Why Not Now? (The Blue Vista Crew #2)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ava

“H ow are there so many hot people at this wedding?” my friend and fellow photographer Bethany asks as we stand to one side of the room taking candid shots of the guests mingling while they wait for the two brides to arrive.

Honestly, Bethany is better at candids than I am, but I’ve already taken all the stills we need until later.

“Aren’t you married?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says with a smirk. “That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the view. I mean, look at those two over there. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome and Mr. Golden God.”

I smile as I take another shot of the guests. Bethany and I shouldn’t be taking pictures from the same location—our shots will all come out the same—but she’d come over to tell me about all the beautiful people, so I figure I should actually see these two men.

When I do, my breath lodges in my lungs and it feels like they’ve turned to stone.

“Fudge brownies!” I whisper.

“Whoa,” Bethany says with a chuckle. “Watch the language. What’s wrong?”

“I know that man,” I say, turning us both so we’re not facing him, my heart aching with how much it hurts to see him. Though he hadn’t been looking at me, I don’t want him to see me if he hasn’t already.

“Who?” Bethany looks around, but I make a hissing noise, and she turns back.

“Mr. Tall and Dark,” I answer. No way I can force the word handsome out of my mouth, even though he is. Derek Moritz has always been my definition of the perfect man. At least, when it comes to looks. “Be cool.”

She lifts her camera and scans through her recent shots until she finds the one of the two men. She shows me as well, though I don’t need to see the image to remember what he looks like. He was the most gorgeous boy in school. Of course he’s hotter now than he was back then. That’s just how my luck goes.

We’d been friends for a long time before we got together. When we did, I’d thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. He’d always made me feel safe and like I was important. The memory of the way he would look at me, hold me in his arms, surround me with his strength, has me wincing. No one has ever made me feel that way since.

“Who is he?” Bethany asks. “One of your conquests?” She gives me a sly grin and I roll my eyes.

Bethany likes to tease me about the men I’ve gone out with, casual hookups only. She told me once that her teasing wasn’t serious, but she wished I would learn to let people in. I’d told her I had no time for relationships between my multiple jobs and raising my sister. I didn’t tell her I’d already had the kind of love people write stories about and he’d left me, so why would I want to try that again?

“No,” I say now. “We dated. A long time ago.”

She scoffs. “You never date.”

“Nope. And he’s why.”

She looks at her camera again. “Don’t tell me that’s the infamous Derek.”

“One and the same.”

She shoots me a glance, eyes wide. “You broke up with him ?”

“Uh no. He broke up with me.”

“How long ago was this?” she asks.

I clear my throat. “Over eight years.”

“Tell me again what happened?”

I sigh and take a picture of the flower arch over the head table, stunning pink wisteria and white roses with gold accents creating a romantic spot for the couple. “My parents died, and I got custody of Lacey. Derek and I had been dating about two and a half years, friends for longer. I asked if he wanted to leave. He didn’t sign up for the whole raising an eight-year-old sister thing, you know? Anyway, I asked, and he left.” I shrug, trying to downplay the most painful time of my life.

“That’s horrible.”

I snort at the sheer understatement of that. “Yeah, well. It is what it is.”

“Is he a guest, or does he work here?”

“God, I hope he’s a guest. I don’t want to see him whenever we’re here to shoot a wedding.” I shudder at the thought.

“Derek seems pretty chummy with Mr. Golden God. And I’m pretty sure he’s the event coordinator,” she says, taking some more pictures of the crowd. “And Mr. Golden is definitely dating the maid of honour.”

I don’t bother to ask how she knows. She sees people in a way I don’t, capturing the dynamics and the emotion of a moment. I’ve come to trust her judgment when it comes to people she’s photographed.

“Which maid of honour?”

We’d just finished helping Cindy with the wedding party shots before coming here to capture the grand entrance that should take place any time now.

“Lis. The twin with the rainbow hair.”

Before I can respond, the entrance starts, the emcee announcing the two maids of honour, Lis and Kelly, in their mismatched dusty pink dresses. They’re exactly the same colour and length, but slightly different styles. The twin’s dress is more flowy, matching her sister, while the other bridesmaid has a more fitted dress to match the other bride.

