Black & White (Picture Perfect #1) (7 page)

"Hello, Beth," he answered, his hand sliding into mine.

The velvet tone of his voice transported me to a moonlit paradise. The small shivering tingles of energy coursed through my nerves, setting each one ablaze and proving once again, his touch had the ability to reduce me to a quivering wreck.

Far too quickly, William pulled his hand away, plunging me back into darkness. "Are my sister and daughter here yet?"

It took a second for reality to slap my brain. "Sis...sister?" I was completely stunned by the word. She wasn't his wife, she was his sister. She was Angel's aunt, not her mother.

"Beth?" William tilted his head, trying to get my attention.

Speechless, the thought ran over and over; she was family, but not his wife! While staring into his eyes, my chest rose and fell as fast as my heart was beating.
She's not Angel's mother!

"Speak to me, Beth. Are you okay?" His voice was full of concern and uncertainty. Why did all his emotions seem so negative?

He was getting closer to me, and I felt the electricity flying between us. "I... I'm..." I shook my head, clearing the random thoughts. "I'm fine, William. I just... I thought... Anne..."

"I know. There are so many people who would never believe we're related.” William totally misunderstood what I was trying to say. “We're like night and day, but I promise you, she is my sister." The small smile on his lips was breathtaking.

A sudden realization of something William had said the other day at the consultation hit me. "She's your one in a million?" Unless he had another sister, it was obvious I was right.

William's eyes became softer, still numb, but a little more alive. "Yes, that's her."

The small spark of life in his eyes made me smile. There was something precious in his life and I had inadvertently found it. It was important to bring him closer to the happy side of life, if this shoot was going to work. "Angel's a beautiful baby, William."

Suddenly there was a glowing light in his face. It wasn't much, but it still shone more brightly than anything I had seen from him. "Where is she?" he asked ignoring my statement, looking around the room and down the hallway.

"In the studio, Anne needed to change her." The million dollar questions were now present in my head. Why did his positive emotions only circle around his daughter? Where was her mother?

"Umm, Beth?" William's voice had gone soft and quiet. He seemed a little nervous.

"Yes?"

"Is there somewhere I can wash up and get changed? I had to work late and didn't have time to go home." His eyes refused to connect with mine. I had seen this reaction before.

Having been that person many times, I knew he was uncomfortable asking for favors or help. Being independent and more than capable of taking care of my needs, I considered it a sign of weakness asking anyone for help. William was the same way.

"Of course, William." Locking the door and turning off the 'open' sign, I motioned down the hall. "Come on, there's a bathroom in the back and a change room."

"Change room? You surprise me, Beth." His voice indeed reflected his statement.

"Why?" The opening was there to keep the conversation going as we walked down the hallway and I was grabbing on to it with both hands. My mind wanted to day-dream as it processed his voice and his words.

"Consultations, follow-ups, change rooms, I'm betting you have your own dark room," he said.

A giggle escaped me, making me sound like a school girl talking to her first crush. Then there was shock as the realization set in - he was figuring me out. "Well, photos are mostly done digitally now, but... ummm, yeah. I actually do have a dark room in the back. But I don't see why that would surprise you."

“I'm only surprised you do so much for your clients for such a small amount of money. I've never met someone who gives so much and gets so little in return." William stepped close to me so he could enter the bathroom.

I reached in, flicking on the light. "I'm in this business for the passion and pleasure of it. I want everyone who comes through my door to feel they've been treated like royalty." His scent made me weak in the knees. He had a dirty sweat smell to him, but it reminded me of standing deep in the woods near my home in Vancouver. Everything about him was breaking down my resolve about men.

"It makes you a very beautiful person inside and out. I wish I could achieve dreams like that," he whispered, as he closed the bathroom door.

Staring at the door, pure shock stabbed through me. Of course William would have dreams, that wasn't surprising to hear that, but calling me beautiful had left me speechless. All I could think of was the desire to have William whisper the word 'beautiful' in my ear. It was impossible to stop blushing.

Allowing the wall to hold me up, my heart was racing as I wiped my sweaty palms down my jeans. A shiver crawl across my skin as my body took inventory of everything that was William. His physical features, his turbulent emotions, his smooth voice, his mesmerizing eyes, his delicate touch - all of them had me hooked.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't deny what my heart was telling me. My mind, body and soul were absorbing him and wanted everything he could offer. There were only two problems. I didn't want this and he wouldn't give it to me.

