“I wouldn’t say no to that.” To the food, yes. To the business, no. She needed all the referrals she could get, or she’d have to succumb to the jobs waiting for her in her inbox. The money was good, and she loved to travel, but she was tired of the superficial people and how they made her feel about herself.
Sure, there were plenty of sweet, good-souled people in the muscle world, but the ones who seemed to gravitate to her were losers. Cheaters. They didn’t want her for anything other than good photos or a quick lay.
For too long she allowed herself to fall victim to the dirty predators. She was stronger now—mentally, emotionally, and even physically—and could ward off the scum buckets, but why expose herself to such toxic waste?
She’d only been in Maine for a few months and already the stress, self-doubt, and the tension in her shoulders had subsided. No longer was she worried about people using her and talking behind her back. The people in Crystal Cove, especially, had welcomed her into their community, heck, even their homes.
A pair of sweet and mischievous blue eyes popped into her thoughts. A flood of warmth rushed through her core, and she gnawed on her bottom lip at the memory of how delicious Carter was in his wet T-shirt and backward hat. And even again later at dinner with his hair freshly washed, trying to behave and show off at the same time.
“Looks like you’re a fan of Tristan Ketch’s cooking. Can’t say I blame you. I’ll give him the head’s up.”
Hailey touched her cheek in embarrassment. “I can’t wait to try it out,” she lied. Food and drink were her enemy. One she could handle in moderation; the other only meant trouble. She wasn’t an alcoholic, but alcohol loosened her up too much. Made her say and do things she shouldn’t say or do. Made her think she was more beautiful, more luring, more confident than she really was.
Better to stay sober and one hundred percent in control than to let it control her. Same for food, but as long as she stayed away from sugar and simple carbs, she was good.
“Anything else you need to know or want to look at around here before you go?” Ben put the bottles of wine she’d used as props back in their crates.
“I have a lot to work with. I can start the spring pages and plan out what we’ll do come strawberry and blueberry season, and then the harvest. I’d like to do some video coverage of each stage as well.”
“We have a spring open house Father’s Day weekend. Want to plan on then?”
“Perfect.”
“In the meantime, you and Carter can figure out which shots work best for the website. I like the idea of you two working together and not forcing photos to fit in certain formats, and not making the website awkward by trying to make it fit your pictures.”
Yeah, that had been her idea, working closely with Ben’s web designer, before she knew it was Carter. Not that it should matter that it was him. She had nothing against the cute farmer boy.
Cute. Yes, he was more cute than sexy, but definitely sexy as well. His good ol’ boy next door vibes were what brought the unwanted smile to her lips.
“I’ll send him an email when I get home, but from what I’ve read about your previous business, you could do all this on your own,” she said as they walked to the car.
“A woman who does her homework. I knew there was a reason I hired you. See? I do my homework too.”
Ben Martelli had co-owned a reputable marketing agency in the San Francisco Bay area up until five years ago when he moved to Maine and married Alexis Le Blanc. Since then, he’d been integral in helping businesses around town grow and prosper while still keeping the small-town feel. From what she’d learned, he didn’t do photography or actually build websites. His specialty was making a marketing plan and hiring out to subcontractors. The man had connections and resources and was extremely business savvy. Being hired by him was high praise.
“Your reputation precedes you, and from what I’ve seen, you’ve lived up to it. Mia and Ryan can’t stop talking about their wedding pictures.”
The compliment warmed her. Hailey opened her back door and set her camera equipment on the seat. “Really?”
“Well, Mia can’t stop gushing. Ryan is a man of few words. I’m sure if he was a talker, he’d be talking up your skills.”
“Gee, thanks.” Hailey chuckled.
“Carter stopped by the other day and didn’t have enough nice things to say about you as well. So, yeah, I’m good at my job and know when and who to hire out. Between spending time with my family, getting the vines ready, and keeping Sophie out of trouble, I don’t have much time for anything else. Family will always be my number one priority. I trust you and Carter to do an excellent job.”
