The caller ID didn't display a name, only a number, so she almost didn't answer it. However, since it might be someone looking for a photographer, she decided not to ignore it.
"Hey Jordy! It's Amelia. Your mother gave me your number. I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."
Wow. She hadn't talked to Amelia in several years. Not that she didn't want to now. Somehow, when they went their separate ways after high school, they'd become the kind of friends who drifted apart and lost touch.
"Not at all. It's great to hear from you. I'm glad you called."
"Good. I couldn't believe it when your mother said you were back in L.A. and had given up the piano, much less that you were a photographer now. Talk about perfect timing."
"Why? You need some pictures taken?"
"I do actually. I'm getting married on Saturday and my photographer bailed at the last minute. Any chance you aren't booked?"
Jordyn tried not to laugh. It probably wouldn't be good for her career for Amelia to know she had zero photography gigs scheduled. However, if she did the photos for someone like Amelia, it just might give her business the boost it needed. Thanks Mom.
"Well, talk about serendipitous. I have one little thing scheduled that day, but it won't be a problem to reschedule it, so I'm yours."
"Perfect! You're a lifesaver, Jordyn."
"Are you sure you wouldn't like to have a look at my portfolio first? You don't want to end up with lame photos of your big day."
"Not necessary. Your mom told me about your exclusive with People on Maximillian Chanteur's break up, and those photos were a hundred times better than any paparazzi photo I've seen. Besides, if you're giving up your lucrative career as a concert pianist to be a photographer, you've got to have some serious skills. I hope you can join us for rehearsal Friday night, we're having the wedding and the reception at the same venue, so you can get a feel for the place and do whatever else it is you photographers need to do."
"Works for me. I know things are kinda crazy for you this week, Amelia, but I do want to get together with you to catch up sometime. It's great to hear from you. We never should've lost touch."
"You're so right. I'd love to get together in a few months, after my life slows down a bit. However, it certainly isn't right now and since I can scratch photographer off my list, I need to get on with getting all those last minute wedding things taken care of. For now, I'll say ciao."
"Ciao."
Okay, so Remo was right about one thing. Living it was completely different than imagining what it would be like. Living from paycheck to paycheck was tough. She could understand now how it would wear you down after years and years of not having enough money. Which could very well end up being her life. After two months of trying to make it on her own with her photography, she wasn't doing so well, even with the work she'd gotten as a result of her exclusive with People magazine. So she'd taken on a part time job to supplement her income, because come hell or high water, she wasn't going to be defeated. If she ever saw Remo again, she'd have the experience to back up what she knew to be true. For herself at any rate.
Maybe Amelia's wedding would get her foot in the door with the right crowd. Regardless, if it ended up being a one-time thing, she was certainly going to make a lot more money there than working her second job, so it was a no-brainer which job she was doing this Saturday.
Still, when she ran into Max at the reception, she had a moment of doubt about her decision. If Max was here, Remo was most likely nearby and she didn't think she could face him right now. She needed more time and distance in order to have the fortitude for that encounter. However, one look at Max's face and she felt like her problems were small in comparison. What was he even doing here? Putting on a brave face? He was so pale, his eyes were bloodshot, he hadn't shaved in days, and it looked like he hadn't slept in a month.
"Max, it's good to see you. Though I won't ask how you're doing; your face says it all. I'm surprised you're here, at a wedding. It has to be tough."
"The groom is part of my band, so there's no way I wasn't going to be here. Looks like your business is taking off and you're the wedding photographer. It's a sweet gig."
"Very. It helps to know people. Amelia and I went to school together."
"It's all about the connections, isn't it? So, tell me what you did to Remo? I think he's in worse shape than I am."
It was hard to believe anyone could feel worse than Max looked right now—and he'd pulled himself together for a wedding. Her stomach did a little flip. Remo was hurting as badly as she was. Not that she wanted him to, but it helped to know he still cared. Maybe, once he wrapped his head around the fact he wasn't bad for her, they might have a future.
Idiot. Still hoping for the impossible.
"I didn't do anything, Max. He was the one who didn't want to get involved again, not me."
"Sometimes it makes you wonder if you're better off alone." He let out a weary sigh. "Well, nice seeing you again Jordyn. Glad to see business is good for you. I think I've done my duty here and can duck out now."
"Good to see you too Max. Take care of yourself. Time heals all wounds."
"I've found gin does wonders too, but time is probably the smarter route."
"I hear you. It's a slippery slope neither one of us needs to go down. Has Remo...?
"Not that I know of. We've been good for each other that way."
"Glad to hear it. I'll let you go. I need to get back to work."
He gave a salute in response, turned on his heel and started making his way towards the exit. Her eyes followed him for a few moments, long enough to see him get stopped by someone saying 'hi'. She had a feeling it was going to take him a lot longer to leave than he'd like.
As she watched him, a photo inspiration struck, and after digging around in her camera bag, she let out a sigh of frustration. Her head was still a mess from seeing Remo. It wasn't the first time she'd forgotten a necessity. A picture of the entire room through a fisheye lens, capturing all the attending celebrities in one shot, would be magnificent. If only she'd put the lens in her main camera bag like she'd intended to.
After letting Amelia know what she was up to, she hurried out to her car, retrieved the lens and had started making her way back to the reception when she saw him leaning against the hood of what she guessed was Max's limo. She bit her lip at the picture he made with his arms crossed, emphasizing the broadness of his chest, and her breath caught in her throat when she thought about how that chest felt pressed against hers. God, she could stand there and look at him forever. Tears sprang to her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. How could she live without him?
