photograph on the far wall,
and his good mood evaporated in an instant. The photo of a woman holding her
premature infant was good ... but apparently it hadn’t been great. Before
Foster could sink any more into his self-pity, his phone rang. Recognizing his
brother’s ringtone, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered as he
walked to his office in the back of the spacious studio.
“Ethan,
you’re up early. It’s only nine.” Since his brother had moved back to town,
he’d spent every moment with his girlfriend, Tori Bennett. The two were holed
up in Tori’s apartment most of the time. It was a wonder the poor girl could
still walk.
“Did
Tori come to her senses and decide she fell for the wrong brother?” Foster
smiled as Ethan growled over the phone.
“Fuck
you, Foster. If you come near my girlfriend, I will kick you square in the
ass.”
He
laughed. Tori was his sister Becca’s best friend, and he viewed her as a little
sister as well. But it sure was fun to flirt with her, especially now that it
had the added benefit of annoying his younger brother.
“Look,
man,” Ethan continued before Foster could goad him any more, “I was hoping you
could come over to the restaurant this morning and take some pictures. Luke and
his crew are going to be there, and I really want to capture every step of the
renovation for marketing. We need all the promo we can get before it opens on
Valentine’s Day.”
Damn. Foster had completely forgotten he’d
promised Ethan he’d take pictures today. “Uh, this morning?” He was really
hoping to get the few photo shoots he had scheduled out of the way and then
head down to Quigley’s for a drink. “I have some family holiday shoots, so I—”
Ethan
cut him off. “Look, I happen to know your shoots aren’t until later. Becca
checked the calendar on your phone.”
Foster
made a mental note to flick his nosy little sister in the back of the head. She
never could stay out of his stuff.
“Foster,
you can’t just pull back. I know how sensitive you are, man. If you don’t want
to talk to me about it, talk to Dylan.”
Out
of his four siblings, Foster had been the closest with Dylan. However, all of
the Price kids were a tight-knit bunch.
“There’s nothing to talk about, man. I didn’t
win.” Again . “End of story.”
He
heard Ethan’s frustrated sigh on the end of the line. “Whether or not you win
the Donovan Photography Award doesn’t prove anything. You’re a brilliant
artist. Are you really going to let a group of people you don’t even know
define your worth?”
“I
don’t want to talk about this. No offense, but I’d prefer not to start my
morning discussing my failures.”
“Fuck,
Foster,” Ethan growled, and then conceded. “Fine. Get over here, then, and take
some damn pictures. You can meet my new head chef. She’s probably already
there, working up a menu for the festival next week.”
Foster
shook his head, and decided having a distraction this morning was probably a
good thing.
His
brother was crazy. As if the holidays weren’t stressful enough, Ethan was
organizing a holiday food-and-wine festival. Foster had to give it to him,
though. It really was a great way to build anticipation for the new restaurant.
People would be lining up before the doors opened.
He
said good-bye to his brother before he went to get his camera bag and choose
the proper lenses. He grabbed his jacket on the way out, figuring he’d just
walk over to the restaurant and try to get his head in the game. It was just
right around the corner in the same direction the redhead had walked. Foster’s
mouth tipped up. Maybe he could figure out exactly where she worked.
Chapter Three
Linzee
sat her laptop down on the big butcher-block workspace and powered it up. The
kitchen in Price B&G was a dream ... and much bigger than the kitchen in
her little Chicago restaurant. A pang of sadness went through her as she
thought about her former
and his good mood evaporated in an instant. The photo of a woman holding her
premature infant was good ... but apparently it hadn’t been great. Before
Foster could sink any more into his self-pity, his phone rang. Recognizing his
brother’s ringtone, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered as he
walked to his office in the back of the spacious studio.
“Ethan,
you’re up early. It’s only nine.” Since his brother had moved back to town,
he’d spent every moment with his girlfriend, Tori Bennett. The two were holed
up in Tori’s apartment most of the time. It was a wonder the poor girl could
still walk.
“Did
Tori come to her senses and decide she fell for the wrong brother?” Foster
smiled as Ethan growled over the phone.
“Fuck
you, Foster. If you come near my girlfriend, I will kick you square in the
ass.”
He
laughed. Tori was his sister Becca’s best friend, and he viewed her as a little
sister as well. But it sure was fun to flirt with her, especially now that it
had the added benefit of annoying his younger brother.
“Look,
man,” Ethan continued before Foster could goad him any more, “I was hoping you
could come over to the restaurant this morning and take some pictures. Luke and
his crew are going to be there, and I really want to capture every step of the
renovation for marketing. We need all the promo we can get before it opens on
Valentine’s Day.”
Damn. Foster had completely forgotten he’d
promised Ethan he’d take pictures today. “Uh, this morning?” He was really
hoping to get the few photo shoots he had scheduled out of the way and then
head down to Quigley’s for a drink. “I have some family holiday shoots, so I—”
Ethan
cut him off. “Look, I happen to know your shoots aren’t until later. Becca
checked the calendar on your phone.”
Foster
made a mental note to flick his nosy little sister in the back of the head. She
never could stay out of his stuff.
“Foster,
you can’t just pull back. I know how sensitive you are, man. If you don’t want
to talk to me about it, talk to Dylan.”
Out
of his four siblings, Foster had been the closest with Dylan. However, all of
the Price kids were a tight-knit bunch.
“There’s nothing to talk about, man. I didn’t
win.” Again . “End of story.”
He
heard Ethan’s frustrated sigh on the end of the line. “Whether or not you win
the Donovan Photography Award doesn’t prove anything. You’re a brilliant
artist. Are you really going to let a group of people you don’t even know
define your worth?”
“I
don’t want to talk about this. No offense, but I’d prefer not to start my
morning discussing my failures.”
“Fuck,
Foster,” Ethan growled, and then conceded. “Fine. Get over here, then, and take
some damn pictures. You can meet my new head chef. She’s probably already
there, working up a menu for the festival next week.”
Foster
shook his head, and decided having a distraction this morning was probably a
good thing.
His
brother was crazy. As if the holidays weren’t stressful enough, Ethan was
organizing a holiday food-and-wine festival. Foster had to give it to him,
though. It really was a great way to build anticipation for the new restaurant.
People would be lining up before the doors opened.
He
said good-bye to his brother before he went to get his camera bag and choose
the proper lenses. He grabbed his jacket on the way out, figuring he’d just
walk over to the restaurant and try to get his head in the game. It was just
right around the corner in the same direction the redhead had walked. Foster’s
mouth tipped up. Maybe he could figure out exactly where she worked.
Chapter Three
Linzee
sat her laptop down on the big butcher-block workspace and powered it up. The
kitchen in Price B&G was a dream ... and much bigger than the kitchen in
her little Chicago restaurant. A pang of sadness went through her as she
thought about her former
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