Chapter 10

10

TORI

“The number of outfits seems excessive.” I clip on a pair of earrings as Luca pulls into a parking space in Santa Monica. I don’t know why I bother. When my hair is down, it covers my earrings completely.

But the instructions Zach’s photographer friend sent were…detailed, to say the least. This is no hobbyist photographer. The man is clearly used to having creative control over his shoots.

As instructed, I’m wearing a fitted, green knee-length dress and strappy heels. I glance at Luca, who’s in a gray suit, white button-up, and brown leather dress shoes. His hair is tied back, as usual. Like I told Jess, he’s not my usual type—historically, I gravitate toward sun-kissed blond, life-of-the-party guys—but, even so, he’s…objectively good-looking. He’s got Ross Poldark vibes, but from my experience, Luca makes a lot fewer poor choices. But now I’m mildly curious how he might look with less shirt and more scythe.

In the backseat, our other outfits hang at the ready.

“You’re more quiet than usual,” I say as he pulls the keys from the ignition.

“I don’t like cameras,” he says.

We get out of the car, and I frown. “Don’t you have constant cameras on you at games?”

“It’s different. I don’t even notice them. I’m focused on the game.”

A man in his mid-forties with an enormous camera lens hanging around his neck approaches us. “Are you Luca and Victoria? I’m Jasper.”

“That’s us,” I say as he puts out his hand to shake ours.

He steps back and gives us a once-over, looking impressed. “You both look amazing. Makin’ my job easy already! Thank you for that.”

“We aim to please,” I say when Luca gives no response.

Jasper chuckles. “Should we head to our first spot? It’s just on the rooftop of that building right there.” He points to one about ten stories tall.

“We’ll follow you,” I say.

“So,” Jasper says as we walk in that direction, “Zach tells me you two are recently married?”

I glance at Luca. Recently is an understatement. It’s been three days. “Yep.”

“Congratulations,” Jasper says. “I love newlyweds! They’ll take any excuse to cozy up.” He winks at us as he pulls open the doors to the office building.

Suddenly, I feel like Luca and I should’ve prepared a bit better for this. In my head, the photographer knew we weren’t really married. He’d be helping us look the part. Clearly, that’s not the case.

I scoot closer to Luca, and he glances over at me.

I give him a look that says help me out, here! If Jasper thinks we’re newlyweds, we have our work cut out for us. I remember how nauseating it was to hear Siena say my husband instead of Jack every time she referred to him for the first month after their wedding. I also remember how they might as well have been glued together by the lips.

We get in the elevator, and Jasper presses the button for the top floor. “Here’s the plan,” he says. “We’ll get some shots of you guys in those outfits on the roof, then we’ll change and head over to the beach. After that, we’ll change into the final outfits and head to the park and maybe the pier, depending on time. Zach wants a variety of shots—some candid, some posed—but the main thing, he said, is to really capture your love story and just how obsessed you two are with each other.”

The elevator dings, mercifully saving us from a response. Luca looks like he just got shoved onto a stage in his underwear. Something about his complete and utter horror strikes me as funny. He’s expecting me to yell out “flibbertigibbet” any second. But I told him I’m not backing out, and I meant it.

Instead, I thread my fingers through his as we follow Jasper.

Luca’s gaze whips toward me, and I cock a brow. “Do you want the NFL or what?” I ask in a low voice.

His expression grows more determined, and his fingers tighten around mine.

I smile. “That’s what I thought. Try to look like you like me a little, okay?”

“All right,” Jasper says. “I want you over here by the wall. Luca, you’ll lean your back against it”—he pulls Luca where he wants him—“and Victoria, you come here”—he guides me by the arm right in front of Luca. He tugs me until my feet are staggered with Luca’s, bringing our bodies close. Newlywed close. “Luca, put your arms around her waist.”

Luca’s dark eyes dart to mine, and I stifle a laugh. Jasper might as well ask him to do jazz hands.

To be fair, my heart’s beating faster than an Eminem rap, but one of us has to get it together here, so I grab Luca’s hands, pull them behind me, and set them on the small of my back.

Jasper steps away to scrutinize the pose. “Arms around his neck, Victoria.”

I rest my arms on Luca’s shoulders, which are stiff as boards.

“Relax your shoulders, Luca,” Jasper says.

Luca’s traps and shoulders are under my arms, but nothing happens to them.

“His shoulders are just so big they look tense all the time,” I explain with a forced laugh.

Luca shoots me an unamused look.

I cock a brow back at him because, what does he expect?

“They are big shoulders.” Jasper walks over and pushes them down and back manually. “There.” He takes Luca’s hands on my waist and pulls them lower so they’re sitting in the gray area between my butt and back.

My eyes widen, and I force myself to relax. It’s fine . We’re acting.

The photographer brings some of my hair in front of my left shoulder, then runs backward, takes his camera in hand, and disappears behind it. “Now rest your cheeks together and look at me. Soft smiles.”

