A Picture of Desire by Victoria Hale Page A

spent many hours each week snapping pictures with his camera. Ava had seen some of his work, and she hadn’t hesitated to accept his offer of free wedding photography, especially since it would help keep the expenses of her big day within her budget.
    However, Ken had been reluctant to allow his older brother to take his wedding pictures, despite Todd’s obvious talent and skill. After some persuading from Ava—which mostly entailed showing her fiance the price quotes from other wedding photographers—Ken had reluctantly agreed to consider Todd’s offer. However, Ken insisted that Todd do a “trial run” by taking some pre-wedding photos of Ava.
    Although silence had stretched between them, Todd continued talking as if he hadn’t noticed it. “I am available tomorrow evening, if you can squeeze me into your schedule. I know tomorrow is Friday, but with Ken out of town, I assume you don’t have a date planned.”
    Ava’s mind raced. Ken’s job as a marketing director for a computer software company often sent him to other states. Rather than spending tomorrow night snuggled on the sofa with her and a bowl of popcorn, he was trying to sell a financial computer program at a convention in Nevada. And, as Todd had predicted, Ava had no other plans.
    But an evening alone with Todd sounded dangerous. Very dangerous.
    “Maybe we should wait until Ken is back in Virginia,” Ava said. “I think he should be part of these pictures, too. They are trials for our wedding.”
    She could almost hear the amusement in Todd’s voice. “These photos are just to appease my dear brother’s compulsive, controlling personality,” he said. “As long as they aren’t blurred beyond all recognition, he’ll be fine with them. And he certainly doesn’t need to be a part of them. It will only take a few minutes of your time for me to get a couple of good shots. Maybe ten minutes. Certainly you can spare that, especially since we’re practically neighbors.”
    “So you want to do this at your apartment?” Ava asked.
    “Of course,” he said. “My equipment is here and I have a few backdrops and props we can use to make the pictures look great.”
    Ava sighed. “Tomorrow evening,” she said.
    She could almost hear the satisfaction in his voice. “Looking forward to it,” he said.
    After she returned her phone to her pocket, Ava stood and stared at the storeroom. She didn’t really see the stacks of cardboard boxes or the piles of paper that littered almost every surface. Her mind was far away as she thought about the way Todd’s dark eyes seemed to penetrate her every time they stood in the same room. His gaze had a way of making her feel naked, and she tingled at the thought of it.
    “You must have been talking to Ken on the phone,” said Beth as she walked into the storeroom.
    Ava turned her head away so that Beth couldn’t read her green eyes. “Why do you say that?” she asked.
    “Because you look like you just finished a very hot conversation,” Beth replied.
    “No, it wasn’t anything like that,” Ava protested. She reached for a stack of papers and tried to act interested in the “Late Payment” notice, knowing her cheeks burned a bright red.
    “Oh my God,” Beth squealed. “Did you and Ken just have phone sex? That’s so cool!”
    Beth danced a little jig, her ample breasts almost spilling out of her low-cut red shirt. Her white platform shoes clicked on the hard concrete floor.
    “You need to find a boyfriend,” Ava said, shaking her head at her friend. “All you do is think about sex.”
    “Well, why don’t you set me up with someone? Ken must know lots of single guys. What about his brother? That man is seriously hot.”
    “Todd?” Ava shook her head so vigorously that the curls of her hair smacked her cheeks. “No, you don’t want to date Todd. He’s a philanderer.”
    “You mean he gives money to orphans and homeless people?”
    Ava stifled a grin. “No. Not a philanthropist. A