Read Online Picture Perfect (Butler Island) by Nikki Rittenberry - Free Book Online Page B

to yourself, Womack. You sound
fucking pathetic! She’s been busy alright—busy avoiding you!
    Yeah, he was afraid of that. Because
for the very first time in his adult life, he’d walked away from a first date
desperately wanting another.
    Grant took another pull from his beer
and froze when his eyes landed on a familiar image: a black Mini Cooper parked
approximately one hundred feet to his left in the adjacent public lot. He
placed his beer on the patio table and then stood, scanning the beach in search
of the owner. He finally spotted her, attaching her camera to a tri-pod not far
from her parked car.
    He glanced toward the deck railing
where his chocolate lab was lazily lounging and then smacked the side of his
thigh several times to get his attention. “Come here, boy”, he instructed. When
the dog leapt toward him, he knelt down and gave his companion a satisfying
scratch behind the ears and in return, he received a sloppy, wet lick to the
cheek.
    “You see that girl over there, boy?”
he asked as he pointed in Olivia’s direction. “I’ve got a nice, juicy treat
with your name written all over it. All you have to do is run over there and
let her pet you. What do ya say?”
     The dog answered with two loud
barks, com municating his understanding.
“Alright, boy, go get her!”
    Without hesitation, the dog hurried
down the wooden steps and took off toward
her direction. Grant waited several seconds and then followed suit.
    By the time he reached them, Olivia
had already knelt down and was running her soft fingertips along Dexter’s neck.
His dog appeared to be in a state of pure bliss.
     Damned lucky dog—what he wouldn’t
give to trade places with him right now…
    “Hey”, he called out. “Sorry about
that!”
    “It’s okay! He yours?” she asked.
    “Yes ma’am.”
    “I didn’t know you had a dog. Where
was he when you were fixin’ up my foot a
couple weeks ago?”
    “Probably inside napping.”
    “Oh. What’s his name?”
    “Dexter.” Grant whistled and jerked
his head back toward the beach house. “Dexter, go home!” he instructed. Happy
to please his owner—and secure his promised treat — Dexter pulled away
from Olivia’s grip and raced back toward the deck.
    “He’s beautiful”, she said as she
watched him run away.
    So are you… “Thanks.” He
gestured toward the equipment behind her.
“That’s a fancy-looking camera you have there.”
    “This is my pride and joy—I bought it
a few months ago. Do me a favor, will you?” Olivia pointed to the area in front
of the camera. “Stand right over there.”
    Grant shook his head and crossed his
arms. “Oh, no—I don’t do pictures.”
    Placing one of her hands on her hip,
she tilted her head to the side. “Oh c’mon, it’s just a test shot. I need to
adjust my focus—I promise I won’t make you do any silly poses. Please …?”
she asked as she innocently batted her long lashes at him.
    Grant slowly ambled in front of the
camera, rubbing the stubble along his jaw. “Here?” he asked.
    “Uh-huh, now turn and face me.”
     She waited until he complied and
then began fidgeting with her camera lens. Grant stood in front of her,
shirtless, with his hands shoved into his front pockets, his faded denim jeans
sitting low on his hips. Her eyes swept along his sleeve tattoo, down his
broad, toned chest, his rippled six-pack abs and finally ended at the dark
trail of hair that disappeared behind the fly of his jeans.
    Oh. My. God.
    His body was certainly a temple— one
that she was thoroughly worshiping at the moment.
    “Can you back up a little…?” she
asked. “A little more.” Still facing the camera he stepped backward, his feet
only inches away from the water’s edge.
     And suddenly, she had an idea…
    She turned on the camera’s time-lapse
feature, allowing her to automatically capture a picture every five seconds
over the course of one minute. Adjusting the focus one last time, she
instructed him to take