“Sorry,” he managed. For hell’s sake, he ran a successful business, dealt with servers, chefs, and customers, on a daily basis, and now he could barely manage a two-syllable word. He’d really been out of the dating game too long.
When he stepped aside, she continued adjusting the mirror her ring-adorned fingers were wrapped around. The smooth skin of her forehead furrowed as she concentrated on her task.
“Is this going to be enough light?” he asked her.
Her attention remained on the food as she tried to achieve the right angle with the mirror. “Windows are best, but I can make do with the skylights.” She extended her hand to his. “I’m Elisa, by the way. Cardoso,” she added.
Brody allowed his eyes to drop down to her mouth one more time before wrapping his hand around hers. Her fingers were long and thin, and the silver rings she wore were cool against his palm. His hand lingered in hers, probably longer than necessary, but what the hell. Her hand felt good in his, a perfect fit. And he liked the way her hand felt wrapped up in his, small and feminine. A sudden image of them on his skin, exploring intimate parts of his body, slammed into him and assaulted his senses.
“Brody.” Another two-syllable word he had trouble forcing out of his mouth. What was wrong with him today? He’d always been able to hold a semi-intelligent conversation with an attractive woman before. Then in comes this exotic beauty and his brain ceases to function. “McDermott,” he threw in.
“Nice to meet you,” she replied with a playful gleam in her dark brown eyes. Before he was ready to let go, she slipped her hand from his and continued adjusting all her lights, mirrors, and other props.
Thirty minutes went by before she actually started snapping pictures. The first dish was arranged on the brown cloth-covered table with silverware and napkins placed casually about as if an actual diner had been sitting there. Elisa had picked up and moved the wineglasses half a dozen times before she was satisfied they were in just the right spot. After giving the setup one final glance, she took an expensive-looking camera out of a bag and dropped to her knees directly in front of the table. With her elbows resting on the table, Elisa cradled the camera in her hands and started snapping pictures rapidly, one after the other.
“She sure is thorough,” Brody muttered to Charlene.
“I told you she was good.”
Not only was she good with the camera, her ass looked damn fine in those slacks of hers, round but petite at the same time. The same image of her hands roaming over him continued, only this time her derriere took a front and center role. He bet it would feel damn good cradled in his lap rubbing against his thighs…
Okay, you’re supposed to be saving your restaurant here, and all you can do is admire the photographer’s ass?
Time to be professional.
“You might want to keep your eyes on a place that won’t get you sued for sexual harassment.” Charlene had the nerve to actually smirk.
He tossed her a narrowed-eyed look. “You’re not funny.”
As usual, Charlene ignored his surly remarks. “She could be a while. I’m going to work on next week’s schedule.” And with that, Charlene left him alone with the woman who made him stumble over two-syllable words. And had a great ass. And had soft hands.
Over an hour passed and Elisa had only done two dishes. Her camera would click rapidly, then she’d stop to make an adjustment with one of the mirrors or point the lights in a different direction. Call him ignorant, but Brody had no idea so much went into taking pictures of food. He’d thought Travis would cook some dishes, place them on a table, and he would take some pictures with his digital camera. Charlene had rolled her eyes like a teenage girl when he’d told her that. “Why don’t you let me take care of this?” was what she’d said to him.
Gladly. He’d had enough on his plate at the time, with having to decide which employees had to take fewer hours in order to cut back on costs.
Elisa lowered her camera and rolled her head from side to side.
“Do you need a break?” he asked her.
She craned her head over her neck and then stood. “No, I’m fine. If I stop I might lose momentum.”
“I was thinking the soup would look better with some steam coming out of it.”
Elisa set her camera down, then pulled her hair back in a high ponytail, revealing a long neck. One that was perfect for dropping light kisses. “I always digitally add steam in later. If you want it.”
His eyes danced over her neck. He’d never paid attention to such a thing before, so why was he starting now? “Won’t digital steam look fake?”
“Charlene said you’d never done this before,” she said with an alluring smile. “Digital steam looks just as good as the real stuff. Besides, real steam is too much of a variable. The slightest breeze can make it curl in an unattractive shape.”
Suddenly he found himself interested in the art of photographing food. Who knew? “And all the mirrors? What are those for?”
She planted her hands on her slim hips and ran her tongue along her lower lip. It was full and looked good enough to nibble. “They deflect the light in different directions. Different foods need light coming from different angles.” She gestured to the table. “Like with the salad, I had the light coming from behind so you can see the veins in the lettuce. But the soup needed light coming from above so you can see the reflection on the surface of the liquid. With the hamburger, I’ll probably have the light coming from behind so we’ll have some cool reflections on the plate and also have some translucency in the tomato…” Her deep eyes lit on his. “Sorry. I tend to get carried away when people ask me about taking pictures. Most people don’t realize how technical this all is.” Her laugh was melodious and sent blood rushing down to his groin.
He barely managed not to adjust himself around her and glanced at the staging area. “Very technical, I can tell.”
Her teeth nibbled her lower lip.
If she didn’t stop that, he’d do something to seriously embarrass himself.
“I’m boring you, aren’t I?” she said. “It’s just that you’re the first client to ask me questions. Most don’t care about the process, only the end result.”
His eyes stayed on her white teeth, which were still worrying that delectable lower lip. “It’s not boring at all.” Well, he wouldn’t go that far. It was a little boring. But the light in her eyes alone was reason enough to keep asking her questions. “This is all new to me. I just thought I’d be able to take pictures with my camera and send them to the magazine.”
“That’s what most people think. But you would have ended up with yellow food.” When he lifted a brow, she continued. “Light is very important to photographing food. If you don’t have enough light, the food in the picture will look yellow. Not very attractive to potential customers.”
He nodded his understanding even though the science of it still eluded him. “That makes sense.”
Elisa’s eyes roamed down to his mouth before she cleared her throat and picked up her camera again. Was she checking him out? Could he possibly be having the same effect on her that she was having on him?
“After you’re done, you should stay for something to eat.” Now, why would you go and say that? Isn’t it bad enough you’ve been staring at her ass, now you have to come on to her? “You’re taking pictures for us. The least you could let me do is feed you.” Okay, that sounded much more reasonable; not like you’re trying to hit on her while she’s doing a job for you.