Forcing myself away the wall, my body was made of stone; hard and unbendable. I really needed to figure out this see-saw my mind was putting me through. I crossed the hallway and looked into the studio. Jude was speaking in hushed tones with Anne, and both of them seemed focused on Angel. Jude was bouncing the little girl on her knee. She was a goner.

Jude had started a small babysitting service when she was younger. Being an only child, she had been obsessed with the idea of having a younger sister. Since her parents didn't oblige, she went out and found surrogate siblings. Any baby she came in contact with was immediately doomed to be her pretend child. Some people thought it totally insane and unhealthy. I knew it was Jude's maternal instincts kicking in at crazy levels.

"Excuse me, Beth?"

Turning at the sound of my name flowing through William's silky voice, my jaw dropped and my eyes popped. He was the true definition of drop dead gorgeous. William's hair was still wet, but slick back against his glistening skin. How the hell did this man do it? There was no shower here, only a sink, but damn, he looked like he had just climbed out of a hot shower. A drop of water trickled down his cheek and along his sharp jaw line, keeping me mesmerized. It trickled further down onto his naked neck, pooling in the valley between his shoulder and his collarbone.

My eyes continued to venture down of their own accord, running across his bared chest and chiseled six-pack. The V-shaped muscles above his groin were well exposed thanks to the boxers riding low on his hips.

My mouth struggled to form coherent words. "I... I... yes...?" He was killing me.

"Ummm," William seemed unaware of my strange behavior, "Anne has my clothes."

"Oh... umm..." Pointing into the studio, I watched him openly as he stepped past me. It was amazing that William had no reaction to my behavior, as deplorable as it was. Any man would have reacted in some way to it.

It was obvious that I was totally turning to goo over William, when I saw that Jude's face mirrored the way I was feeling.
Yup, I'm totally in over my head. I'm turning into a mushy teenager.

Chapter Four

Anne

From the moment I walked into the studio, it was home. There was something so relaxing and familiar about the atmosphere. The two women were so easy-going and carefree. There was some unknown connection, which made it seem I was their friend.

The woman, Beth, was the one William had mentioned. She was so much more intriguing and complicated than he had said. Of course, he hadn't really said a lot about her, but I understood from the moment I met her what he meant. She seemed to be struggling with some internal battle. What it was seemed so recognizable, but I wasn't quite able to place it. One thing was certain, she was beautiful.

Over the years, I had become well versed in reading people. Their movements, facial gestures, even the tone of their voice gave them away. It wasn't foolproof, mistakes had been made many times, but it had made me a good judge of character, and, Beth was of good character.

The other woman, Jude, wore her heart on her sleeve. She was so open and loving, and her life was written on her beautiful face. Most people would see her as stuck-up because of the clothes she wore and her physical appearance, but that notion was quickly dismissed when she'd spoken. Her voice and her easiness with Angel proved that.

I was convinced these characteristics were part of the reason William had agreed to do this photo shoot. Since the day of her birth, he had been so protective of Angel. He wouldn't even let anyone near her for the first week of her life. We practically had to beg him to hold her.

William, unfortunately, didn't have the ability to stay in the bubble he had formed around Angel and himself. That was one of the only reasons my family had been allowed inside Angel's tiny world. Life sometimes was a cruel bitch. He didn't have time to grieve over his loss. He didn't have the time to truly get to know his daughter; to watch her grow. He was missing out on so much.

This photo shoot had to be his way of capturing Angel's innocence and holding on to it forever. He would only have a few years of that innocence, before the ugly truth of her birth had to be revealed. It would be a hard thing for any child to understand.

William had been forced back to work. Coming from a simple, middle-class family, no one had the time to sit back and work through the emotional or mental turmoil which came with the tragedy that left Angel without a mother.

Being one of the lucky members of the family, I did everything I could to help William. Michael, my husband, was one of the site supervisors of a large construction company based in Portland. Along with the title came a comfortable income, which allowed me to take time off from work to help care for Angel.

Michael had given William a job on the construction site he was currently overseeing. William was more than capable of doing the job, but like Michael, it was worrisome. Working in any construction zone held its share of dangers, and there was a constant fear something would go wrong, leaving little Angel without both parents.

