Brothers of Paradise Series

“Okay?”

She wipes at her eyes. “Okay, I’ll think about it. It’s the best I can do.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Regardless, I suppose I’ll see you at the launch party, to discover which of your campaigns ended up being chosen.” She shakes her head, a wry smile on her lips. “I swear, Rhys, I don’t know if I’m hoping you lose or win.”

The launch party is weeks from now. But I don’t let the disappointment I feel show. “I’ll see you then,” I tell her. “Just promise me you’ll call me if you get caught in your own thoughts. I don’t live far away.”

“I promise,” she says, the door shutting behind her.

Ivy

The doorbell rings just as I’m applying lipstick, sending a line of dark red skittering down my chin.

Penny chuckles behind me and bounces up off the couch. “Do you need me to get that?”

“Yes, please.”

Wiping at my face, I follow her to the front door. I’m not expecting anyone, nor any deliveries, and we only have half an hour left until we need to leave for the launch of Rieler Travels’ new marketing campaign.

Whichever one it might be.

“For Ivy Hart,” a delivery guy says, yellow cap pulled low on his head.

“I didn’t order anything.”

That doesn’t stop him from lifting a large, bubble-wrapped square into my hallway.

“No need to sign. Have a good day.”

He disappears down the hallway with brisk steps, a man on a mission, and doesn’t respond to my shouted thanks!

Penny shuts the door behind him. “What’s this?”

“I have no idea.”

We start tearing at the packaging, peeling off the coverings like we’re unmasking a treasure. “Frames?” Penny asks. “These are frames. What… Oh.”

My hand stills when I see who stares back.

It’s me.

A framed, black-and-white portrait of me, one I hadn’t seen before. I’m dancing on the square in St. Barts, the red dress dark now, but billowing around my legs as I spin. My hair is a curtain around me, but the smile on my face is visible.This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - ©.

It’s grainy, not so much as to throw off the image, but enough to give it character.

“Ivy…,” my sister whispers. “This is gorgeous.”

I swallow. “Help me get the packaging off the rest of them.”

Four framed photographs in total, all black and white and large. And all of me.

Penny runs her hand over an etched plaque at the bottom of one. “They’re named,” she murmurs. “Ivy, they all have names!”

I drop to my knees in the hallway to see that she’s right. The portrait of me dancing in St. Barts is called Joy.

The one of me in Rome, putting on dark lipstick with the eternal city as a backdrop, the Tiber flowing behind me, is called Strength. And I suppose the challenging look in my eyes as I stare directly into the camera is exactly that. Strong.

The third has me in Paris. Standing in my blazer and skirt, talking to one of the sellers of books that line the Seine. A wide smile is on my face as I listen to the man. The photograph is called Kindness.

“Sartre,” I murmur. “He was explaining who Jean-Paul Sartre was.”

“These are so cool. Did the agency send them to you?”

My gaze travels to the fourth and final one. Me, waist-deep in the swimming hole in Bali. In black and white, the shapes stand out in stark contrast. The waterfall a stilled roar behind me. My eyes are closed and my arms outstretched, a smile on my lips.

Curiosity, this one is titled.

“No,” I say quietly. “The agency didn’t send these.”

“Then who? The travel company? Oh, look, Ivy. There’s a card.” She hands me an envelope, three letters scrawled in sharp, capital letters on the front. Ivy.

I pull out the card inside.

Ivy,

You took my breath away in every single one of these shots. This is how I see you. Strong and kind, curious and joyful. Traveling with you was the best adventure I’ve ever had. If I lose this bet today, I will still feel like I’ve won, for having experienced it. If you’ll have me, I’ll by your side for future adventures too.

Looking forward to seeing you today,

Rhys

“You’re smiling,” Penny murmurs. “Is it from him? The photographer?”

I hand her the note in silence, my smile growing as she squeals. “Oh my God. This is… wow. Now we know, then. He will definitely be there today.”

I nod, sinking down into my couch. Nerves flutter through my stomach at the mention. “He will, yes.”

I look back at the photographs. No one had ever captured me that well. Captured me, not who I was posing as. Penny knows everything. I told her all of it, from St. Barts to Paradise Shores.

“What are you thinking?” she asks, sitting down beside me.

My throat feels dry. “I’ve never been in a proper relationship before. As much as I want to try, I’m not sure how it’ll turn out. And I don’t know if… What if I get hurt again?”

Her gaze softens. “You’ll never know how a relationship will turn out before you have it.”

“How did you do it? With Jason? You’ve been together for years.”