fantasies.”
A low groan emitted from his chest, and he smiled down at the floor. “You tease me too damn much, Charlotte.”
If he only knew all the ways she wanted to tease him. “You want me to stop?”
His eyes met hers and it appeared he was actually considering his answer, but he finally replied, “Absolutely not.”