Maybe part of letting it go is letting it out, Alyse.
“Please, call me Cooper.” He winks.
“Then by all means, call me Alyse.”
Grinning again, he takes a seat at the restaurant we’ve chosen to meet at and, pushing aside the fact that he looks like Beck, we spend the next half hour going through his portfolio. He’s edgy and creative. I think he’s absolutely the perfect photographer for Livia and Gray’s wedding. I met with the other photographer yesterday, but I already know I’m going to pick Cooper.
“I know CB29 Studios hasn’t been in business long, but I personally have over a dozen years of experience shooting weddings and our clients have been very happy.” He pulls out a list, dropping it in front of me. “Here are some references if you’d like to call them.”
“Thanks,” I say, folding the paper and tucking it into my purse. I have no intention of calling references. I’m a big believer in first impressions and I have a very good first impression of Cooper Jensen. “So, your price is five thousand?”
“Yes. That includes rights to all digital pictures and six continuous hours of my time, along with an assistant.”
“Wow, eight hundred thirty-three dollars an hour? Do attorneys even get paid that much?” I laugh.
He leans forward, a slight smirk on his face. “The good ones do. Did I mention the tens of hours that it would take me to retouch the photos?”
“How about four thousand?”
“Wow? You want me to take a twenty percent haircut?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Mr. Jensen, but you are free that evening, right? So, a twenty percent haircut is certainly better than a complete shave. Besides, having Gray and Livia Colloway as a reference would be a big boost to your new company. Trust me on that. Think of it as an investment in your future.”
He leans back, crossing his arms. I find myself wondering how many women have gone missing in his smile. We silently stare at each for a few moments before he answers.
“Okay.”
Our gazes never break and I realize we are smiling goofily at each other. I break eye contact, shaking my internal head at the way I’m acting. “So, you require a deposit, I suppose?” I reach back into my purse to pull out the blank check Livia’s given me to secure the photographer once I’ve made a decision.
“You’re giving me the job? Without calling references?”
I look back up. “Yes.”
“Wow. That’s great. A thousand-dollar deposit today is sufficient.”
As I’m making out the check, I feel his eyes on me. Watching. Assessing. Wondering if I’m interested in him, which I’m not. Not in the way he’s probably hoping, but I know that’s not the vibe I’m throwing off, because he’s caught me staring at him several times. I can’t help it. I cannot seem to get over the uncanny way he resembles my dead boyfriend. It’s eerie. And a little unsettling.
“So, Alyse,” he starts after I hand over the check. I cringe at what I know is coming. “I’d love to take you out sometime.”
“I’m flattered, Cooper, but…I’m actually seeing someone.” I look down, ashamed at myself that I’ve led this nice guy on.
“Is it serious?”
When my eyes draw back up, he’s leaning forward on the table, hands clasped. Usually when you tell a man you’re dating someone, he responds with “That’s too bad,” or “Sorry to hear that,” or “Here’s my number if it doesn’t work out.” But after spending the last forty-five minutes with Cooper, I already know he’s not like most men.
Just like Asher.
I don’t hesitate to respond, because as attractive as I think Cooper is, I like Asher. A lot. More than a lot. It’s very possible he could even be The One. So I have too much to lose to screw it up by thinking of another man. Especially one that looks like my first love.
“Yes.”
“Well, maybe we can be friends then.”
I’m drawn to this man for reasons I can’t understand or explain and not on a sexual level. I think on his proposal for a few seconds, something that would be easy for anyone else to jump on, but for me it’s not. And I decide that if I can let Asher Colloway in a little bit, maybe I also have room for a friend. A real one.
“I think I’d like that.”
Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf after all.
______________
“Come in!” Livia yells.
Opening the front door to Livia’s penthouse apartment, I’m immediately hit with the heavenly smell of pizza, one of my all-time favorite indulgences. Livia and I ate a lot of frozen pizza when we were kids. Totino’s. It was cheap and quick and surprisingly good. You’d think with as much pizza as I ate when I was young that I’d hate it, but you’d be wrong. Livia even worked in a pizza joint. She still loves pizza to this day.