“If you’re okay to drive, I think I’d rather go back to my studio.”
“I’m okay to drive,” he says quickly. “Do you want to stay for a bit, or—”
“Let’s go for a walk first. I hear it’s pretty out here at night.”
“Lead the way.”
I swallow and start to walk in the direction of the path that connects to the falls where we took the bridal photos. As soon as we get to the fork in the path, I smile back at Desmond and tug him to the right, toward the sound of the falls.
“Where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see.” I don’t let go of his hand until we arrive at a circular clearing with a balcony that overlooks a brightly lit waterfall. “Now you don’t have to spy on me from afar,” I tease him with a grin. “You can check out this beauty right here with me.”
His eyes are locked over my shoulder at the stunning sight. “Oh, wow. I’ve never seen it at night.”
I grin, enjoying his reaction almost more than my own experience. “It’s beautiful, right?”
His palms wrap around the balcony rail beside me, and his eyes are glued to the rushing falls. He releases a breath that relaxes his shoulders. “It’s unbelievable.”
Everything about the falls appears so much larger than it did earlier. They seem bigger, louder, grander, and alive. I lean onto the rail beside him and shut my eyes. I lift my chin and breathe against the breeze. For how long, I’m not sure, but I know I haven’t felt this at peace in a very long time.
“You should do this more often.”
Desmond’s voice catches me off guard, and I whip my head around to find him with his phone camera aimed at me. My heart sinks as anxiety weaves its way through me. “What are you doing?”
“Admiring the view,” he says with a grin until realization strikes. His eyes widen in apology. “I forgot about the permission thing. I should have asked to take your photo first.” Then he starts frantically tapping through his phone. “I can delete it.”
Before I can think of what I’m doing, my hand is covering his to stop him. “Wait. Can I see it first?”
He glances up at me like he isn’t sure he heard me correctly, then he places his phone in my hands. It takes me a second to work up the courage to look down. It’s not that I’m afraid of the image I’ll see on the other side or that I’m tired of having my photo taken. It’s the fact that for the past twenty-plus years, photography has been more about artificial beauty than it has been about art. Through the lens, I was whoever they wanted me to be. Through the lens, I was a lie. But just in the few simple shots I’ve seen Desmond take of me, I know that, to him, photography is more than creating the perfect moment at the perfect angle with the perfect lighting. Desmond captures moments, he doesn’t try to create them. And for that, I don’t want him to delete the photo of me. It shows my hair in a disheveled half-ponytail after a fun night of dancing, with natural shadows from the surrounding trees blocking the bright light coming from the falls. I’m everything.
“You’re the most beautiful sight when you don’t know anyone is watching you. Do you know that?”
My throat closes with emotion before I look up at him. “So this is it, huh? The Desmond charm? And I’m the lucky one who gets to experience it tonight?” I’m trying to keep things playful, because if I don’t, I might just start to like what he’s saying.
He narrows his eyes. “I mean it, Maggie. You’re beautiful all on your own, without even having to try.”
I swallow, trying to keep my fluttering nerves at bay. “That was a really sweet thing to say.”
As if he knows things are getting a little too serious, his lips tug up at the corner, and his eyes slide down my body then back up. “Well, that dress isn’t helping matters.”
I shove him playfully as I laugh. “I should have known it was too good to be true.”
“What can I say?” he teases. “I’m a really sweet guy.”
“No, you’re not, but those rare moments when you are just might be my favorite.” I pull away from the rail and hold out his phone to him. “Don’t delete that photo.”