"Hello Jordyn."
"Hi Remo. Max may be a while yet. He's trying to leave, but last I saw he couldn't go more than a few steps before someone stopped him to talk."
"No biggie. I'm used to it. I take it Amelia invited you too?"
"Nope. I'm the photographer."
"Nice. Business is doing well then?"
"I get by. I work a part time job to help cover the bills."
"So daddy didn't change his mind?"
"Actually he did. Once he stopped being upset, we patched things up and he offered to take care of me until my business got off the ground. I turned him down."
"Seriously? To what end?"
"I wanted to do this on my own, with no one's help. And..." No. It was a very bad idea to say anything about her wanting to prove something to him. To prove to herself she could live without any help from her father. To understand what it was like for Remo growing up. To be able to relate to him on a whole different level. It wouldn't change his mind about being with her, so what was the point?
He raised a brow, the intense blue of his gaze making it impossible for her to do anything but look at him and tell him exactly what she was thinking. The way it had from the moment she met him.
"I'm living in your old neighborhood."
"Jesus, Jordyn, you live in North Hollywood? Why the hell would you do that? You're not trying to prove something to me are you?"
"More to myself than you, I think, but our conversation that night gave me the impetus to do it."
"Wow. Just... Wow. I always knew you were tough Jordyn, but I didn't think you'd actually try to make it on your own."
He reached out a hand to push a strand of hair off her cheek and tuck it behind her ear. She closed her eyes for a moment and savored his touch.
"We knew a lot about each other in high school Remo, but there was a lot we didn't know. And we've grown up, experienced things."
He nodded. "I've been thinking about what you said that night at my house. About my anger issues."
"Really?"
He nodded. "I've been doing some reading too, and Max has given me some great insight as well, as he's had to deal with childhood trauma himself. I've come to realize the things you said about my anger might be right."
"Might be?"
"Okay. You were right. I've got anger issues, not some kind of genetic defect that makes me a wife-beater."
She couldn't help it, a smile as big and bright as the sun split her face. It was stupid to jump to the conclusion he wanted to give their relationship another go, but she did it anyway.
"Good Lord, Jordyn. When you look at me like that I can't think of anything else but kissing you and absorbing some of that joy into my soul."
"Then do it already, would you?"
He pushed himself away from the car, pulled her into his arms and held her so tight they were touching from head to toe. She wrapped her arms around his neck, met his mouth halfway and knew she was exactly where she needed to be. She forgot they were standing on a sidewalk, that she was supposed to be taking wedding pictures. She forgot all the heartache Remo had caused. Every particle of her being was filled with him and the love she had for him. Would always have for him. And she knew, in that moment, if she didn't spend the rest of her life with Remo, she'd spend it alone.
He slowly pulled his mouth from hers, caressed her back with his hands before moving them up to place them on either side of her head, and looked into her eyes. "Would you really take a chance on me Jordyn? On a broken man like me?"
The fear in his eyes touched her soul, but so did the love she saw there. Something she'd never expected to see again. She didn't even need to think about her answer to that.
"Remo, giving your heart to someone is always a risky thing and there isn't anyone on this planet I'd rather risk my heart to. You may not trust yourself, but I trust you. The only way you can hurt me is by not loving me."
"You have no idea how much that means to me. But you're not getting it. What I'm trying to tell you is that I do trust myself. I've come to understand the source of my issues, and know I could never hurt you like my father hurt my mother. I may lay into someone if they tried to hurt you like that, but that's my protective instinct, like you so rightly pointed out, not a desire to make someone else hurt because I'm hurting. Jordyn, I'll love you until the day I die, whether you marry me or you end up with someone else."
She placed a hand on his cheek and caressed it with her thumb, trying to erase the tension that still hung around his eyes. "I could never be with anyone but you, don't you know that by now?"
"It may take a while for you to convince me of it, but I'm sure I'll enjoy every minute."
She laughed softly. "So will I. God, I'm so glad Max decided to come to this wedding. Though he looks like he has no business being in public."
"We've both been in bad shape. I was pretty shocked when he told me this morning we were going to a wedding."
"I wonder if he came with the purpose of getting us back together. He said a member of his band was the groom. It wouldn't have been too hard for him to learn I was doing the pictures."
"That sneaky, romantic bastard. I'll guarantee you it was a set up."
Jordyn laughed. "Then I think we need to pretend that it didn't work, before we invite him to the wedding."
"Whoa. Back up the train. I don't remember proposing and I'm pretty sure you didn't propose to me so... You know what happens when you assume?"
"Whatever, you idiot. We were both talking marriage not two seconds ago. If you want me to propose and make it official, I will."
He wrapped his arms around her, buried his face in her neck and whispered in her ear. "Oh no you don't. I'll be the one doing the proposing, and I'll be doing it up right."
He tangled his fingers in her hair and tipped her head so he could nibble her neck, making her forget everything but him as tingles ran down her spine and curled her toes. "If you insist, Remo."
"Marry me, Jordy."
She let out a husky little laugh as she threaded her fingers through his hair and arched into him. "That's what you call doing it up right? I wonder if the Celebrant is still here..."
Remo chuckled before letting her go to take her by the hand. "I'm thinking we may need to get a wedding license first. Besides, aren't you working right now?"
She said a few choice words in French that made Remo chuckle again. "Amelia is going to kill me."
"Let's get inside. I'm sure Max will be happy to see his plan worked and could probably use some rescuing. Maybe we can sneak in a dance to celebrate our engagement?"
"Sounds perfect."
The End