“Wow. Thank you.” She smiled up into Ben’s pretty blue eyes. He was a good-looking man for sure, but his looks didn’t stir anything inside her. Good thing since he was married. Ben Martelli was an honest to goodness genuinely nice man. Maybe there were good men in the world after all.
And it seemed like most of them were in Crystal Cove, Maine.
CHAPTER SIX
“Yeah, your pictures are a million times better than the shots I’ve taken with my phone. I should hire you to run my social media pages. Nice find, Ben,” Tristan praised him after giving Hailey her camera back.
She beamed with pride. In the past, her subjects had been walking, talking, over-inflated egos who whined that a wrinkle was in the wrong place, or their butt looked too small, or their waist too thick. They whined for Hailey to change the angle so biceps and quads and eight-pack muscles popped more.
Her angles had been spot on, and her subjects looked spectacular, but it never ceased to amaze—and disappoint—her how people could find fault in just about everything. Granted, she did the same to every photo of herself. In fact, every morning when she looked in the mirror.
Tristan’s compliments weren’t about himself. Well, sort of. His food was fantastic as was his presentation. She didn’t mind constructive criticism, welcomed it in fact, when her subjects had a good eye and knew what they wanted. Unfortunately, most of the feedback she got wasn’t about lighting and angles to make the photograph look its best, but were requests on photoshopping and demands to make the images look flawless.
“Right?” Ben tossed a hand towel over his shoulder. “Hailey has a way of capturing the sun, the light, heck, even the dirt at the right moment.”
“She caught me at the right moment as well,” Carter said from behind her, welcoming in a blast of cool evening air with him.
Despite the chill, she felt her cheeks warm with the compliment, or maybe it was the tenor of his voice. Or quite possibly, the man himself.
During the past week, Hailey had time to mull over her obsession with All Things Carter. She prided herself in being a strong, independent woman. Funny, even, at times. A few moments of weakness, a handful of bad mistakes, did not change her personality. Annoyed with herself for being rude to Carter simply because he was an attractive male, she rolled her shoulders back and turned to him.
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t have hired me if you weren’t at that moment, weak?” She cocked an eyebrow and let a trace of a smirk show, so he’d know she was teasing.
“Hard to say.” Carter stepped closer, his aftershave making its way to her senses. Clean. Laundry detergent. A trace of sexy. “When you walk into a room, I seem to go weak all over.”
The sparkle in his eyes could have been from the dim lighting or from the heavy case of flirt he was laying out.
“Sounds like someone needs to hit up the gym more often then.” Hailey patted his biceps in jest and brushed past him, pretending the solid strength of his arms had no effect on her. Nope. Not a single one. “What else you got for me, Tristan?” She prayed her voice sounded steadier than her heartbeat.
“Someone’s losing his touch.” Ben laughed from behind the bar.
Hailey picked up the wooden plank laden with cheese and grapes and slid it across the bar next to a bottle of Coastal Vine’s rhubarb wine. “Is this th
e right pairing?”
“Since rhubarb wine is quite acidic, I’ve paired it with Mitica Cana de Cabra, blueberries, and rolled prosciutto.”
“Mitigation what?” Carter slid onto the stool next to Hailey.
“It may be too classy for your taste buds, farm boy.” Jenna said to Carter as she leaned across the bar and gave Tristan a kiss.
“Oh, right to the heart.” Carter slapped his hand over his chest as if he’d been stabbed.
“Hi, Hailey. It’s nice to see you again. I’m Jenna. Not sure if you remember me from Mia’s wedding.”
“Of course I do. It’s nice to see you too.”
“What have I missed?” Jenna shrugged off her coat and took a seat next to Carter.
“I was explaining to Hailey how Carter’s taste buds don’t go much beyond steak and burger. He was insulting my cheese.”
“That’s cheese?” Carter pointed at the white ball.
“It’s a butter-soft ripened cheese made from pasteurized goat’s milk.”
“What’s wrong with cows?” Carter winked at Hailey and picked up a cracker.
