Picture Perfect by Deena Remiel Page A

your model going in such a huff?”
    “Home. It’s just you and me for the rest of our time, Bill. I could use some more solo shots anyway.” He shook his head and shook off his frustration. “Let’s shoot some in the Jacuzzi, and some against that wall, and maybe some in the bed with me sleeping.”
    “Sure. Your dime, my friend.”
    As the shoot progressed he kept reviewing what happened with Brittany. The same thing that happened with Annalise and Finola and…the list went on. Women! They always got caught up in the fantasy of the shoot, allowing their emotions to accept that what they were doing for the camera, they were doing for real. He’d have to look into a new batch of models in the morning.
    ***
    The Harley rumbled beneath him like a possessed demon horse, and when he arrived at his rented beach house around midnight, he parked it and headed straight for the shoreline. The Pacific Ocean had a way of calming his spirit and bringing clarity to any situation. He kicked off his shoes and dug his toes into the cool sand. The moon shone brightly over the relatively quiet ocean, making millions of glittering stars appear on its surface. He’d turned melancholy and disquieted on the way back home. He loved his modeling business. He’d been doing it for so many years now, and it had become quite a lucrative endeavor. But it had its costs. If the models weren’t throwing a hissy fit over their unrequited love, the ladies he dated turned into jealous, neurotic freaks whenever he discussed a shoot or showed them photos of his romance novel covers.
    He sighed, flexed his legs, and leaned back on his elbows in the sand. The model problem he could handle. There were tons more of them who he could ask to join him for a photo shoot. The real issue, the one that had been eating him up inside, continued to be a sore spot on his heart.
    Jamie yearned for love, real love, the kind of love portrayed on the thousands of covers he graced.
    Where’s that special woman who can understand the nature of what I do? How I make it seem as if I’m having sex, but it’s just business and nothing more? He’d run out of ideas as to where to find her. He snickered at the rolling waves, creeping up on him, teasing him, and pulling away. Just like the woman he dreamed of. There had been a couple who could stand what part of his job entailed, for a little while. But as usual, they broke away and backed off, their own insecurities getting the better of them. Tired, physically and emotionally, he drug himself off the beach, shoes slung over his shoulder, and passed out on the chaise lounge sitting on the back porch, clothes still on.

 
     
    Chapter Two
     
    A sunrise at land’s end. Nothing better to symbolize a new beginning, a fresh start. Hope figured by greeting the day together with the sun, she upped her chances of making today a great day. Lord, but she needed one. At thirty-three years of age, she’d been through it all—marriage, divorce, dreams realized and quashed, and now, unemployment. Today’s my birthday, and by God, I’ll make sure it starts out on the right foot. The sun hadn’t quite risen yet, so she meandered along the beach waiting for the first peek of color to wash across the horizon. And there it is . She sighed.
    “Ow! Son of a bitch!” What the hell had she stepped on? Bending over, she looked down to find a large shard of a shell sticking up out of the sand. Damn it! She picked up her right foot to inspect it and immediately saw droplets of her blood soaking into the sand. Well, isn’t this just grand? So much for starting out on the right foot. The cut on her sole bled profusely, and she wasn’t quite sure how to staunch it other than cover it with her shirt. Thank goodness she’d worn a bathing suit underneath her clothes. But how to get back to her house?  She snorted. Good question Hope. Now what’s the answer?
    She looked around for anyone that might be as crazy as she for coming out so early,