but Julia rolled the legs up and tightened the drawstring, happy to be in something dry. After she was dressed, she hauled her equipment bag and tripod out to the balcony.
As promised, he was waiting for her with a glass of scotch and a smile that caused her pulse to race. His full frame was silhouetted against the rising moon. Julia crouched down and took a few snapshots of him.
He turned when the shutter clicked, and frowned.
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked.
“Be my guest.” Simon relaxed against the rail and grinned. “But I can’t imagine why you’d want to take pictures of me.”
She could name half a dozen reasons but bit her tongue. Julia forgot how achingly handsome Simon Shelton was in person. He still wore that scruffy close-cut beard that she’d thought looked sexy on him. His blond curls looked wild and unruly. Her fingers itched to run through the soft tresses and press her body against that firm chest. To feel his strong lips against hers.
“Do I need to move the table for you to set up?”
His words shocked her out of the rapidly devolving fantasy. Julia hadn’t realized she’d stopped taking photos. She stood up and walked over to where he stood, taking the scotch from him.
“Um. No, it should be fine. I need to set up as close to the railing as possible.” She took a big gulp, nearly choking on it, and handed him back the glass. “Once I get the camera set up, I’ll show you some tricks.”
Julia started unpacking her gear, finding the best spot to capture the haunting landscape, all carnal thoughts of Simon’s naked body put aside for now. Her mind switched gears and went into teacher mode.
“The key to taking night shots is to use a tripod,” she started to explain. She waved him over to show him the settings on the camera. “With the low light you have to have a long exposure time—this setting here on your camera. This is the reason you need a tripod. It reduces the chance of shaking, which will cause the photo to blur.”
Simon leaned over to look at the small LCD screen. She could feel the heat of his body, and found herself leaning closer like a moth to a flame.
“That explains why my night photos are always shit,” he said, taking a step back. “I don’t think I’ve ever had my camera off auto.”
“There’s your problem. If you want to take a good photo, you need to be willing to put in the effort up front.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but I doubt I’ll remember any of this." Simon waved to the camera and shrugged. “You were going to take some photos of the lake. Why don’t you just show me what you were going to do up here and I’ll sit and watch?”
Turning back to the lake, Julia studied the horizon. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d already missed her shot. She’d come up here to catch the moon just as it inched over the treetops. They had spent so much time talking, the moon was high in the night sky now. So instead, she decided on capturing the moon’s reflection on the lake’s surface.
Even though she taught in front of students all the time, Julia was struck by a sudden case of nerves. As she raised the tripod and changed the setting, explaining each step along the way, Julia kept glancing over her shoulder to where Simon sat watching her. But as soon as she started taking pictures, all her nerves fell away and it was just her and the landscape.
After about thirty minutes and close to a hundred pictures, Julia was about ready to wrap up. She was happy with the shots, even though they were fairly mundane. From the corner of her eye, Julia caught a lone crane take flight off in the distance. Reframing the shot, she held her breath and hoped the bird wouldn’t alter its course. When it finally came into frame she snapped a dozen shots before it flew off.
“Did you see that?” She hopped up and down, unable contain her excitement. She detached the camera and flipped back through the shots. “This shot is
As promised, he was waiting for her with a glass of scotch and a smile that caused her pulse to race. His full frame was silhouetted against the rising moon. Julia crouched down and took a few snapshots of him.
He turned when the shutter clicked, and frowned.
“You don’t mind, do you?” she asked.
“Be my guest.” Simon relaxed against the rail and grinned. “But I can’t imagine why you’d want to take pictures of me.”
She could name half a dozen reasons but bit her tongue. Julia forgot how achingly handsome Simon Shelton was in person. He still wore that scruffy close-cut beard that she’d thought looked sexy on him. His blond curls looked wild and unruly. Her fingers itched to run through the soft tresses and press her body against that firm chest. To feel his strong lips against hers.
“Do I need to move the table for you to set up?”
His words shocked her out of the rapidly devolving fantasy. Julia hadn’t realized she’d stopped taking photos. She stood up and walked over to where he stood, taking the scotch from him.
“Um. No, it should be fine. I need to set up as close to the railing as possible.” She took a big gulp, nearly choking on it, and handed him back the glass. “Once I get the camera set up, I’ll show you some tricks.”
Julia started unpacking her gear, finding the best spot to capture the haunting landscape, all carnal thoughts of Simon’s naked body put aside for now. Her mind switched gears and went into teacher mode.
“The key to taking night shots is to use a tripod,” she started to explain. She waved him over to show him the settings on the camera. “With the low light you have to have a long exposure time—this setting here on your camera. This is the reason you need a tripod. It reduces the chance of shaking, which will cause the photo to blur.”
Simon leaned over to look at the small LCD screen. She could feel the heat of his body, and found herself leaning closer like a moth to a flame.
“That explains why my night photos are always shit,” he said, taking a step back. “I don’t think I’ve ever had my camera off auto.”
“There’s your problem. If you want to take a good photo, you need to be willing to put in the effort up front.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but I doubt I’ll remember any of this." Simon waved to the camera and shrugged. “You were going to take some photos of the lake. Why don’t you just show me what you were going to do up here and I’ll sit and watch?”
Turning back to the lake, Julia studied the horizon. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d already missed her shot. She’d come up here to catch the moon just as it inched over the treetops. They had spent so much time talking, the moon was high in the night sky now. So instead, she decided on capturing the moon’s reflection on the lake’s surface.
Even though she taught in front of students all the time, Julia was struck by a sudden case of nerves. As she raised the tripod and changed the setting, explaining each step along the way, Julia kept glancing over her shoulder to where Simon sat watching her. But as soon as she started taking pictures, all her nerves fell away and it was just her and the landscape.
After about thirty minutes and close to a hundred pictures, Julia was about ready to wrap up. She was happy with the shots, even though they were fairly mundane. From the corner of her eye, Julia caught a lone crane take flight off in the distance. Reframing the shot, she held her breath and hoped the bird wouldn’t alter its course. When it finally came into frame she snapped a dozen shots before it flew off.
“Did you see that?” She hopped up and down, unable contain her excitement. She detached the camera and flipped back through the shots. “This shot is
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