One-Off (28 page)

“Did your mum get home okay?” I’d tried to convince her to stay another week, but Elspeth was ready to get home. Last night’s dinner had been a little sad, but she promised to visit again before another fourteen years passed.

“Knackered but happy to be home.” Her eyes stayed on mine for a long beat. Perhaps she thought I’d comment on her mother’s joy at returning to Scotland. Or maybe she thought I didn’t think leaving the U.S. could make someone happy. It could be that now that we weren’t being chaperoned anymore, she thought we’d go back to taking jabs at each other.

“I’m sorry to see her go but glad she made it home safely.”

Her smile was slow but genuine and a touch relieved. “Did you get the pictures?”

“Isaac messengered them over today. Thanks for coming by.”

“I’ve been wanting to look these over.”

The doorbell rang again and I went to get the food I’d ordered. Ainsley’s eyes lit up when she saw what I was carrying. “Chinese takeaway?”

“What better?”

“Mum and I went to the place we used to order from in New York.”

“Oh, rub it in, why don’t you?”

She smiled and nudged my shoulder. “You missed out. Gwen’s husband is a real doozy and Petra’s boyfriend got confused by simple math.”

“Nice to see them, though?”

“They’re not as I remembered either. Gwen used to be so together, and Petra could walk into a test without studying and ace it. Made me angry.”

“Me, too. I felt like I didn’t do anything other than study.”

“You didn’t.”

A month ago, I would have considered that a dig, but she was just stating the facts. I studied a lot, probably over studied, but a full course load and part-time work made free time scarce. “I didn’t have time to waste.”

“I know that now.”

I tilted my head in interest. “Even though I told you then, you’re finally believing it now?”

“You were so young for grad school. I thought you’d been given one of those shortcuts you Americans get with advanced classes in high school so you didn’t have to take university credits. But Gwen told me you skipped a grade in primary and you went to uni year round, full load, and worked jobs.”

“You sound impressed.”

“That’s because I am,” she admitted.

I sank into a dining room chair. I wasn’t sure how to respond to her compliment, so I pulled the containers from the takeout bags to buy some time. Ainsley grabbed two plates and joined me at the table. Silently, we spooned helpings onto our plates and began to eat.

“You’re impressive, too,” I told her. “PhD, leading Scottish history scholar at Edinburgh. I bet you could get hired on at any college out there.”

She blushed and the sight stopped my swallow. I almost choked on the food in my mouth. I’d never seen her blush. Not years ago when the roommates teased her about a girl they thought she had a thing for, not six weeks ago when she first came to town and my retorts must have embarrassed her, not when she was in my arms at the wedding.

“You’ve had offers, I take it,” I guessed the reason for her blush.

“Aye.”

“But you like University of Edinburgh.”

“I do.”

“Over Cambridge? Because they must have offered.”

“They might have done.”

“But Scottish history belongs at a Scottish university?” I guessed again.

“I like living where I live. I like the students and the school. If I wanted a change, I’d look to Glasgow or St. Andrews.”

“They’re lucky to have you.”

“You’re full of charm tonight, aren’t ya?”

I slid the laptop over and booted it up. I was full of something tonight, and it didn’t feel like charm. Best just to get on with our task. “There are over a thousand photos.”

“I wasn’t expecting that many.” Her eyes ran over the four flash drives lined up in front of her.

“We should section them out and cull some if necessary.”

“Won’t they want to see them all?”

“They’ll want at least one good picture of everyone. After that, I don’t think they’ll have time to go through hundreds of photos every time they want to look through their wedding pics.”

“Makes sense. I can identify everyone from our side if you want to make sure Dallas’s family and coworkers are covered.”

I inserted the first flash drive and copied them to my hard drive. The pictures went in order, helping with the narrative they told. First it was the empty church with Morgan’s flowers set up. The guest book, the wedding placard with their names not the fake one with our names. Dallas and her sisters getting ready in the dressing room with the hairdressers. Several photos of Colin and his cousin and friend adjusting each other’s ties. Colin and his dad and Colin and his aunt and uncle. I clicked again and Ainsley appeared. A close up of her looking down, one hand pressed against her hip and the other reaching for her jacket as she emerged from the bathroom where she’d changed. The next photo she looked up directly into the camera, surprise and wonder on her face.

