*FREE WITH PAID BONUS CHAPTER*After being dumped by her boyfriend, Elodie Shepherd resigns herself to loving her older brother's best friend from afar, just like she always has, even though he only sees her as his best friend's immature kid sister.
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Photoshoots were up there on my list with root canals and ice baths.
In other words, fucking torture.
Normally with my endorsement shoots, I'd just stare straight at the camera with a 'don't fuck with me' kind of look on my face, but with this 'candid' shoot where the photographer wanted to get shots with us looking happy and sweet together...I wasn't all about it.
Especially since I wasn't allowed to be there during Elodie's interview, or Eli's, so I had no idea what was coming for my own, or if they were bombing her with questions that I wasn't there to protect her from.
It didn't help that we went immediately to the individual photoshoots when it was time for everyone else to be interviewed.
At the moment, I was stretched out on a picnic blanket in a dark blue long sleeved t-shirt, dark denim jeans and a leather jacket to keep the early fall chill off me, V and Evie sitting nearby on their own blanket while Eli was off interviewing with Elodie.
Evie, V and Eli were all color coordinated with light blues and yellows, while Elodie was wearing a dark navy colored dress that clung to her curves and made my mouth water immediately upon seeing her, somehow matching me even though we hadn't planned it that way.
I smiled realizing we already looked like a couple when I first laid eyes on her.
Finally, when it felt like I couldn't take anymore directions of "act like V just said something really funny but don't look directly at her," and "look right at the camera and act like V is embarrassing you," the reporter from People walked up with Eli and told me to go wait with Elodie for our joint interview.
My eyebrows flew up at that one but didn't argue, especially when Eli grinned at me and gave me a signature bro hug.
"Thanks for doing this, man. I know you hate photoshoots and all the publicity shit, but it'll really help the story reach a bigger audience with you in the spread."
"No problem, bro. I'm just glad you're finally stepping up and telling the truth about what happened."
He winced, but his green eyes didn't lose their happy sheen, especially when he glanced over to his pregnant wife throwing their daughter up into the air while she squealed with laughter.
My heart squeezed in my chest painfully. One day, I'd have that one day, too.
"Should've happened sooner, but I'm glad we're doing it the right way."
I nodded solemnly at him as the reporter and photographer began fussing over the cutest four year old I'd ever seen and began snapping picture after picture of Evie laughing while Eli rushed to join them, tickling Evie's sides until she laughed so hard I could've sworn tears started leaking out of her eyes.
I averted my eyes and strode quickly to where Elodie was hiding out in a gazebo nearby where they were holding the interview portion of the day. There was another photographer there, this one a woman clad in all black with a fancy white folding circle that looked like a sun reflector for car windows. Apparently it was for better lighting.