Like the obedient girl I am, I lean my cheek in and rest it against Luca’s. The scratch of his scruff reminds me of the other night when I hugged him and, just for a couple seconds, he leaned into it. If only I could get him to soften like that now.

The camera clicks and clicks.

“Now look at each other,” Jasper says.

I pull my cheek away from Luca’s and look up at him. His eyes are a rich, dark brown, just like his hair. I note the small line on the top of his cheekbone where the skin is lighter. A scar of some sort. A story I don’t know.

His expression is inscrutable.

“Is this torture for you?” I ask with an amused smile. I’m determined not to take offense at how completely rigid he is. It’s as if he’s never held a woman before, but I know that can’t be true. He’s a good-looking guy and a star player for USC, for heaven’s sake.

“No,” he says, and there’s an infinitesimal shift in him, like he’s trying to relax.

“Liar,” I retort.

There are more clicks, but they stop abruptly.

Jasper walks over and instructs Luca where to stand next, then he pulls me aside. “Just need to adjust your hair a bit.”

I let him do his thing, but trying to get my hair to cooperate is a losing battle. In a low voice, he says, “Luca’s looking stiff, so we’re going to try to help him loosen up a little, okay?”

I laugh, and it sounds nervous even to me. “He’s not big on cameras.”

“Hey, I get it. I’m sure he’s not like this when it’s just you and him, right?” He smiles knowingly. “But I bet we can get him to relax a little. So, here’s the plan. I’ll pose you guys, and then when I say three , I want you to do something for me.”

I nod, waiting to hear my instructions.

“I want you to squeeze his butt.”

I stare at him.

Jasper grins widely. “Give it a good pinch.”

I force a laugh. A woman actually married to Luca would have no problem with this. It’s good, playful, newlywed fun.

But I’m operating under very different conditions here—conditions that could well lead to Luca tackling me. Or a sexual assault charge.

Jasper winks, then backs up to get ready to shoot.

I tug down the bottom of my dress and walk toward Luca, who’s shooting a questioning look at me, like he’s curious what Jasper said. The man has no idea what’s coming. I’m not sure it is coming, honestly, because…can I do it?

I take a breath. It’s not a big deal. Jasper works with awkward clients all the time; I should trust he knows how to get the best out of people—which is apparently butt pinching. I guess I had expected something more elegant.

This is all in pursuit of Luca’s big NFL dream, though. My brothers played in high school, and those guys slap each other’s butts all the time. Football player buttocks are apparently free game.

I still think—or maybe hope—his stiffness is primarily because he’s worried I’m uncomfortable. He might just need some indication that I’m okay. A butt pinch should do the trick.

“What’d he say?” Luca asks.

I wrap my hands around his waist, and he follows suit. “Trust me. You don’t wanna know.”

His brows snap together.

“Great,” Jasper says before I can set the record straight. “One…”

I take a deep breath.

“Two…”

I inch my right hand down his back. Can I do it, though? And if I don’t, what’ll Jasper think?

“Three.”

Before I can second-guess any more, I shut my eyes and give Luca’s butt a firm squeeze. His glutes tighten instinctively, and so do his arms, pulling me right up against him.

“I’m sorry!” I hiss, burying my face in his chest because I have no idea what else to do. “He made me do it!”

I have no idea what to expect from Luca. This is uncharted territory, and I’m too scared to meet his eyes.

Luca’s mouth comes up against my ear, and there’s a moment of silence. “Sure he did,” he whispers.

I pull back to look at him, and he’s smiling. I laugh, full of nervous jitters and a big helping of relief that he’s not mad at me.

“Yes!” Jasper says, clicking away. “That’s the stuff!”

“I thought he was trying to come on to you,” Luca says like he didn’t even hear Jasper.

“Nope,” I say. “Just asking me to grab your butt so you’d loosen up a little.”

Jasper walks over to us with a huge smile. “Well done, Victoria. We’ve got some great material thanks to that little move you pulled.” He glances at the sky. “We’ve got limited light to work with, so I think we should get you changed and head to the next location.”

We return to the car and grab our next outfits: a flowy coral sundress for me and khaki-colored linen pants with a white button-up for Luca.

We slip into the restrooms in the lobby of the office building to change outfits, then put the old ones back in the car. Jasper wants us barefoot for these beach shots, so I put my strappy heels back on for the walk there, while Luca sports a pair of sandals from his trunk.

Jasper runs ahead of us once we’ve crossed the street and made it to the sandy sidewalk. “Hold hands and walk this way,” he calls to us.

Luca grabs my hand, and I do my best to act like heels and soft, deep sand are compatible.

“Go ahead and take off those heels,” Jasper says in an offensive statement about my success.

“I’m okay,” I say, keeping a smile pasted on my face as the camera continues to click.

“You’re walking weird,” Luca says in a low voice.

“Yeah?” I keep my weight on the balls of my feet. “Well, I’d rather walk weird than get hepatitis from an old needle like last time I came to this beach.”