An audible breath escaped from me before I could stop it. “He surprised you, yeah?”

She chuckled. “I didn’t know they’d let him into the room. They probably bribed him to see if he could startle me.”

“Boys.” I shook my head in exasperation but took note of the photo number. I’d be looking at that one again. “Should we keep looking through them all first or start marking the ones to segment into the bride or groom categories?”

“Let’s keep on. If we get bored, we’ll start marking them.”

“We don’t have to go through all of them tonight.” My eyes drifted to the other flash drives. He turned over every shot he took and it would probably take hours even if we only spent a few seconds on each photo.

“I’ve got another lecture tomorrow night.”

My brow rose. “You added another?”

“George Washington University.”

“What time?” The question came automatically.

“Why?”

I should have known she’d question me. “You can’t just tell me?”

She smiled and shook her head.

“Fine.” I let out a bothered sigh. “I’d like to be there.”

“Ya like Scottish history that much, do ya?”

“I could.”

“I’ll make sure to add the section on the Isle of Skye.” That sounded vaguely dirty, and I wasn’t entirely sure she didn’t mean it that way.

I continued to click through the photos. Dallas was caught at the top of the stairs with her father kissing her cheek. The first one of me in my dress had me staring at the laptop screen for a long moment. I’d been so used to seeing myself with brown hair in suits or boring business clothes that I almost didn’t recognize the dressed up, redheaded, almost pretty me. After five seconds I realized that I needed to move to the next photo before Ainsley teased me about staring at myself. I glanced over to find her eyes glued to the screen. Warmth spread through my chest and I hurriedly clicked to the next picture. Thankfully they were all of Dallas and Colin through the ceremony.

I barely paused on the picture of Ainsley and me walking back down the aisle together. I’d study that one later. Several photos of the wedding party getting ready to take the posed pictures. These candid shots were more appealing than the posed ones in my opinion, but I was now convinced that Isaac could have a second career as a wedding photographer easily if he wanted.

My breath started coming in shorter and shorter wisps as I clicked through each coupling until I got to the one I knew would be there. Ainsley and I, chest to chest, staring into each other’s eyes, daring each other to step back. She made a small gasping sound as I let out a nervous laugh. As much as I wanted to keep looking at Ainsley’s expression in the picture, I clicked to the next one that showed us posed with our heads turned toward the camera but most of our bodies still facing each other. I pushed out another breath knowing that once we got through all these wedding party photos, I could pause on the ones of Ainsley without having to see me in the photos.

“He did a good job,” she said, her voice tight. “Colin and Dallas should be happy that he captured all these.”

I nodded but kept silent because my throat was still dry and I’d sound more than a little tight. I finally got what Dallas and Morgan were teasing me about. The look we’d shared in the candid photo had lasted seconds in real life but he’d captured it nonetheless. To say it sizzled would have fallen short.

We progressed through the rest of the drive which got us through the seated dinner. Isaac must have spent the time taking photos of everyone while they were seated. The next drive started the first dance and the dance with their parents. I felt my fingers start to shake as I remembered what came next. If he’d managed to capture one second of heat between us in front of the church, I could only imagine what a candid shot of us dancing together would be like. I hoped that he’d only gotten one picture of us at the start when we hadn’t quite gotten so close. I was torn between wanting to flee to the bathroom to let her continue through these photos on her own and wanting to see the pics and her reaction. I clicked onto the next and saw Savannah and Logan dancing together.

“I’ve never seen Logan so neat before.” Ainsley smiled at the screen.

“That’s what happens when you have a professional hairdresser available.”

She gave a small shrug. “I like the wild look.”

I looked over and realized if I leaned in two inches, her wild, untamed loose curls would touch my face. “I do, too.”

