“Really?”
She nodded. And even though I was only looking at her side profile, I could see the excited and dreamy look in her eye. “Yeah, the views there are absolutely breathtaking. And at this time of year with the leaves changing color… it’ll be beautiful.”
My brows pulled together.
“Are you okay?” I wondered.
Kacey looked at me briefly before turning her attention back to the road. “Yeah. Why?”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure it out. “I don’t know. You’re just acting a little weird today, that’s all.”
She didn’t respond.
Moving on from that conversation, I asked, “What’s Gerry up to today?”
Gerry was Kacey’s fiancé. They’d gotten engaged on New Year’s Eve and were planning a wedding for next spring.
“He’s helping his brother with something,” she started. “I don’t know. He mentioned something about a computer, and I stopped paying attention.”
I let out a laugh. That sounded about right.
Kacey, like me, was an elementary school teacher. She worked in a different district, though. Gerry, on the other hand, was a computer programmer.
It always struck me as odd how that worked. They say opposites attract, but I had a hard time wrapping my head around that concept when it came to relationships. I found it fascinating and confusing that two people could have such very different interests and still manage to have a healthy, loving relationship.
Regardless, I was happy for Kacey. She deserved the very best in life, and I knew she’d found her knight in shining armor when she met Gerry.
For the next fifteen minutes, the two of us talked about things going on at work. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the resort.
As we pulled up, though, I started to wonder if perhaps Kacey had gotten either the date or the location mixed up for this event. The parking lot was relatively empty. I would have thought that if the radio station was going to be here hosting an event, there would have been more cars in the parking lot.
“Are we in the right place?” I asked Kacey.
“Yeah, this is where I was told to go,” she insisted as she put the car in park. “Come on. Let’s go see where exactly you’re supposed to be.”
At her request, the two of us exited the vehicle. Minutes later, we were walking around the back of the resort’s main building.
“Maybe we should go inside and ask someone where to go. It might be better than walking around this place aimlessly for the next fifteen minutes,” I reasoned.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s back here,” she trudged on.
I walked beside her and continued on. Not even two minutes later, Kacey slowed to a stop. Her eyes were looking out in the distance where a man and a woman were standing.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, curious as to why she’d stopped.
A grin spread across her face as she turned to look at me. “Okay, I have a confession to make,” she declared.
“What? What are you talking about?” I wondered.
“The radio station isn’t here,” she told me.
“What? You said they hosted the contest,” I reminded her.
Kacey shook her head. “I know, but I wasn’t exactly truthful,” she admitted. “There was a contest… it just wasn’t the contest I told you it was.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What did you do?” I asked in a tone that clearly indicated I was losing my patience.
Kacey’s eyes went everywhere but my face as she nervously bit her lip.
“Kacey!” I called, growing more and more frustrated by her silence.
“Okay, fine. So, I entered you into a contest for a free photo session.”
My brows creased as confusion marred my features. “A photo session for what?” I asked.
Before Kacey could answer, we heard a female’s voice ask, “Is one of you Adele Copeland?”
My eyes swung to the side. There was a woman standing there holding a camera.
“That would be me,” I said.
“Oh perfect. I’m Anna,” she returned, extending her hand to mine. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
I took her hand and shook it. “Likewise,” I replied, still too confused to formulate a better response.
“So, Riggs just got here a few minutes ago,” she started as she dropped my hand and pointed in the opposite direction. When she looked back at me, she went on, “He’s over there waiting. If you’re ready to go, we can get started now.”
Riggs?
“Anna?” Kacey interrupted.
Anna turned her attention to my friend. “Yeah?”
“Can you give us just one second?” she pleaded.
“Sure. I’ll be over there waiting.”
Once Anna was out of earshot, Kacey explained, “So, I signed you up to win a free stranger photo shoot.”
“A what?”
“A stranger photo shoot,” she repeated.
“What is that?”
“Anna is going to take pictures of you and Riggs together,” she declared.
“Who is Riggs?” I wondered.
She shrugged. “A stranger.”
Her eyes left mine and drifted over to where Riggs was standing. Then, she continued, “A hot stranger.”
I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. It felt like minutes had passed as I tried to calm myself down, but I knew it hadn’t been more than a few seconds.
“I need to make sure I understand this correctly,” I began. “You signed me up to win a photo shoot with a stranger. I was selected as the winner. And now I’m expected to take pictures with some guy I don’t know.”
“Well, yes, technically that’s true,” she admitted. “But do you realize how lucky you are? There are so many people who entered. You were the one selected. It’s a good sign.”
“A good sign for what?” I asked.
“Maybe this is your guy.”
“My guy?”
Kacey’s shoulders fell. “Adele, you’re my best friend. And you’re the most selfless woman I know. But you’re so busy doing what you can to help others that you don’t make time for yourself. I wanted you to have something just for you. It’s supposed to be fun.”
“I appreciate that, Kacey, but I don’t know this guy. What kind of pictures are these going to be?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’m sure Anna will tell you everything you need to know. What’s the harm in it? I mean, the guy looks really great from here, and he’s probably just as nervous as you are. If you don’t want to do it, I’ll go over and tell Anna that it was all my fault.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I called this girl my best friend. There was no doubt in my mind that as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I was going to get her back for this.
“You’re staying, right?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be hanging around the resort,” she assured me.
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
Kacey’s face lit up. “Really?”
“What do I have to lose?” I asked.
She threw her arms around me and gave me a hug. “Have the best time,” she said.