Hard to Resist

“I can’t date these guys, Jackie. It’s not professional. At least until their shoot is done. The magazine must have some kind of policy about that.”

“For regular staff, yes, but not regarding contract and freelance employees, which includes you and those two gorgeous hunks over there. So it’s fair game.”

“I need to get November into the studio for some inside shots,” Lacey said, dropping the subject and focusing on work again.

“Hey, do you want to tell me what has you so freaked out, Lace?” Jackie inquired.

Frowning more deeply, Lacey studied her lens as she polished it. “I’m just tired and stressed. I need this to go perfectly. We’re off to a bumpy start and we need to get this under control.”

Jackie’s expression soured, and Lacey regretted sounding so harsh.

“No problem. I’ll get back on it.”

Lacey closed her eyes.

“Jackie, wait. I’m sorry. I just hate getting rattled when I really need to concentrate. This calendar is my big break, and I want it to be perfect,” she explained.

“I get it, and I’m sorry, too. I’ve been enjoying the fringe benefits too much. But Ken’s been such a crank lately, it’s a relief to come to work, you know?”

Lacey wasn’t sure if Jackie wanted to say more about her troubles with her boyfriend, but now wasn’t the time, and she wasn’t exactly someone to hand out romantic advice anyway.

“I hope it works out,” she offered and lifted her camera, studying the serious profiles, angular features, and sharp eyes of the two men. She snapped a few quick shots of them as they talked. Candid shots, when people weren’t posing or looking, had always been her favorites to take. A moment captured in time that often showed the truth about the person being photographed.

“Well, you have no shortage of material to work with, that’s for sure. Just let me know what you need to make it happen.” Jackie slipped back into her professional role, and Lacey felt her shoulders relax.

“I’m moving to studio one—could you tell Jarod to join me in about ten minutes? I’ll be ready for him then.”

“Sure. You got it,” Jackie said, though Lacey could feel her assistant staring as she left the room.

She needed the few minutes of quiet before being around anyone again, to get her bearings, to distance herself from her churning stomach and riled nerves. The cop wouldn’t have hurt her, he was just being obnoxious. Lacey had come across worse in her dating life, and had usually laughed it off. This time, she hadn’t. Was it always going to be this way?

No. She wouldn’t allow it. It was simply the after-effect of the news about Scott. And it had to stop. Now.

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind and stepped backward, finding herself up against a solid wall of muscle.