Mal snorted and covered her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut. That image would be her happy place for months. Aunt Joni loved nothing in the world but her niece’s fame and her cats and thought every family event was actually a tribute to her. She was tolerable in large family gatherings, but lethal if she cornered you. Anybody restricted to her version of things would get far more than they bargained for.
Jenna bit her lip and shrugged. “We’ll see if they agree to it. We have contract agreements with the major networks, so it looks good so far. We just want our wedding to be like anybody else’s, you know?”
Mal gave her a look that clearly told her what she was thinking. Thomas Gregory Yardley the Third and Jenna Charlotte Hudson were not just anybody, and there was no way they could have an event that would remotely resemble “anybody else’s.”
“I know,” Jenna said, answering the look. “But we can try.”
Mal would give her that one. If anybody could pull it off, it would be these two. Tom came from money and power, and Jenna could charm anyone to do anything, and Uncle Drake wasn’t exactly hurting for money either.
“Who’s taking the exclusive photos?” Mal asked, thinking up a dozen names of people who would love to get their hands on it. “You’ve got that all decided, right?”
“Oh, I’ve decided,” Jenna said slowly, “and Tom thinks it’s a great idea. I haven’t settled it yet.”
Mal nodded, not quite sure why she was doing so, but it felt natural. “Better take care of that. You’ve got, what, two months? It’s going to be tight, usually high-end photographers book a year out.” She shrugged. “But it’s you, so I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting anyone you want.”
Jenna smiled. “That’s good. Because I want you to do it.”
Mal blinked once, then again. “Say what?”
“I want you to take the pictures at the wedding party, the whole week, and the ceremony and reception,” Jenna said, leaning forward. “But more than that, I want you there, Mal. I want you to be a part of this.”
“I don’t do celebrity,” Mal said faintly, ignoring the family plea. “I’m not that sort of photographer.”
“I know exactly what sort of photographer you are.” Jenna raised a brow and sat back, crossing her legs again. “You’re the best. And I am not just saying that because you’re my cousin. I went to the galleries in Colorado Springs and Des Moines. I saw your graduate project. Rustic Americana. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”
Mal could have been knocked unconscious by a breeze. Never in a million years would she have pegged Jenna to have an interest in her work. And to go to the galleries? It was impossible.
“It was so touching that you put on a show in Iowa so your aunt and uncle could see it,” Jenna said with a smile. “I bet they loved that. And their neighbors too. That one of the old man with the scruff and the prairie grass in his mouth? Was that your grandpa?”
Mal slowly and shakily nodded.
Jenna put a hand over her heart. “I loved that one, Mal. Loved. So poignant and moving. It’s his farm y’all lived on, right?”
Again, Mal could only nod. Jenna had seen the pictures. And that one of Grandpa Ned was Mal’s favorite too. He’d thought it silly she wanted a picture of him, but she insisted. He died a month later, and it meant more to her now than ever.
“And your Aunt Nancy with the cow,” Jenna continued, shaking her head. “She looks just like your mama, Lord bless her soul. It made me miss Aunt Tess like nobody’s business.”
“You did see them,” Mal said in surprise.
Jenna nodded, still smiling. “Told ya. And I want you to take the pictures, Mal. I know it’s not your thing, but I don’t want regular pictures. This is my wedding, and we are going to be in a beautiful place. Heaven on earth. I want your type of photos to capture it all.”
Well, now, that was a tempting offer. Someone who actually knew her work and wanted her style, even if it wasn’t her usual sort of setting and theme… That sounded like a challenge she liked. Granted, at the moment, her most popular clients were stay-at-home moms who wanted to test out Pinterest ideas, but sometimes she scored good projects she could actually put in her portfolio.
“And if that’s not enough,” Jenna said, her voice growing more excited, as if she knew she was winning, “I scored you something else too. The resort we’re staying at? They need some new photos taken, something to get more publicity, and they want high-class. The very best. Conveniently, I know the very best, so it works out well. Mountains, vistas, cabins, lakeside docks, old houses, and really bad cell reception… Mal, it’s perfect for you. You would have a field day.”
Mal looked at her cousin, impressed again. She was actually quite brilliant. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”
Jenna grinned. “I couldn’t take a chance you’d say no.”
“I haven’t said yes yet,” she reminded her. “I won’t do it for free, Jenna, not even for you.”
Jenna snorted. “I would never ask you to, especially not with what we have in store. And the contract for the resort is all you, no favors here and no deals.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a slip of paper, folded it, and slid it across the table to her. “This is what we’re thinking for the wedding. I have no idea what your contract is, that’s up to you and the resort. But it’ll be good, Mal. Promise.”
Mal felt a little cheap taking that slip of paper, demanding money from her family when they already took care of her more than she’d admit to anyone. But opening that paper, seeing the astronomical number written there, and reading it twelve more times to make sure she hadn’t imagined the number of zeros, she suddenly didn’t feel that cheap.
“Done,” she said simply, tucking the paper into the pocket of her shirt.
Jenna grinned brilliantly. “Thank you, Mal! I promise you will love it. We’ve got a spa and fashion designers coming to spruce us up and a schedule for the entire week. I have a copy here for you, that way you can plan out what you need to bring. Now, you ever been to Lake Lure in North Carolina? ’Course not, you’ve never even heard of it. You’ve been in Iowa and Denver, and didn’t you travel Europe after college? Someone said you had amazing shots of the Eiffel Tower in a snowstorm. Anyway, bring whoever you need, all paid for. Just let me know, and we’ll get it.”