“The lighting was perfect, and I had the camera set in aperture priority mode with a small f-stop. And then?—”
“Aurora, wow!” Julia gasped.
Aurora looked down to see what picture had made Julia react that way. To her surprise, it wasn’t one of the river with its magnificent backdrop or the whale breaching the water atsunrise; it was Gage playfully flexing his muscles in that pose by the river.
“He didn’t want to have his picture taken, but I convinced him to humor my photographic whim. That’s what I got.”
Julia looked up at her. “It’s perfect.” She glanced down at the picture on the screen again.
“I thought so too,” Aurora agreed. “Even if he was being silly.”
“While I will be the first to admit the muscle pose looks a bit awkward, it’s what you captured in his eyes that is so wonderful.”
His eyes?
“You have had such a positive effect on my brother. I haven’t seen any real spark of true happiness in his eyes since Jess ...” Her words trailed off.
Aurora didn’t miss Julia’s sudden discomfort. “Jess?”
Julia frowned. “Gage’s ex-girlfriend. Hers is a name we avoid speaking around here. Forget I brought it up.”
“They were serious?”
Gage’s sister glanced in the direction her brother had gone off in and then back to Aurora. “He was,” she replied. “Her? Not enough.”
“She broke his heart?”
Julia nodded.
“Lunch is served.”
Gage’s booming voice had both Julia and Aurora jumping guiltily from their perches on the sofa. Julia handed the camera back to Aurora and stood. “Thank you for sharing your pictures with me. Gage can give you my number. Please send me a few, especially the one I loved of Gage. Mom will love it too.”
“I will. Thank you for making me feel so at home during my stay here.”
“I appreciate you sharing your photography knowledge with me and for giving me so many tips to make my pictures look more professional.”
“No problem.” Aurora had spent a little time at the end of game night showing Julia a few different settings she liked to use when taking pictures. Gage’s sister soaked the information up like a sponge and had an eye for photography.
Julia leaned in to give Aurora a quick hug. “It was so nice to meet you. I hope you’ll come back again to visit someday.”
“I would love that,” Aurora said, at that moment realizing how much she meant those words. Her time at this completely unplanned stop had been far too short. Conley Island held so many amazing things just waiting to be captured in a photograph.
“Have a safe flight,” Julia said with a wave as she walked away, casting a smile at her brother as she passed by him.
“What was that look about?” Gage asked as he set their lunch tray down on the coffee table.
“She might have seen the picture I took of you by the river,” Aurora said with a grin.
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll never live that one down.”
“I’m sure you will someday,” she teased. She saw it now. That spark of something in his eyes she hadn’t noticed when they’d first met. She knew a little about matters of the heart not working out. You just had to hope there was something better waiting for you out there somewhere. That’s what she held onto.
Gage handed her a small lunch plate. “Your BLT with mayo. Can I get you anything else?”
Aurora knew exactly what she wanted. She’d been thinking about it all day. More time. Time to further explore the island for the wealth of perfect shots she knew it harbored. And time to get to know Gage a little better.
She looked up at him with a smile. “How about a cabin at Living the Good Life Fishing Retreat for another week?”
