Chapter 3 #2
“Okay, and I think we’re done,” Kenzie states as she lowers her camera.
“I’ll go over these tonight and email through my favourites, then you can tell me what you think.
I’ll be around on and off over the next few weeks to capture some more candid shots, but these should be perfect for the launch promo. ”
Before she’s even finished talking, Cam is at my side, holding out his hand to help me down from the kitchen island.
“You did great,” he says as I slide down his body.
“She did,” Kenzie chimes in. “These things can be long and boring, not at all glamorous like people think they are, but you having some past experience made it so much easier.”
“Thanks,” I reply, offering up a genuine smile. “It’s been a while. I remembered most but had forgotten how standing around not doing a lot can be so exhausting.”
“It’s the opposite for me,” Kenzie says as she and her team pack up equipment and tidy my kitchen around us. “I’m wired while I’m working and can sometimes completely lose track of time, which isn’t always good for my subjects.”
“How did you get into it?” I ask while Cam helps carry a couple of the heavier bags out to the crew’s van.
“My mum always wanted to make a career of photography. She had a camera with her the night she met my dad, but they hooked up, and she got knocked up with me at eighteen. Then, just a few years later, my grandad and his wife were killed, and they took on Billie.”
“Yeah, I remember how they stepped up at such a young age.” I nod as I recall the story of how Cal’s dad and his wife were killed in a terror attack in Indonesia somewhere, but his younger half-sister survived, and the young couple took Billie on and raised her as their own.
“How are they all?” I ask. “Your mum and dad, Max and Billie?”
“They’re good. Dad’s producing, Mum still has her shops and does a lot of online business now, and Billie and Max are busy with the kids and the farm retreat they run.”
“And you’re with Jake?” I question, wondering if I’ve overstepped the mark, but too nosy to really care.
“I am.”
“How’d your mum and dad take that, because you’ve been together a while now, right?”
“Five years,” she answers. “Yeah, it didn’t go down too well at the beginning. I knew it wouldn’t. Dad hit the roof when Billie and Max first got together, to the point he and Max got into a physical fight when he first found out, so I knew if I pursued something with Jake, shit would hit the fan.”
“You pursued him?”
She shrugs, nods, and grins at me. “I was a horny eighteen-year-old. Have you seen him?”
I return her smile, despite the memories of being nothing but broken-hearted at eighteen, thinking I’d never love or be loved again. “Only pictures. I think we may have been at a couple of the same events, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually met him in person.”
“Oh, you’d remember if you had. I mean, your husband’s hot as fuck for a silver fox, but Jake…
” She pauses for a moment and traces the outline of her lips with her index finger.
After drawing in air through her nose, she lets it out slowly, and I feel like I should look away while she recalls whatever it is she’s recalling.
“He’s got that olive skin and those blue eyes that pop—a bit like yours, except he’s a dirty blond.
” She wiggles her brows and gives me another smile.
“In more ways than one. It’s not just that, though.
It’s him: his personality, his ability to make me laugh, the way he loves me and always has my back.
He had a rough start in life, so his drive and tenacity to be where he is now just blows me away. ”
She draws in another deep breath and, again, lets it out slowly. It sounds like a sigh, but I get the feeling it’s one of contentment not frustration.
“He’s loud and a lot sometimes, and so am I, but instead of that creating a clash of personalities, we complement each other. Plus, he’s quietened and calmed down somewhat with maturity.”
My chest fills with warmth as I listen to her describe the man she obviously loves.
“What’s the age gap between you two? It’s not as big as Billie and Max’s, right?”
“Nah, theirs is sixteen years. Ours is only eleven. Billie was working for Max as his nanny, as well as him being her big brother’s best mate and bandmate, so it really kicked off when they got found out.
They all eventually worked their shit out and are all besties again now, but Jake remembered all of that, and despite me making it very obvious I was interested, for a couple of years, he wouldn’t even look in my direction.
Eventually, I flashed him my tits, promised him the best head of his life, and charmed his boxers off. ”
Before I can even consider a response, Cam comes back into the kitchen, and I realise my house is finally quiet, empty, and back to its usual spotless self.
“We’ll have to have you over for dinner one night,” I tell Kenzie. “I’m intrigued and want to meet him. I’ll invite Marley and Ash, plus Joe and whoever it is he’s hooked up with right now. It’s been a while since we all got together, so it’ll be a great excuse.”
Her mouth hangs open for a second as she stares at me, wide-eyed. “Really? Jake would love that. He has massive respect for Marley—talks about him like he’s a god.”
“Jesus, I won’t be telling my brother that. He already struggles to get his head through my front door, he’s so full of himself. But we’ll definitely sort something out, and I’ll give you some dates.”
“Cool. Look forward to it. Like I said, I’ll be here on and off while you’re doing the interview and shooting the documentary, so I’ll be around.”
With Cam’s arm draped over my shoulder, we stand in the doorway and wave goodbye to Kenzie and her team.
“I really like her,” I tell my husband as I turn to him. “I feel like I’ve known her forever.”
“Probably the rock star connection,” he says while brushing his lips over my ear.
“Sorry.” I look up at him. “Does that bother you?” My stomach turns over with worry.
“Babe,” he says with one of his oh-so-familiar headshakes. “I made my peace with your past a very long time ago. If I hadn’t, I’d have been carted off to the nut house by now.”
The instant the headlights vanish into the distance, Cam picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. When I let out a girlie scream, he slaps my arse.
“You can save that noise for the bedroom. I’ve had a hard on all day watching you pout and pose. Now it’s time to put it to good use and make you scream.”
This is one of those very rare moments in our relationship when I don’t even attempt to argue.