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“It’s a beautiful lie It’s the perfect denial

Such a beautiful lie to believe in”

-30 Seconds to Mars, “A Beautiful Lie”

Eight years later

Garrett McCarthy hustled down the rickety wooden steps nestled between the wild grass and glanced quickly at his watch, nervously running his fingers through is close-cropped black hair He squinted his blue eyes at the setting sun as he quickened his pace

He made dinner reservations at Parker’s favorite Italian restaurant for eight o'clock When he knocked on her door at seven-thirty and didn't get an answer, he knew exactly where he'd find her

As he walked off the bottom step and his casual, brown lace-up Doc Martins sunk into the sand, he smiled when he saw her

She was flat on her stoe with her elbows propped up, holding the caentle wave that lapped up onto the shore inched its way around her body before sliding away and rushing back out to sea

When she orking on a project, she lost all sense of ti sand crabs: a freelance piece for National Geographic Probably not very exciting to so to her She loved the peacefulness of nature, and having a camera in her hand nothat small piece of metal in her hand transported her to another time and another place It made all of her cares disappear so her only concern or worry was for the subject on the other end of her lens It didn’toff to war zones or following news vans This ho she was Being a photojournalist was her life’s dream, and she worked her ass off to et herself through college all on her own And it made him respect her even more

The push and pull of the water and the click of her ca the beach as he made his way across the sand to her When he was a few feet away, he stood with his hands in his pockets, not wanting to disturb her He liked watching her work Every time he saw her with that camera in her hands, his heart swelled with pride at how talented she was And as each wave of water washed over her body, he refused to dwell on the other parts of him that swelled at that moment Or ever

She was one of the best freelance photographers in the country, and over the years she had her photographs featured in hundreds ofthe next Ansel Adams None of those accomplishments hat endeared Parker to him, however Even without the notoriety and with raphers, she would still be the sa person that he’d always known She didn’t need prestigious awards or featured photos to tell his He’d known it since the first moment he laid eyes on her

Parker’s latest endeavor: publishing her fourth coffee table book of photos from around the world Actually, “Anna Parks” had just published her fourth book He never understood why she insisted on using an alias in print instead of her real naht she should be shouting her accomplishments from the rooftops

"You’re blocking ht," she spoke softly as she turned dials and adjusted the settings on her Nikon F2 35mm camera That camera was as old as she was, but it was herelse Where ital, she stayed true to herself and continued to use a file coraphy world because she was able to play with her photos and make the theers She was proud that her pictures were one hundred percent her creations, and it showed in each and every ae she captured Whenever anyone would try to convince her that digital was better, she would remind them that it didn’t matter if you owned the most expensive, most advanced camera that was on the market If you didn’t have the talent or the heart, your pictures would still turn out crappy no matter how ot Being able to take your photos through every part of the process, fro them come to life in the trays of cheht, forced you to look at your work under a microscope, literally, and learn how to best tell a story without words

“And you’re going to ain,” he reminded her dryly

She clicked a few more pictures and then lifted the camera above her head so he could take it from her Once it was secured in his hands, she placed both of hers in the wet sand and pushed herself up just as another small ashed up around her feet

She brushed her hands together a few tiet some of the sand off and then looked up into his face She could tell he was irritated with her One of his eyebroas raised as if he aiting for an explanation

“Don’t start with me, McCarthy You knew I had to finish these photos before ent to dinner I don’t even knoe’re doing this You know I don’t like tofuss,” she complained as she tried in vain to wipe off the sand froed to do was spread it around

He just stood there staring at her If he spoke right noould probably come out as a squeak or mumbled nonsense As soon as she had stood up, all of the blood rushed froht to his dick

She earing a pale blue bandeau bikini top that tied around her neck andbottoms He only knew they matched because the white wrap-around skirt she et and see-through as it clung to every inch of her hips and thighs, grazing just above her knees He watched her brush her hands against her s to irritate him His hands itched to reach out and do it for her, to touch her skin and feel her warmth

Dangerous territory He had no business thinking those things She was his friend and she deserved better than his habitual dirty thoughts

“Quit your bitching, Parker It’s your birthday What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t take you out to celebrate?”

“Oh, I don’t kno about a good one? I hate my birthday You know that All that fuss just to be one day closer to death It’s idiotic” She huffed as she finally gave up on re sand from her skin

Garrett sent up a silent prayer for that until she untied the flimsy, wet scrap ofit out into the sand

He didn’t knoas worse, staring at her bikini botto her stand in front of hiolden skin showing, talking to hi deal

Because it was no big deal, he reminded hi suit beforeor her underwear for that o, she was drunk, and really, it could have happened to anyone

“You knoe’re doing this,” Garrett said softly, cocking his head to the side as he forced himself to look at her eyes and not any lower

She hated when he looked at her like that, with those bright blue eyes the same color as the ocean that made her melt How many times over the years had she needed to force herself not to run her hands down the side of his face when he had looked at her like that? Too many to count, that was for sure Sometimes she wondered if he knew the power he had over her and did things like that just to see if he could get a reaction out of her

Parker pictured herself cupping his cheek in her hand and se appeared, her chest constricted with guilt when his words broke through her errant thoughts

“He took you out to dinner on your birthday every year, even if he had to do it with you kicking and screa,” Garrett said with a sht “It’s my duty as your friend and his to carry on that tradition, especially this year”

Especially this year, especially this year The words repeated on a loop in her head

It still didn’t seeht years spent without hione for sixto hear hi stupid, or get snippy with her when she asked hiht

She wasn’t going to let those dark thoughts ht She’d spent tooabout all of the things she could have done differently Her guilt thatnext to her than on the one she’d given her heart to took up too much residence in her mind and her heart as it was