don’t owe you anymore.”
Starla bumped him with her hip. “Oh yes, you do. Look at the mess you’ve made of my brush.” The fashion icon was Ronnie’s good friend from New York and owned an expensive salon there. Her hair was dyed blue gray at the moment, and she looked stunning in pleather pants and heels. Liv caught the light glinting off the feathers in her necklace with her camera.
Liv turned back to River who, despite the distractions, had simply gone back to work. Such a surprising development. Her friend, Ronnie was right. Liv had no idea who this man was, but he definitely had some dimples on him and rugged facial hair. Very dark and handsome. Liv didn’t blame these women for falling all over him. Cecilia and Maggie May were the next on the docket, two brunette sisters in sun dresses, laughing and joking and vying for attention. Even Audrey Capulet had rushed over to the park to “help.” She was an ex-cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers with shiny blonde hair and perfect posture. Audrey laughed loudly at something River said. He wasn’t interested in them at all—Liv could see that—but he wasn’t rude about his disinterest either.
She’d think River was only playing the part of the perfect gentleman, but there was tenderness in his hazel eyes, eyes that were used to smiling and they did so, even when he was relaxed. Those eyes drifted to her and she took the shot. Spectacular. There were specks of brown and green in that hazel. And so much meaning in that look. Curiosity. Intrigue. Even pain. A smile touched his lips. She lowered her camera. Now that was a moment captured.
Wait… his eyes were still on her, and that smile was only getting wider. Was this moment also hers? She stepped back. No, certainly not. She was just a former Pumpkin Princess, after all, with way too many responsibilities to catch anyone’s attention.
Chapter Five
Who was that? She was gorgeous. The mysterious photographer had a press badge. Her red dress fluttered around her knees in the wind, almost like a mirage. River realized he was staring. Well, she’d started it! She was a cute Snow White with dimples. Her porcelain skin made her dark hair seem almost black. Thick strands swept across her cheek, dripping over her shoulders and back like silk. She pushed that perfect hair out of her eyes. All that blackness looked so soft like… well, perhaps he’d better touch it to find out.
Thinking up a dozen excuses for approaching her, River took a step towards her, before pointy fingers jabbed into his shoulder. “Well, hey there, tall, dark, and handsome,” a fan purred out from pink lips. “You look thirsty after all that hard work.” A cold drink was pressed into his hand. Before he could react, a giggling girl kissed his cheek. She couldn’t be older than fifteen. Oh no. And he just realized she’d given him a beer.
Too late, he heard the snap of a camera taking the shot. It didn’t take too much deductive reasoning to guess who’d captured this incriminating moment. He glanced up and spotted that gorgeous woman behind the camera again.
No, no, no.
Immediately his thoughts went to his sister. Sure, Slade would flay him alive for allowing an incriminating photo like that to be taken, but poor Emily would be devastated if this hit the next news cycle. Their tattered relationship was so tremulous that he wasn’t sure she’d believe the truth if he tried to explain it to her. Clutching to the drink, River pushed past the underage girl and rushed over to the photographer. Her brows rose as he reached her. “I need you to delete that picture.”
The pretty little photographer seemed to be startled that he was talking to her. “It’s film,” she said quickly, “but…”
River was used to charming his way around a pretty woman, but somehow, he kept getting lost in those eyes. He’d always been a sucker for a pair of pretty eyes. And wow! Hers were almost black. “What’s your name?”
“Love,” she whispered.
Wait, did he hear that right. He broke into a grin. “Did you just say your name is love?”
“No.” She burst out laughing, sounding as nervous as he felt. “I’m Liv. Short for Olivia, so no, definitely not Love.”
Liv, like “Live.” His inner poet enjoyed the potential for future songs with that name. I didn’t “live” before I saw your eyes. He noticed that her ruby red lips matched her dress.