Chapter 307: Getting Into the Role
** Harper **
Harper couldn’t believe that Eli actually carried her all the way back to the pavilion. The workout room he had added to his office building last year — as a Christmas present to spoil her with better muscle views — must have really paid off. At the best time possible.
When they returned to the terrace and she reluctantly left his comfortable embrace, the portrait session continued on. Thanks to the peaceful stroll and the small interlude, both of them had completely warmed up at this point, easing enough into their roles to be able to fully enjoy the exploration of their exclusive space. They laughed as they went, picking out impromptu props on the go, and things quickly began to feel so natural that although this was supposed to be a posed session, the photographer rarely needed to ask them to do it intentionally anymore. Even his assistants were impressed with the easy workflow, commenting constantly how photogenic the two of them looked simply being together in the same frame.
Harper liked that. To her, the best photos were the ones that captured the real moments between them, and she was thankful that it turned out exactly the way it should be.
It wasn’t long before she found her favorite photo as well. Out of hundreds of shots over the hour, the most memorable for her was easily the one taken in the back garden, under the old oak tree there at the center of the lawn. She had loved its sprawling thick branches and enormous canopy at first glance, a majestic presence looming over the garden with a touch of timeless magic. A kiss under its dappled shade was almost required, and as they did so, a small gust of wind blew past, lifting her veil and wrapping it around Eli’s shoulders to drape over them both in a sparkling haze.
The photographer was so satisfied with the shot that he couldn’t help but show them the preview immediately on his camera. It was one of the most dreamily romantic photos he had ever taken, he said, and it was no doubt going to be the cover picture of their print album.
Eli, on the other hand, seemed to prefer the one they took later at the French-style cottage behind the pavilion, where he stood at the doorway covered in flowering rose vines and looked up at the window above. There at the opened window, Harper looked back at him, perched across the edge of the sill with her bridal bouquet in hand and her long dress flowing down the faded wall.
That one wasn’t a spontaneous shot — they had to move a table against the window just so that she could sit there safely — but he said he loved how out of this world she looked like that, and his own pose fit his perspective of the day perfectly as well.
The dilemma of which one to use in the end for their album cover was left to the torn photographer. At the end of the session, Harper and Eli returned to their preparation room beyond satisfied, leaving the camera crew to move on with that question to the guest reception that was about to start.
"So, is this finally starting to feel more real to you?" Harper asked when she sat down for a quick break. "You can’t tell me you still aren’t getting used to us being married after all that showy kissing."