She turned and caught me studying her curls. Her blush returned and I felt my stomach flop. I hurried to click to the next photo. Denver and Ross. They looked very formal. The next photo caught Denver starting to smile. The next she had a full smile and so did Ross. No heat between them like with Savannah and her partner, but they looked like they were having a good time.

The first of the ones I’d been dreading and eagerly anticipating appeared on the screen. He caught us as I moved into Ainsley’s arms. Every thought going through my head at the time—fear, excitement, embarrassment, attraction—could be read in my expression. I quickly clicked onto the next photo. Our hands were clasped against Ainsley’s chest. Her other hand was pressing against my lower back and mine was curled over the back of her shoulder. Our eyes were locked, and like the other photo, we seemed to be devouring each other with our gazes.

Anyone who looked at this photo and the other one at the church would think we were a couple. Anyone. Even me. We weren’t. I remember the dance. I remember liking the dance and feeling things I’d never felt with Ainsley or anyone before, but I didn’t remember exchanging these lustful looks. That was the thing about still photography. I was certain when we watched the video of the wedding and the reception, the dance would look as innocent as it was. The photo just got that one second.

“Och,” Ainsley whispered.

Och, indeed. Did we talk about this? Did we continue on as if these split seconds were just that, split seconds? Did I want to talk about this? Attraction was one thing, but contemplating something more was an entirely different thing.

“We look quite good, don’t we? Pretty, yes?”

“You do,” I blurted.

She turned her smile to me. “As do you.”

I clicked through to the next photo, relieved when it was another of Dallas and Colin. Three more of the other couples and another of Ainsley and me, far less steamy, thankfully. After that, the pictures were easier to click through. Every once in a while I’d pop up in a photo, highlighting Dallas and Ainsley’s point that I really didn’t stop dealing with wedding things all night. A few more of Ainsley looking striking in her one piece jumpsuit. In so many, Dallas and Colin were circulating and their candid photos were some of the best I’d seen.

When photos of guests on the terrace came up, the finger depressing the mouse pad started to tremble. As much as I wanted to see whether or not I’d imagined our time on the terrace, I didn’t think I wanted photo evidence of such a private moment. The slide show advanced without capturing it, and my finger stopped shaking, but my stomach tightened with disappointment. I wouldn’t learn if I’d invented her leaning toward me before my knees buckled like I was flopping on a basketball court.

The rest of the photos caught everything a skilled wedding photographer would have, cutting the cake, tossing the bouquet, and all the candid and posed photos of the wedding party once Colin and his mates had changed to kilts. The last photos were of Dallas and Colin getting into their hired Bentley and driving off down the road.

“Splendid.”

I nodded enthusiastically. “If he decides to do this full time, he could make a killing.”

“Would he?”

“He loves football too much.”

“Football,” she guffawed. “What does it have to do with your feet?”

“Not this again.” I was almost relieved she started with the teasing again.

“I’ll make you go to a real football match.”

“Do they even have real football here?” I kidded.

“They try. You’ll have to revisit the U.K.”

That didn’t sound like a polite, “Hey, if you’re ever in town, look me up,” kind of invitation. That was a request, and it caused the flutters in my stomach to swirl rapidly. Only the chime of my clock stopped the silly swirls.

“It’s late.” Ainsley turned back from looking at the clock.

“You didn’t walk, did you?” It was only one Metro stop away on the Red Line but too far to walk at night.

“I took Colin’s car.”

“Let me walk you to the car.”

“It’s blocks away.” The protest sounded weak. No one liked walking alone in the dark, even if the alternative was to be escorted by an annoyance such as me.

“All the more reason. I’ll get a flashlight.”

“Torch,” she corrected with a grin.

“Right, a torch.” I got up and found my flashlight.

Ainsley met me at the door. “We didn’t really get to group the photos, did we?”

“We didn’t. It took a long time just to get through them all. I saw a bunch that could be deleted right away, but they’ll need to make that decision. We should group them to help with that.”

“Night after next?”

“That works.”

At Colin’s car, she opened the passenger door and looked at me. “I’ll drive you back.”