Bella tried to appear offended. “Yes, me. Timid.”
*
“I’m sorry but I find that very hard to believe.” He pulled her against his chest and muffled her protests. What on earth was he going to do with her?
“Jake, can we be serious here for a minute?”
“Sure.” He let her go, waited for the bomb to drop.
He might have come to terms with how he felt about Bella but he had no idea if she was on the same page as him, not after last night when all of her Hollywood friends had arrived.
“You know I have to get this book to my publisher, right? Can you let me deal with that and then we can have a makeover Valentine’s Day dinner, please?”
“A makeover?” Maybe he’d get a chance to give her the gift he got. But was it too late?
“Yes. What you saw last night was for Mari and the show. That wasn’t anything like I wanted for myself. Or for you.” She stood patiently while he stared at her.
“Just you and me, no cameras, no Hollywood producers or stars?”
Bella shook her head, lip between her teeth.
Jake swallowed. He couldn’t refuse her. “Sure. Why not?”
“One more thing.”
He couldn’t hold back the sigh and Bella looked pained. “I’ve decided to go a different theme with this cookbook. I want to use shots of you and Cory in it. Mainly in the garden, perhaps one at the firehouse if you don’t mind.” She held up her hand when he went to protest. “I know you don’t like the idea but hear me out, please. I want this book to be more about family and relaxing. Cherry Lake is the perfect backdrop for that. I didn’t realize at first how glitzy my books were getting and it was only when I saw the photos that it hit me what I should be doing.”
“Glitzy?”
“Yeah. You’ve seen my show. It’s way over-the-top glamour, which is fine but I’ve had enough. I want this book to reflect more on the casual and every day. You can have the final say on the photos, promise. I mean, I ran it past Jason and he said some would look really good without focusing in on your faces. You know, like a shot only showing your hand stirring a pot or something.”
He tried not to laugh while she worked herself up over it.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, let me show you what I mean.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him up to her cottage, and pulled him inside. The floor in the tiny living room looked like a tornado had swept through it. Bella dragged him past that mess to the little table in the kitchen where she had a pile of photos spread out.
She grabbed one. It was from the cookie-decorating day. It was a shot of his hands decorating a hot-pink heart with spots of white icing. His fingers were stained with red coloring and the yellow of his work uniform was a faded backdrop for the star of the photo – the heart shaped cookie. The contrast between his large hand and the fragile cookie wasn’t lost on him.
“See what I mean? That’s you but nobody can see that.”
He saw exactly what she meant. Jake put the photo down and picked up another. Similar to the one she’d framed for him, this one showed Cory grinning as Bella piped a dot of pink icing on his cookie, while he held a tiny edible silver heart shaped bead ready to put in place. He hadn’t seen Cory that relaxed and happy in years. Truly relaxed without the usual frown lines between his eyes. Bella had done that for his son. A knot formed in his chest. He fought it down before he spoke.
“Jason does good work. I can see why you use him.”
“Yes, he does and he’ll be back day after tomorrow to start again. I want to get this book done within the next two weeks. That’ll give my editor time to go over it before sending it off to the printers.” She slid a hand up his chest. “And if you didn’t already know, Jason is happily married.” She laughed at the shock on his face he was too slow to hide. “Do you mind helping a girl out here?”
Chapter Twenty
Bella still hadn’t heard from Russell a week later. She’d been keeping busy preparing for the photo shoots and tweaking her recipes, trying not to think too much about what the final outcome would be. He’d have to run it past the studio for final approval but still, she was stressed thinking about leaving Cherry Lake and doing her final season in Seattle.
They’d spent two days shooting at the cherry orchard, wishing the trees were dripping with buds or fruit but it was too early in the season. At least the snow had melted leaving the beginnings of grass under foot had added much needed color to the shoot. Add to that an old red tractor from the farmer’s shed and Bella was more than happy with the layout.
The other photo shoot they’d completed was at the Christmas tree farm on the end of the jetty where Jake’s boat was normally moored. Cory had spent the day with her while Jake was on duty. Probably just as well because Bella was desperate to spend another date in the cabin, surrounded by quiet with the stars overhead. The cabin had become important to her. Most of their dates had been out here scraping and painting the hull ready for next season followed by a quiet meal in front of the fire. So different from anything she’d done before but by far the most enjoyable outings she’d had. More than once Bella had wished for the quiet life and it was only when they were alone working together she believed it could happen.
Today’s shoot was at the fire station and the day couldn’t have been more perfect. Crisp, cool morning air with sunshine to keep the
