Mal felt a whole lot of both.
The first steps out of the limo told her everything she needed to know about this place. The trees were tall and stately, the pavement beneath her feet worn and dusty, and the air was so fresh she might have been at the top of a mountain in Colorado—except there was something very earthy about this place, a sort of flowery-pine scent that bore a hint of fresh water. And yet it was the most unearthly place she had ever been. She inhaled a few times, then found herself smiling.
“Mal!” a familiar twanged voice called.
She looked up the road to see Jenna with six other girls coming toward her. Jenna was grinning and waving and skipping to hurry up. She was wearing pristine white capris and a sleeveless yellow top, with her hair down and flowing in the wind. She was a picture in and of herself.
To her right was another perfectly blonde girl, a bit shorter than her, but just as unnervingly gorgeous, with a brilliant and perfect grin. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, and she was more casually dressed in denim cutoffs, revealing muscular legs, and an oversized boatneck shirt. She was waving, too.
Most people knew Jenna had a sister. Not many knew they were twins.
“Hi, Jenna,” Mal said, adjusting her black denim skinny jeans and her too-expensive white blazer. Impressions were important, and she was here as a professional. “Hi, Caroline.”
The sisters hugged her tightly and asked if the trip was all right, if she was exhausted, and telling her how cute she looked. Normally, she hated this sort of stuff, but from her cousins, it was tolerable, and she couldn’t help but smile. They got it from their mom, so it was second nature.
She introduced Taryn and Dan, who had come around from the back of the limo, where they’d been helping Jerry with their bags. Taryn was starstruck but managed to not look like an idiot. Dan couldn’t stop grinning like a mad fool.
Men.
Jenna turned and waved the other girls over. “I want you to meet my girls. Ladies! Come meet our photographer!”
The other five girls came over, and Mal finally got a good look at them.
“I feel like I just stepped into the Real Housewives of Nashville,” Dan muttered behind her with a low whistle.
Mal nearly burst out laughing. It was a perfect description for them. Two were multi-highlighted blonde and had used so much hairspray that their mountainous curls didn’t even twitch in the breeze and wore sunglasses so large it reminded her of forties starlets. They wore heels and had bags that screamed money, not that the additional advertisement was needed. Their noses were so high in the air that the trees had competition.
Two were brunettes, one fake and one not, and their hair was equally stiff, their clothing too fancy for this natural setting. One had bangles that jingled loudly as she walked, and heels so tall all she was missing was a pole. The other was surprisingly natural in complexion and makeup and pushed her normal-sized sunglasses up on her head, which only made her hair more perfect.
The last one had a sharp, bold pixie cut that highlighted what had to be the most perfect bone structure on the planet. If she didn’t have modeling contracts, someone was missing something. And the sheer platinum blonde of her hair could have been white in the sunshine, though a dark, bold liner on her thin lips offset it. She wore all white, as if she were the bride, and Mal could have sworn she wore the jacket on her shoulders so it could double as a cape.
Only two of them smiled as they approached; the other three analyzed her. Fair enough. She’d just done the same thing and made snap judgments. She was so glad she was the help this week and not one of them. That might have killed her.
“Girls, this is Mal. She is absolutely the best photographer ever, and we are so blessed to have her.” Jenna gave her a brilliant smile, and Mal returned it with a small one of her own. “Mal, these are my best girlfriends.”
She gestured to the two highlighted blondes. “Brittany and Bethany.”
Mal had no idea who was who, and it didn’t matter; they weren’t looking at her either.
Jenna indicated the brunettes. “Alexis and Grace.”
The normal-looking one, Grace, smiled and waved. The other was staring wide-eyed at her nail as if it had sprouted fangs.
Jenna pointed at the platinum bob. “And Sophie.”
Sophie sniffed.
“Charmed,” Taryn muttered behind Mal with a bit of a cough.
Mal bit back a grin. “These are my assistants, Taryn Chase and Daniel Brogada.”
No one except her cousins cared, but the polite thing was done. Jenna turned back to Mal with a smile. “Well, let’s get your things and let y’all get settled. Dinner’s at six thirty, and we’re havin’ barbecue. Totally casual, just relaxed so we can all get introduced and stuff.”
Mal nodded once, then turned to collect their equipment when a sharp, blatantly suggestive whistle hit the air. Everyone turned to see three golf carts racing toward the group, each bearing men, and from the looks of things, they were all fairly young. And fairly attractive.
Intrigued, Mal migrated with the rest of the group toward them, and she heard, and felt, Taryn and Dan behind her. Catching herself in the act, she stopped suddenly, and both slammed into her back. They snickered and tried not to topple over, and Mal finally felt more comfortable. It didn’t matter if everyone around her was fancy, she was always going to be her awkward self, and that worked for her.
One of the guys got out of the golf cart and went over to Jenna, kissing her cheek. Tabloids and Google searches told Mal that it was Jenna’s fiancé, Tom, and she could quite safely say that no photo did him justice. The man was tall, dark, and just the right mixture of heaven and earth to make toes tingle and mouths water.