Preview: Double Exposure (Patreon)

This is a preview to a story dropping next week on Amazon. Pre-order here (available now).

Synopsis: Stunning bride Alex has always had a rocky relationship with her boyfriend's upper crust mother, Megan. But on her wedding day, a talented photographer puts the two women into the perfect position to mend fences and find common ground, even if it requires tweaking the wedding invitations.

***

The photographer’s voice broke the stillness, sharp and almost playful, but there was an undercurrent of something else in her tone. 

“Perfect. Now there’s a happy couple. Don’t be shy!” Her words hung in the air, and the camera flashed again, the bright light seeming to alter reality itself.

A happy couple?

Alex swallowed hard as her mind tried to make sense of the photographer’s remark, but before she could fully make sense of it, Megan’s arms tightened around her once more, drawing her in even closer. 

It was impossible, nonsensical, but Megan’s hand, warm and firm against her back, made Alex feel as if the photographer was right, like they were truly a couple. Alex sighed, wanting to fight it, but the sensation of Megan’s closeness was just too confusing… too thrilling.

It didn’t seem like it to Alex, but the photographer’s words left Megan reeling too.

The idea of being called a couple with Alex—of being seen as more than just future in-laws—felt strange, yet not entirely unpleasant. She looked down at Alex, whose eyes met hers with a flicker of something undefinable, something soft and uncertain. 

The photographer kept clicking, her camera flashing in a rhythm that made the whole moment feel like it was happening in slow motion. The words "happy couple" echoed in Megan’s mind, stirring something she hadn’t allowed herself to acknowledge. She was enjoying this, more than she ever thought she would. 

Alex, unable to stop herself, let out a breathless laugh, a nervous sound, almost self-conscious at how easily she had fallen into this intimacy with Megan. “This is... kind of weird, isn’t it?” she said, her voice soft and unsure, but still playful.

Megan’s lips twitched into a small smile, her heart still racing in her chest as she met Alex’s gaze. “Yeah,” she agreed quietly, her voice a little strained but genuine. “But it’s not… bad. I… like the way you feel.”

There it was again, that realization, that shift. Neither of them had expected it, but now, in the quiet of the vineyard, surrounded by the sound of the photographer’s camera that seemed to have an otherworldly power over them, it felt like something had changed. 

They were struggling to breathe, struggling to come to terms with what was happening, but the photographer seemed to want to push them further. Her smile widened as she kept snapping picture after picture, the flashes bright and almost blinding. 

“Don’t be shy now, ladies,” she encouraged. “You two are perfect together. Just enjoy the moment. This is your wedding day after all.”

Megan felt a strange sensation deep in her chest at those words. 

Wedding day.