I was following Jude into the studio where William and Angel would have their pictures taken and found so many reasons why William would change his mind. The lighting created by from the large spotlights would be too harsh on Angel's delicate skin, or too bright for her tiny eyes. The room would be too cold for her. The list would be ridiculous, but William would find something to make him back out.

"Jude?" I asked, while sitting in one of the over-sized plush chairs. "I don't know if this room will work."

Jude looked at me like I had ten heads. "Why?"

"I know my brother... ummm... he'll find... issues with the room." I wasn't sure how to explain it, without overstepping William's rules about Angel.

"Can you give me some examples? I can speak to Beth and make sure everything's perfect," Jude suggested in a silly voice, as she continued to focus on Angel.

"Ummm... William's a little overprotective of his daughter. She's all he has left of..."
Damn me and my mouth.
It wasn't my place to speak about Angel's mother. That was William's story to tell.

Jude's eyes went wide and her mouth curled up into a perfect circle. She was slowly piecing it together. There was no way she had all the pieces, but my slip of the tongue had given her  enough to start putting that puzzle together.

"Anne, it's okay." She reached out, placing her hand over mine. She seemed to know that I had crossed a line, and wasn't about to call me on it.

Angel was pulling on the material of Jude's sleeve, desperate to get her attention back as I explained. "William's cautious and protective of Angel's well-being, I think he's a little paranoid, but she is his first child."

The look on Jude's face confirmed she had understood. William's depression had lessened over the past couple of months, but the very mention of the word 'mother' was more than he could bear. Mentioning Angel's mother was sure to cause a nervous breakdown.

"I understand, Anne. I'm an only child. My parents were very over-protective of me." Jude's eyes glossed over and a smile played on her lips. Whatever she was thinking about, they were certainly happy thoughts. "We'll make sure everything is perfect."

"I'm sorry, Jude, I don't know anything about taking pictures, but the lights and all that? Will Beth be able to handle the changes I know William will want?" There was a certain concern in my mind, thinking William would be a nightmare.

Jude giggled as continued to watch Angel. "I promise, Beth has dealt with her share of divas, not saying William will be one. She has more patience than the Pope himself. Everything will be perfect."

Voices drifted into the room from the hallway. William entered in nothing but his boxers. Shock settled in my chest, this wasn't like my brother, well, at least the brother I had known for the past six years. Maybe years ago, before his marriage, but not now. He had become more reserved after becoming involved with Angelina, growing out of the teenage mentality he'd had before then.

There was tension in his body gestures as he walked, which revealed his anxieties. He never had issues showing off his physique, in fact, he had never realized the effect he had on women so his current anxiety was confusing. My first thought was that it was part of the package which made up my new brother, but the look on Beth's face told me a different story. She was trying so hard to control herself which was causing her professionalism to fail miserably. What seemed so familiar about Beth was unmistakable now. She was fighting a losing battle of being smitten by my brother.

Even in the few minutes I'd known her, she had an evident way about her. She was controlled and closed off. It didn't make her a snob, but it was a coping mechanism she used to keep others from getting in or herself getting out. Now, everything about her was in sync with William. He had been dead for the past half year, but in the past few days something had changed. I doubted he or anyone else had realized it, but there was a tiny light in his eyes. Sure, it was dim but it was still there. There was life returning to him.

I didn't know Beth, but it left me wondering if the same thing was happening to her. What I was sure of is that she had been 'dead' for a long time, and was now struggling to maintain it.

The curiosity about what had happened to bring a small piece of the old William back had been killing me. The very last thought to cross my mind would have been that it was a
who
not a
what.
It was a woman and a complete stranger. She was bringing my brother out of the shell he had sealed himself up in. I needed to make sure Beth Huntley remained in our lives for both of their sakes. No one deserved to live like that.

William reached out, silently asking for his daughter, the smile on his face bright in the faded light. Jude immediately relinquished her hold on Angel. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He gazed down into her tiny face as he cooed at her.

After giving him time to connect with Angel, I reached for the bag hidden under the stroller and silently asked William to switch the baby for the bag. William was pulled from his enclosed world as he looked at the bag. He nodded and kissed Angel on the forehead before handing her to me.

