Flawed Perfection (Beautifully Flawed, #1)

Chapter Twenty Eight

I sat at my desk readying the camera gear for the photo shoot for a local bakery that was looking for a set of very tantalizing wedding cake advertisements. By tantalizing, I mean sexy, and the whole theme made me uncomfortable on so many levels. I didn't like the idea of the advertisement, let along having to be the photographer behind the lens taking the pictures for it. This was a major client, though, so when Jesse gave me the assignment I caved—but not without grumbling. I heard Tara's stilettos clicking against the tile floor before she made her way into my office with a huge huff. I turned to see her leaning against the doorframe with a pout.

"What you doing tonight?" she asked as she looked down at her new fingernails; bright red with Swarovski crystals encrusted on them. They were so Tara, and they made me smile.

Just like I was pretty sure what I was about to say would make her smile. "Doing a kinky cake shoot."

Her chin jerked back into her neck and her eyes widened. "I wasn't aware you did porno?"

I looked at the ceiling before I stood and stuffed the camera in its bag. "It's not porno. It's just some chick in lingerie and a dude in boxers getting in a cake fight."

"That doesn't seem like an idea you'd come up with," she said.

"What the client wants, they must get," I replied, using Jesse's exact words when I balked at the idea.

"Right..." she said. She chewed on the inside of her lips before asking. "Do you think it's a good marketing idea?"

I shrugged. "It depends on the image you're going for. If it was my wedding cake, I wouldn't go for the cake advertisement with the naked people in it."

"Is there a ring on your finger I don't know about?" Tara asked with a squeak as I turned to face her.

She was standing straight now, hands over her mouth in excitement.

"We just started dating—"

"You what?" she asked, and she stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips as one eyebrow arched.

I felt my whole body flush with heat, my face becoming unbearably hot as I replied, "Yeah, we kissed and made up."

She clapped her hands. "Finally!"

I nodded and watched as her happy expression disappeared into a pout again. She sighed, her lips pursing.

"So what's wrong with you today?" I asked as I stood and slung my camera bag and purse over my shoulder.

"Did you forget?"

I furrowed my brow at her before walking past her. "I guess so?"

Tara kept pace with me and grabbed her purse off her cubicle as we passed it. "Bobby's gone for a four-day weekend in New Hampshire with the hockey team?"

I stopped walking and turned to face her. "Huh?"

"He didn't tell you?"

I shrugged, and we kept walking. I was about as emo as she had been a second ago. The truth was Bobby pretty much stopped telling me anything since he started dating Tara. There was a tinge of jealousy as I thought of it, but I fought it down knowing I had Adam now. I never expected Bobby would no longer need me or confide in me about anything. I guess that wasn't true, because he did confide in me...about Tara. It just happened to be a little too much information I didn't want to know about either of them. I hadn't noticed Tara continued to babble next to me.

"Right?" she asked.

I ran my hands through my hair as I nodded. "Sure."

"So I should worry about him going away?" Her voice softened and faded as she reflected on my response.