“You got hepatitis?” he asks.

“Yes! I mean, no. I stepped on an old needle, though, and had to get a tetanus shot.”

“Luca.” Jasper’s gaze locks on Luca, then he nods.

Luca scoops me into his arms and starts walking while Jasper clicks away like a paparazzo.

“I’m totally capable of walking,” I say, wrapping my arms around Luca’s neck for stability. Though, he seems to have things well under control, like he’s carrying a baby rather than a full-grown woman.

“The circumstances of how we met beg to differ,” he says.

I suppress a smile because I kind of love when Luca hits back. “You’re a mean boy, you know that?”

His eyes meet mine, and there’s a hint of mischief in them before he directs them ahead again. “Mean would be letting you keep walking the way you were while a camera immortalizes each moment.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I so don’t feel bad about pinching your butt anymore.”

“Like you ever did ,” he says, deadpan.

We reach the area near the water where the sand becomes firmer, and Luca sets me down. I reach down and undo the straps of my heels.

“Not afraid of hepatitis anymore?” Luca asks.

“I’ve weighed the risks of it against the verbal abuse you subjected me to,” I say. But really, it’s the soft sand I’m afraid of. Packed down sand that’s constantly being swept over by waves poses far less danger.

Jasper has us do more walking, with some shots of us holding hands, some with me on Luca’s back—no easy feat in a dress—and some dancing. The effects of the derriere squeeze are long gone, however, and Luca’s stiffness is returning.

“Looks like you’re the one who needs a safe word,” I say as he spins me around.

“I’m fine,” he says.

Jasper lets his camera rest against his hip and runs up to us. “Okay, I’m going to get some closer shots. More focus on your faces and emotions. More intimate.”

I feel Luca’s gaze flick to me, but I ignore it.

Intimate is fine. A nice close-up on Luca’s brooding face is exactly what Zach had in mind, I’m sure.

Jasper unscrews the lens from his camera and switches it out for a different one as he talks us through the look he’s going for.

“I want you all wrapped up in each other. Forget about me completely and just…be together. Victoria, think of all the things you most love about Luca, and Luca, think of everything you love about her. Okay? Easiest assignment you’ve ever had.”

Luca and I look at each other, and I take a step toward him. All wrapped up in each other . What does that even mean?

Based on how Luca’s holding himself, it means we should act like rusty robots. He’s more tense than ever. And I get it. But I can’t allow it.

“Come on,” I say, trying to seem nonchalant as I approach him. “You heard Jasper. Forget him. Forget the camera.” I hesitate, then put my hands on his chest. It’s a very fine chest. “See? Camera officially forgotten. Easy.”

The camera clicks, and his gaze darts that direction. “I can’t.”

I sigh. “Yeah, me neither. But you can pretend to. Just think about alllll the things you love about me.”

Shockingly, that doesn’t work. The clicks have stopped, and Jasper’s obviously waiting for the magic between us to appear.

“Let’s go in for a kiss,” Jasper says, “but pause right before.”

Luca is now frozen. He’ll be a fascinating statue for future generations to admire unless drastic measures are taken.

“Lucas Callahan,” I say firmly, even though that’s not his real name, “if you humiliate me by looking miserable in these promo shots, so help me…”

Something shifts in his eyes, like my words have hit home. He needs all the motivation he can get to sell this right now, and I think I know what might help.

“Ryan is probably going to see these pictures,” I say, “and if you’re looking like you’d rather be cleaning barnacles off the pier there than holding me? I will never forgive you. For just two minutes, pretend to be attracted to me.”

Luca’s gaze fixes on me, his brow pulling together. His gaze explores my face, and his eyes grow darker.

My pulse races at the sudden change as his hands come up on either side of my face.

I’m the rigid one now. My breathing has stopped altogether, but my heart batters my ribs.

Luca’s face gets closer to mine, and his gaze slips to my lips.

I try to breathe, but his cologne fills my lungs and my head.

His lids slowly veil his eyes, and I close mine. I slide my hands up his chest and wrap them around his neck. I can feel how close his lips are.

His nose brushes mine, and one of his hands drops from my cheek. I wait to see where it makes contact next and feel it slide from my shoulder down to my elbow. His fingertips press into the skin of my arm, an invitation to come closer to him.

My body obeys like it’s just been waiting for him to ask. My stomach presses against his, and the slightest hint of contact on my lips has them tingling. I can’t be sure I didn’t imagine it. Imagined or not, my mouth searches for his.

Forget pausing right before. I want the real thing.

Luca’s hand drops from my arm, and he steps back.

My eyelids flutter open, and I look at him.

He stares at me, his expression unreadable, his chest rising and falling.

“ That was incredible,” Jasper says, jogging up to us. “I asked for intimate, and you delivered! At this point in my career, it’s tough to surprise me, but”—he shows us his arm—“you two just gave me goose bumps.”

You and me both.

I don’t know what just happened, but intimate is certainly one way to describe it.