As I’m snapping pictures, I clearly see Lis turn toward the event coordinator, a coy smile on her lips. He’s looking back at her with a matching grin. I’m able to capture them both in frame before taking the picture.

“Good call,” I say to Bethany, preparing for the brides to enter. “Maybe Derek is a friend or something? I mean, my luck can’t be that bad, right? My one-and-only ex working at the same place where my boss just got a contract as the main wedding photographer?”

Bethany laughs. “You’ve done it now. You think Murphy’s Law is bad, but the universe will wreak havoc with a statement like that. Hey, you still need a ride home tonight?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” I hate asking for help, but with my car in the shop and all the camera equipment I have with me, Bethany had offered.

“Of course not.”

“Thanks. The new alternator goes in on Monday. Hopefully that solves the problems for a while.” I give her a grateful smile and we go our separate ways.

The brides enter and we spend the next half hour taking pictures until dinner. Since the brides had decided they didn’t need pictures of people eating, I take a few stills of a perfectly plated meal and head to the table Cindy mentioned had been set aside for us with some other people who work at the venue. When I get to the table, Bethany is proved right, because there he is, sitting between the event coordinator and a black-haired woman with icy blue eyes.

I can’t stop my hands from shaking as I sit down and his attention turns to me, our gazes colliding. For several heartbeats, he holds all my focus. Then he blinks, and the spell is broken. He turns back to his friend, a smile spreading at something the other man says.

Ah. We’re pretending we don’t know each other. Fine by me.

Cindy’s voice pulls me back, and I realize she’s been speaking the whole time I’d been in the Derek induced haze. Thankfully, not directly to me.

“Adalie is the HR coordinator here,” Cindy says, indicating a woman with riotous red hair seated next to me. “Beside her is Vic, the CEO.”

Bethany shakes Adalie’s hand first, then Vic’s, the black-haired woman.

Cindy starts at the other side where she’s going to sit and says, “You’re Spencer, right?”

He smiles and holds out his hand to shake. “Yes. Event coordinator.”

Finally, Cindy turns to him . “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

Derek gives her a smile and I wonder how she’s not blinded. How is she not a puddle at his feet with all his attention focused on her? Because I would be.

“Derek. Master of acquisitions.” He stretches his hand across to her and they shake.

Bethany has gone around the table shaking everyone’s hand as well, introducing herself. “Is that an official title?” she asks when she gets to him.

He shifts his head side-to-side. “No, but it’s close enough.”

Then everyone turns to me.

I don’t want to shake anyone’s hand because then I’ll be forced to shake his . I muster up a small smile and an even smaller wave. “I’m Ava,” I say before quickly dropping my hands into my lap.

I’m seated directly across from Derek. Throughout dinner, while I’m trying to focus on a conversation with Bethany and Adalie, seated on either side of me, I keep getting distracted, listening to what he’s saying, who’s talking to him, why he’s laughing.

He laughs a lot.

It doesn’t take long to realize, not only does he work here, but these four people who run Blue Vista Events are close friends.

Bethany gets up as soon as the speeches start and continues taking photos.

“Do you need to go as well?” Adalie asks.

I shake my head. “I’ll take some more when the dancing starts. And I have a few more I want to get later. But I mostly take stills and portraits.”

“You should go up to the rooftop later,” Derek says, and my heart stops.

It’s the first time he’s spoken directly to me all night. I turn to him and get lost for a moment in his brown eyes, so deep and intense.

“Get a few shots of the moon and stars over the bay.”

“Yeah,” Spencer chimes in. “It’s a clear night, so it’ll be good for that. Maybe we can take Daze and Sophie up later and get a few shots of them in the moonlight. Lis and Kelly, too.”

Everyone nods and the conversation moves on. But Derek is still looking at me, like he can’t look away any more than I can. Until the two bridesmaids arrive. Lis directs all her attention at Spencer.

The father-daughter dance is just ending, so I should head out there to start taking more pictures, but I linger to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“I know you usually don’t like it when bridesmaids hit on you, but I wondered if you’d make an exception tonight?”

Spencer catches her hand, rubbing her fingers. “I don’t know,” he responds, keeping a serious expression on his face. “It’s a pretty strict rule. I don’t break it for just anyone.”

“I understand. But maybe you’d like to dance?”

“I can’t say no to that,” Spencer says as he stands.

