My Ex-Boyfriend’s Brothers (Ex Marks the Spot)

13. Ryan

13

***Ryan***

W as I taking advantage of Maggie’s flaky wedding photographer to get closer to her? Yep. Did I feel bad about it? Nope. The woman had haunted my dreams for over half a decade. I had to try.

I’d set up our picnic next to the lake with the sunset in the background. I found the blanket in the back of the closet in my cabin, the food in Luke’s cabin, and the wine in Jackson’s. It was a family event. Especially if I considered the fact that Maggie was Brad’s ex. I wasn’t considering that, though. I’d spent three years biting my tongue while Brad put his hands all over her. Thank fuck those days were behind us.

I stared down at my camera, adjusting the settings and impatiently waiting for my chance. I started too early and I’d left myself with time to kill just sitting there, waiting to meet Maggie.

As soon as it was time, I jogged over to the lodge and spotted Maggie right away. She was standing just inside the front door, her attention on her phone. She looked stunning and I told her so the moment I opened the door. I didn’t care if I was coming on strong. I was motivated.

“Where are we going?” Maggie shoved her phone into the small purse she carried and smiled up at me. “I’m hoping that you’re going to show me your work and I’m going to cry with relief. I made a few more calls this morning, just checking again for wedding photographers in the area and got laughed at multiple times. Which was great, by the way.”

I led her down past the cabins and towards the only private section of the lake close by. “I set up our picnic down here. With the sun setting, the pictures will be great. I haven’t bothered putting together a portfolio of my work in years but I have a few that have been published that I can show you. I think you’ll get a real feel for my work with the stuff I shoot today, though.”

“Are you going to do nature shots?” Maggie spotted the picnic and a bright smile lit her face. “This is so nice! You didn’t have to go through all this trouble for me, Ryan. Thank you!”

I motioned for her to sit on the far side of the blanket and stepped back as soon as she did. “I’m taking pictures of you. There’s nothing better than a live model.”

“Me?” Maggie shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not a model.”

I grabbed my camera and snapped off a few shots. Her hair was on fire in the setting sun, the red shades glowing. “Don’t move.”

She frowned and stared straight into the camera, doing her best to look grumpy. “Ryan…”

I put the camera down long enough to move her where I wanted her. I had her lean to one side and tipped her head down slightly. “Come on, Maggie. You’re making my dreams come true. Plus, you’re too beautiful to not be captured in time like this.”

She looked up at me through her lashes and stayed silent while I took more shots. When I stopped with the first round of pictures, Maggie assumed I was finished and reached for a slice of pizza. “I’m starving. It’s been a long day.”

I snapped a picture of her holding her pizza over her face to catch a string of cheese hanging down. The tip of her tongue was out and automatically, I knew I’d be printing that picture to hang up. She was so beautiful.

“Can you show me?” She finished chewing her pizza and swallowed it with a swig of wine. “I hope you didn’t get your hopes up. I’m not photogenic. At all.”

I sat across from her and flipped through the photos, choosing my favorite. I saved them to the cloud and pulled them up on my phone to show her. “You’re photogenic, Maggie. A photographer who appreciates all that you are can capture all that you are. You’re the most beautiful woman.”

She took my phone and I got to watch as her mouth dropped open. I snapped a few more pictures, until she looked up at me with awe on her face. She swallowed slowly and handed my phone back, still not saying anything.

“Well? Am I hired?”

She nodded. “You’re better than Armon.”

“Of course, I am.” I smirked at her and put my camera down for the moment. Scooting closer to her, I grabbed a slice of pizza myself and took a big bite.

“How did you do that?” She tore off her pizza crust and put it back in the box. “How did you make me look like that?”

“I didn’t do a damn thing, Maggie. You’re fucking stunning.” I dropped my pizza and shoved aside the box. “I was jealous of Brad for three long fucking years. I would’ve taken him out if I thought it would mean you’d come home with me.”

Maggie’s eyes went wide. She slowly finished her slice of pizza and wiped her hands on a napkin. “I spent those three years feeling the ugliest I ever have. It’s hard to imagine you found me stunning.”

I wanted to touch her but I also didn’t want to push her so I grabbed my camera again and took a few more shots. “Luke, Jack, and I were all over ten when Brad was born. I spent so much of my life watching him get the shiniest toys, just for him to treat them like shit and throw them away. It was the most consistent thing about Brad. He got spoiled with things, trashed them, and then moved on. It only makes sense that he’d repeat his same old pattern with the women in his life.

“I don’t know what all happened between the two of you but I’m glad it didn’t work out. You deserve better than Brad and a man who doesn’t praise every part of you, inside and out.” I snapped a few more shots. “I’ve measured every woman against you for years, Maggie. No one is ever as pretty as you, as funny as you, or as kind as you.”

She chewed on her bottom lip and looked around at the picnic I’d set up. “Is this a real date?”

I felt like a preteen trying to talk to my first girl ever as I nodded. “It is for me.”

She nodded and then smiled a shy, devastatingly adorable smile that made my chest ache. “Okay.”

I laughed. “Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay. This is a date. I have to tell you, though, I’m focusing on this wedding for now. I just have to get to the finish line. I told Jackson the same thing. No matter what, I can’t get distracted. So, I’m saying okay to this date.”

I lifted my camera and nodded. “Well, I’m going to make this one count.”

“I thought you’d have more questions about the Jackson part of my answer.”

“Nope.” I moved over to sit next to her and lifted the camera so I could take a selfie of us. “We all had similar feelings about you. It makes sense that nothing has changed.”

She turned her face to mine. “You guys have weird taste in women. Can I ask one question?”

“Shoot.” I put my camera down and leaned closer. From that close, she smelled even better. Like sweet oranges straight from a sunny grove. “And we don’t have weird taste in women. We have fantastic taste in women.”

“Brad and I broke up three years ago. Why now?”

“It would’ve been wrong to just swoop in right after you broke up. Even though I didn’t understand it, I knew you cared about Brad. I didn’t want to catch you in a vulnerable moment, one where you might’ve been searching for Brad through me.” I shrugged like I hadn’t thought about her nearly every day for three years, wondering when the right time would come. “Then, time just sort of happened. I was out of the country and I felt safe, I guess, in knowing that Luke and Jack were waiting, too. Seeing you, though, it just confirmed everything I already knew.”

She searched my eyes, her clear green ones piercing straight through me. “And what did you already know?”