“Not yet.” Hailey snagged the plated food from him and moved it to the other end of the counter closer to Tristan. “Pictures first before you destroy his under-appreciated food.”
“See? Another reason why I like you. You picked me over Carter.” Tristan wiped his hands on the towel hanging over his shoulder.
Carter snorted a laugh, and Jenna gasped. “Be nice.” She jabbed her finger in the air at her husband.
“What?” Tristan shrugged. “I can’t help it if the women in Crystal Cove prefer me to that ugly mutt.”
Hailey watched in amusement as the three of them teased each other.
Jenna crossed her arms and squinted at Tristan. “The women, huh? What women exactly are you talking about?”
Tristan rested his hands on the bar top and leaned over until he was inches away from her. “The only one who matters,” he said before giving her a kiss.
“For the love of all things holy, get a room.” Carter pushed at Tristan’s face.
“Gladly.”
“You two, cut it out.” Alexis blew in from across the room and took a spot behind the bar next to Tristan. “You’re going to scare off Hailey.”
“I’d be scared if I knew what was going on. Ignorance is bliss, I’m going to guess.” Hailey lifted her shoulders with a laugh.
“Carter and Jenna used to date,” Alexis said, earning her a scowl from Jenna, who put a hand on Carter’s shoulder.
Hailey watched Tristan for a sign of jealousy. Nothing but complete content and blissful love for his wife crossed his face.
“And Jenna was my wife,” Tristan added.
Was? If Carter broke up a marriage that would end her unwanted lust toward the man.
“Not at the same time,” Jenna added. “We were married right out of high school. Divorced not long after that. A few years ago, Carter and I went on a few dates—”
“And you were madly in love with me.” Carter grinned.
Oh ... an affair, and the men weren’t at each other’s throats? How big of them. Unless they were into the kinky stuff. Hailey scrunched her nose; although, having more reasons to not like Carter was a good thing.
“Yeah.” Jenna placated him with a pat on his hand, earning a snort from Tristan. She said to Hailey, “And then Tristan came back into my life. Carter handled it really well and respectfully backed away, but he’ll always be a special friend.”
As if embarrassed by the accolades, Carter stretched his arm out, resting one behind Jenna and snuggled her close to him. “We all know she took pity on the old man, and I’m the one she thinks about when she’s with him.”
Hailey waited for the brawl, a series of cursing, the testosterone to start flailing through the air. Instead, the tasting room echoed with laughter. Even from Tristan. Jenna kissed Carter’s cheek with a smile.
It was weird and oddly sweet how everyone got along. Hailey returned to the empty end of the bar and the plates of food in front of her, staging the wine in the shot.
“It takes some time to get accustomed to all of this. Trust me, I know,” Alexis said as she set out wine glasses. “It’s a bit much to take in. And in case you were wondering, Carter really is a good guy.”
Hailey glanced down the long, dark oak bar top where Carter, Tristan, Jenna, and Ben were all laughing. “Sure,” she said with a shrug, as if she didn’t care one way or another what kind of guy he was.
“I’m pretty sure he’s interested; not that this is my sort of thing.”
“This?”
“I’m observant, but I don’t usually notice the chemistry thing between people.”
“Oh, there’s no chemistry. We’ve been working together on your website is all.”
“And Marshall Farms, I hear.”
“Sure. Yeah. I guess you could say our two professions go well together.” She hid behind her camera and snapped a few shots. “That doesn’t mean—”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
The tasting room door opened, putting an end to the interrogation. Maybe interrogation was a bit harsh of a word; Alexis had been nothing but sweet. Ben and Alexis talked to the newcomers about the wine while Tristan added his spiel about the food. She took a few candid shots of them behind the counter, then she panned the camera to the guests.
Not having their permission yet, she didn’t photograph the three couples who were enjoying the pairing; instead, she focused on Tristan. She captured his energy into the frame. He was easy on the eyes, and could sell his food and business with his smile.