Before they leave, Lis turns to Derek. “This is Kelly. She won’t hit on you, but she is happy to dance.”

He stands, giving Kelly that grin, the one that used to make warmth spread to the tips of my toes. “I’m always happy to dance. You sure you don’t want to hit on me?”

Kelly grins back at him. I hate how easy they are together. “You’re not exactly my type, Romeo.”

Spencer and Lis have already made it to the dance floor, wrapped in each other’s arms, but Derek turns back to the table, his eyes meeting mine for just a second before he turns to Adalie and Vic. “You two want to join?”

Vic snorts. “You won’t get me on that dance floor.”

Adalie nudges her. “We will eventually. Have another drink.”

I get up and return to my job. The wedding is a really beautiful one, different shades of pink mixed with creams and gold at each table, from the linens and floral centrepieces to the gold sashes tied around each chair. Tea lights flicker in glass holders on every surface. It’s easy to find good shots. After a while, someone touches my elbow, and I turn, sucking in a breath through my nose. As I do, I inhale the scent of him: amber and cardamom, warm and sensual, a little sweet and a little spicy.

Refuge . The cologne I bought him for Christmas so long ago. He still uses it?

“You want to go up and get those pictures?” Derek asks, breaking the spell, obviously not as jittery about running into me as I am about running into him.

“Sure.”

“Spencer is going to bring the ladies up in about fifteen. Will that be enough time?”

I nod, stopping to grab my tripod and a different flash before following him to a staircase and up to the rooftop terrace, .

I’d been up here earlier during the ceremony, but the view with the moon and stars is breathtaking, even if the early fall night is a little crisp.

I’ve taken a bunch of shots before he speaks again.

“So you stuck with photography?”

Oh. We’re not pretending we don’t know each other. Cool. Excellent.

I turn back to him. He has his hands shoved in his pockets and his shoulders hunched like he’s almost as uncomfortable as I am.

“Uh. Yeah. Sort of. I’ve been in and out of it.”

It strikes me as funny how that statement is true and yet tells such a small part of the story of the last eight and a half years of my life. How everything had come to a screeching halt and only now seems to be starting up again.

I take another couple pictures, looking down at the screen before making an adjustment and taking the next ones.

Then I blurt, “I thought you were going to be a doctor.”

His face splits into a grin as he relaxes and laughs—actually laughs. The sound takes my breath away, just like it always did.

“No. Turns out, I hate chemistry. Stuck with it way longer than I should have. But Mom always said I could be a doctor.” He rolls his eyes in obvious affection. “I went into business.”

“That’s… quite a change.”

“Led me here.” He shrugs. “I kind of like it here.”

We lapse into silence, and I take another couple of pictures.

“Have you worked here long?” I ask.

“Since the beginning. I’m a part owner.”

Owner. So not only would I be seeing him any time I do a wedding with Cindy, he’s my boss’ boss. Great. Perfect. Thanks, Universe.

We lapse into an uncomfortable silence. I’m finished with the pictures until the wedding party arrives. So I stand there, looking at Derek, holding my camera like a shield between us. After a moment that drags on, I say, “Well, this is awkward. Where are those brides?”

“Ava,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be.”

“We’re going to see each other at every wedding. You don’t think that’s going to be weird?”

“I’m not usually at the weddings. My job is almost always done before the vows, and I mostly stay downstairs. Tonight is different because it’s Daze and Sophie.”

“What makes them so special?” I ask lightly, but I’m very curious.

“Daze is Lis’ sister.”

“And Lis is dating Spencer.”

“Yes. She also works here. She’s our head chef.” He lets out a breath and runs a hand through his hair, shoving his curls into disarray. “Look. What happened between us is ancient history, right? There’s no reason it has to affect us or a working relationship now. Eight years is a really long time.”

Eight years, seven months, and three days, but who’s counting?

“You’re right,” I say out loud. “We’re both adults. There’s no reason we can’t work at the same place. We’ll probably barely see each other. Right?”

“Right. It’ll be fine.”

The smile he gives me is a little bit off, not quite the teasing, joy-filled grin I remember. But then, Derek is a different person now. Just like I’m a different person. He’s changed.

Maybe we’d been in love once upon a time. Now, we’re little more than strangers.