A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,29

had sent him a photo of a family pet.

A… a kind of weird family pet?

Annie frowned as she glanced down again at the photo. At first she’d thought it was a dog of some kind, judging by the size… but what kind of dog had feathery wings like that?! What kind of dog –

Annie looked away before she could look more closely. She felt bad enough that she’d invaded Beau’s privacy in the first place without scrutinizing the photos his family was sending him.

I guess someone’s just been a little creative with Photoshop as a prank, she thought, though the weird, unsettled feeling in her stomach didn’t dissipate. She wasn’t an expert or anything, but what she’d seen hadn’t looked like Photoshop. It’d been way too realistic for that, though she knew people could do some pretty impressive things these days.

The animal she’d seen in the photo had had four legs – she thought – and it had been standing in a garden, rearing up like a horse, though it had been too small for that.

But… it had wings… I’m 99.9% sure it had wings…

Annie furtively glanced down at the phone again, but by this time the screen had blacked out again and there was nothing to see.

Just as well. I don’t want to be the kind of person who –

Perfectly timed with her resolution not to pry any further, no matter how curious she was, came another vibration of Beau’s phone, and another photo.

If this was Photoshop, Annie thought, whoever was making them was really good.

This time the animal in the photo was flying in the air, wings spread, joyfully kicking out its back legs, while its eagle-like head was tossed back, a spray of white snow swirling beneath it, as if it had just taken off from the ground below.

Annie leaned over the table, frowning, squinting down at the picture.

I – what – how can – is this – huh??!!

“Annie?”

Annie sat bolt upright, eyes wide, her mouth open in shock. Beau stood on the other side of the table, plastic bowls of soup in his hands, looking first at her and then down at his phone.

“I wasn’t looking at it!” Annie blurted, and then grimaced, shaking her head. “No – sorry, I was looking at it. But I really didn’t mean to pry into your business. It just kind of popped up. I promise I didn’t see anything personal.”

Just a way-too-good-to-be-Photoshop Photoshop of some weird creature! But that’s not personal, right?!

Beau set the soup down, glancing across at the phone. “Ah. Right.” He shot her a smile. “It was probably just my family checking up on me.”

“Mm-hmm,” Annie said.

Though really, I am kind of curious as to whether he’ll say anything about it. she thought as Beau lifted the phone and activated the screen. I guess it’s just a family joke, but….

She watched his face closely as he looked at the messages. His expression didn’t change much, though she did think she could see the faintest twitch in his eyebrow.

“Ah,” he said.

Annie swallowed.

Hoo boy, this is awkward, she thought, though she couldn’t really put her finger on why.

Okay, well, he knows I saw it. Nothing to do but admit it and make light of it.

“I guess someone in your family is pretty good with graphic design,” Annie said, hoping her smile looked convincing.

Beau looked up at her, blinking, his expression confused.

“Graphic design?”

“Yeah.” Annie nodded. “Sorry – I got a quick look at the photos they sent. But it looked great – almost real.” By which I mean completely real. “So I just assumed someone’s been making some stuff in Photoshop. They’re really good – are they a professional? Because they definitely could be.”

Beau was still staring at her as if he couldn’t quite understand what she was saying.

“Photoshop?” he said, after a mildly painful silence.

“Well – that’s what it was, wasn’t it?” Annie could feel her ears turning red, and she looked down at her hands, suddenly having regretted saying anything at all – and, in fact, her entire life and every decision she’d ever made that had led up to this point.

Was Beau really kind of angry that she’d accidentally peeped at his phone? When she glanced up at him he didn’t look angry – just kind of perplexed and perhaps even slightly alarmed.

Maybe he sensed what she was thinking, because in the next moment, he lifted his hand and began to reach out for hers as if to reassure her, before opening his mouth and clearing