She then panned further down the countertop and focused in on the couple at the end. Jenna and Carter. They were cute together. Jenna’s simple beauty, her long dark hair and face void of makeup complimented Carter’s pretty boy charm.
No, pretty boy was insulting. Carter had to be in his mid-thirties, but his boyish looks and constant smile made him appear much younger. Learning about the little love triangle he’d been tangled up in, and how he handled it with class, well, that shot him up on the sex-o-meter. Straight to the top.
Had Jenna been movie star glam like Grace, Hailey might have felt a tinge of jealousy. It was weird and probably wrong on so many levels, but the fact that Carter had fallen for a sweet girl-next-door woman made him more ... just more.
If the opportunity arose, she’d take a chance and get tangled up with him. She deserved it. She deserved a taste of sweet, charming, boyishly charming Carter Marshall.
GOSH, SHE WAS PRETTY. Gosh? Since when did he start using that word, or rather, thinking that word? If no one could hear his thoughts, he should be thinking about what lay underneath Hailey’s clothes. Her soft skin, or what he assumed to be soft skin. He’d caught whispers of her scent, vanilla spice like amaretto or a shot of whiskey. Stronger than the flowery and sugary scents his friends wore.
It suited her. While her bewitching eyes were stunning, it was her lips, strong and bold, and the way she carried herself that screamed, Don’t mess with me. A trace of attitude, but only the sweetest words caressed her lips.
When protected behind the lens of her camera, her stance was more confident. Not that she was weak without it. Hell, even encased in jeans and a long-sleeve sweater, he could make out the strength in her arms and legs. Hailey was no delicate flower. Yet, there were times when she’d reacted insecurely and almost timidly around him.
The last thing he wanted to do was intimidate her. Carter snorted to himself. He was the least intimidating man in Crystal Cove. Hell, in Maine. Part of his weakness was letting women walk all over him. He didn’t need to be in control, and he walked away when a woman called it quits.
Those few times when they didn’t call it off first, he gently backed away. The calls and texts became less frequent, and the response time to calls and texts went longer and longer until eventually, the woman moved on.
When he was with a woman, though, he always treated her with respect. Gra
nted, not all women appreciated his flirting or his innuendos. When he got the vibe that she was offended, he backed off. It usually meant they weren’t a good match anyway.
When he hit on Hailey the night of Mia’s wedding, she took it in stride. He didn’t think she even noticed his come-on. If anything, she’d been resistant to it. A little chase didn’t bother him at all. In fact, it made the woman more alluring.
Cheap and easy wasn’t his style; especially after dating Jenna, if only for a few months. Chasing was one thing, but if she was running the other way—and into the arms of another man—he’d let her go, as he’d done with Jenna. Not that he had much choice. She was in love with Tristan. Never fell out of love with him, even after being divorced for ten years.
Walking away had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, but Tristan was a good man, and he loved Jenna. Loved her more than Carter could.
Carter hung out at the end of the bar observing the way Hailey moved about the room, taking pictures of the food and wine, and also the locally made jams, soaps, candles, and Jenna’s pottery. With her photography skills, the local crafters would see a huge influx in sales once he loaded the pictures to the website.
“Look at you, stalking the lady photographer.” Ty slapped him on the shoulder.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Carter stood and elbowed Ty to the side so he could give Lily a kiss on the cheek. “You look lovely as always.”
“That blush on your cheeks looks good on you.” Lily giggled and sat on the stool Ty held out for her.
“Not you too. Just because a beautiful woman is in the room doesn’t mean I’m hitting on her.”
“Ten bucks says you were earlier, which is why she’s moved herself to the other end of the bar.” Ty stood behind Lily since there were no more empty stools, and Carter wasn’t about to offer his when his friend was razzing him.
He rather liked his seat between Jenna and Lily. Although, if he were a better man he’d let Jenna have his seat in the middle. “You can buy the ladies a glass of wine with that ten spot you owe me.”
All of You (A Well Paired Novel Book 7) Page 6