I watched as he moved to the opposite side of the room, and turned my attention to Beth. "Beth, I was wondering if we really needed to use such bright lights, I'm worried they'll be too harsh on Angel's eyes," I suggested, holding Angel against my chest.

"Oh... ummm..." Beth turned her head towards me, her eyes taking an extra moment to turn with it. "I'm sure I can do something, I can turn them down."

"Anne, it's fine. I trust Beth knows what she's doing." William called out.

He was being way too casual. This wasn't normal. "Okay, mister, who the hell are you?" Disbelief was the only word I had for this new version of my brother.

William chuckled, and again, it completely floored me. He hadn't smiled in so long and now he was laughing? "Anne, lighten up, please. I'm sure Beth won't do anything that will hurt Angel. She's the professional here," William answered, as he buttoned up his shirt. He turned his attention to Beth. "You must excuse my sister. She's a little over-protective of Angel sometimes."

What the hell? I'm over-protective?
Was he serious? His voice had gone flat again, but in that moment, he'd let down his guard and allowed himself a taste of joy. Maybe he did remember what it was like. The look he was giving Beth told me that he was struggling with the change.

Beth moved past me without any indication of her being aware of her accomplishment. Did she even realize what she had done? No one had been able to bring William to life except Angel, not even the family. There was something about her which made it important to keep her and whatever spell she had used to captivate him.

Glancing in Jude's direction, I saw she was shifting her eyes back and forth between William and Beth. Whatever her reasons were, she was reading the same mysterious book and was just as confused as I was. There was no doubt in my mind, Beth had a past that haunted her.

William took Angel and moved towards the staged area in front of the tripod. The table beside it was covered with more cameras than I had ever seen in my life. I sat down to watch in fascination.

Jude's elbow connected with my arm. "Have you ever seen a photo shoot before?"

Shaking my head, she smiled and nodded back to the lit area of the room. Beth's demeanor completely flipped as she went into photographer mode. I was immediately amazed. She took a few pictures, adjusted the lighting and then took a few more shots. She switch lens a few times, snapping more pictures in between each switch, moving the tripod and checking through the lens before she seemed satisfied.

Beth's body moved around with complete confidence as she approached William. She moved him onto the set, as I took my first real look at it. She had brought up a soft pink, pastel backdrop through the computer. There was a small bench covered with a sheet. It was very relaxed and comfortable.

She gestured William to the bench and spoke quietly to him. Her attitude was very professional and her body language gave off a feeling of ease.

I watched in amazement as she moved him into position and stepped behind the camera. She snapped a few shots, guided him to move his head a certain way and then shot a few more.

Her voice rose a bit, so I was finally able to hear her. "William, could you turn Angel so I can get a better look at her face?"

William adjusted the baby in his arms and looked down at her.

"Perfect, William, hold yourself like that. She's a beautiful baby." Beth's voice was filled with wonder, and something else I wasn't able to distinguish as she moved behind the camera once again.

She removed the camera from the tripod, moving around William and Angel, snapping shots with graceful movements. She reached out and move a section of Angel's dress or straighten William's shirt.

She would cautiously touch William, turning his head or adjusting his shoulders. I could see uncertainty in her eyes when she turned away, as though she was confused by the simple touch. I felt it was necessary to figure out what was happening between these two. I was sure they didn't even realize there was something there, but one way or the other, I would make sure they did.

~~~~~~~~~~

Beth

Hoping to correct the problem I was having with the shots, I moved to the table to switch lenses. William was continuing to hold back, the sadness was evident even with Angel in his arms. I fiddled with my cuff before twisting the new lens onto the camera and stepping back into the light. Positioning myself behind William, I took a shot of Angel and brought it up on the screen of my camera, checking the quality. She was the key to lowering William's defenses, I was sure of it.

"William?"

"Hhhmmm." He was lost inside his head, barely conscious of anyone or anything other than this beautiful baby.

"I want to show you something." Moving around him, I turned the camera for him to see.

His eyes came up and focused on Angel's picture. The light slowly began to shine in his eyes. "She's so perfect."

"Yes, she is. Hold on to that thought, William, hold that beauty in your eyes," I whispered as I backed away.

His face relaxed and smoothed out, and the youth became visible in his features. He was beautiful, just like his daughter. The perfection surrounding them was astounding.