Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
That man was messing with her head, heart, and body in a big way.
* * *
Erin had to finish another story about the local animal shelter running out of funding and just as she was wrapping up the final details, Clark appeared at her desk. He waited until she’d finished typing and then said, “Still on for the auction tomorrow?”
She might not have romantic feelings for Clark, but he was a good friend and the auction would be a good distraction—and talking point—for dinner with Jay later that day. She nodded and noticed that he seemed more excited about this one than usual. “What is it that you’re after?”
He grinned, and she had a feeling she’d be bored for the next half hour as he waxed lyrical about the details of some obscure camera she’d never heard of and wouldn’t recognize if she saw it. Sometimes she wished her work buddy was passionately interested in art or jewelry or antiques, but photography was his deal. The nice thing about tomorrow’s auction was that it also included the former as well as the latter.
She promised to meet Clark in the morning and then wrapped up her story and sent it to Pat for an edit. For just a moment, she allowed herself to imagine Jay at his office, sitting in his very expensive chair at his very expensive desk, making decisions about big-budget Hollywood productions, Nelson curled up happily at his feet.
Chapter Sixteen
Jay hadn’t really intended to go to the auction Clark had mentioned during his shoot for the Sea Shell, but after a long walk with Nelson on the beach Saturday morning, he found himself with the better part of a day free, which almost never happened. He was scheduled to be flying back from LA today, hence the empty calendar. He looked up the auction online and checked out some of the items. One thing caught his eye—a camera that had been used to make silent movies. The same model that had shot Citizen Kane. He was still looking for some quirky, interesting things to add to the décor of his home. A Mitchell Standard would be an amazing conversation piece.
If he was honest, a small part of him was determined to go because Erin would be there with her friend Clark. Not that it seemed like she had any interest in the poor guy, but Jay knew that men could be dogged in pursuit of the women they adored. It would be a chance for him to observe the two of them, to see if they were more than just friends. Also, he felt protective of Erin. And although he tried telling himself that it was none of his business, he wanted to keep an eye on Archer’s kid sister to be sure she wasn’t making a mistake.
No. It was more than that. Erin confused him. She was getting under his skin in a way that left him wanting more. So much more.
He headed out and thought again how much Carmel-by-the-Sea already felt like home. With the sunshine warming him as he drove alongside the ocean, it was clear that he was living in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
He found the auction house and headed inside to the buzz of people chattering as they maneuvered around the antiques. Although he was keeping an eye out for Erin and Clark, he soon got caught up in all the quirky, fun stuff. There was a whole area of art, jewelry, and furniture, but he was drawn to where the cameras were displayed. He wasn’t especially a camera geek, but he loved everything to do with the movies, and that silent-movie camera was calling him.
Brochure in hand, he was fascinated to read more about the Mitchell Standard, the 35mm studio camera introduced in the 1920s as a hand-cranked silent film camera. According to the information provided, the camera came with a four-lens turret, a matte box on rails mounted to the front of the camera, and options that included a film footage counter and an internal matte disk with nine pre-cut mattes, including half-frames, circles, keyhole, binocular, and oval. He thought about how basic that was and yet how charming. It would have been really noisy, but that wouldn’t have mattered in a silent film. It wasn’t until 1926 that they had to worry about camera noise—and the stars’ voices.
He was admiring the camera when Erin appeared at his side. He grinned at her and then noticed Clark trailing behind her, looking like a kid who’d just wandered into his very first toy store. His eyes were big and it was like he didn’t know where to look next because he wanted to take it all in at once.
Jay was pleased to see Erin, so he was surprised at the slightly accusatory note in her tone as she asked, “What are you doing here?”