Fear of Falling by Catherine Lanigan Page A

Wedding photographs last a lifetime. Even generations. These have to be so special.”
    â€œIsn’t it exciting? Can you imagine what you could do with her photographs? I mean if this invitation is a preview of what Katia expects this wedding to look like, your photos could be spectacular. Maybe you could send them to one of these bridal magazines. Who knows, sweetheart? Maybe they would hire you.”
    â€œOh, Mom. That’s such a long shot.”
    â€œLife is a long shot, sweetie pie. How do you know if you don’t try?”
    Try. Yes. She needed to get her act together. She needed to try. Maybe her mom was right. Katia’s wedding would give her an opportunity she hadn’t had before. Already she envisioned how she would pose gorgeous Katia and handsome Austin, dressed in their wedding ensembles and standing in a summer garden or next to one of his fantastic antique cars.
    â€œI don’t suppose she’s talked about the wedding party. Attendants?”
    â€œActually, yes. Liz is the maid of honor. The baby isn’t due until late July or early August, and Katia was adamant that Liz stand up for her. They’ve become quite close, I understand. Then Sarah and Luke’s kids—Annie will be flower girl and Timmy the ring bearer,” Julia said, looking down at her pad. “Oh, and Rafe is best man.”
    Olivia’s hand froze, and slowly she put her pen down. It made sense. Rafe was Austin’s best friend. Before Katia came to town, one of the only people Olivia ever saw Austin with was Rafe.
    Olivia put her hand to her cheek as her face grew hot. It was hard enough to take Rafe dressed in jeans and boots. In a tux, he’d kill her. She’d have to wear armor to deflect his charm...except for the fact that he terrified her nearly as much as he magnetized her. Well, she just had to make sure that armor was extra-strong. She had vowed never to get involved with anyone in horse racing. She didn’t need to relive that kind of heartbreak.
    In any case, the way he’d acted last night proved that whatever connection they might have made had been severed. There was even a chance they could meet at Austin and Katia’s wedding as photographer and guest. Professional. No emotion.
    Yeah, right.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Julia asked.
    â€œNothing. Why?”
    â€œYou haven’t taken a breath since I mentioned Rafe Barzonni.”
    â€œWe, uh, we had a slight altercation,” Olivia admitted sheepishly. She twirled her finger around in a circle on the pad, the way she’d done since she was a child whenever she was trying to think up an excuse.
    â€œHow slight are we talking?” Julia probed cautiously.
    â€œOkay, not a fender bender, but not legally actionable, either.”
    â€œOh, for heaven’s sake, Olivia, what did you do?”
    Olivia peered up at her mother, wishing she didn’t feel so small and ashamed. Surely, there would come a day when she would handle her life with more confidence. But obviously she wasn’t there yet. “After you left the funeral dinner, Gina asked me to take a plate of food down to the horse trainer, Curt, in the stable where he was working...”
    â€œYes, I saw the stable. Go on.”
    Olivia wished her mother wasn’t so anxious for this confession. Olivia folded her hands in her lap to stop herself from squirming as she explained about the photo shoot with Rowan and the social media debacle.
    â€œWhy would he be mad about that?” Julia asked, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
    Olivia heaved a deep sigh. “Because he specifically asked me not to let anyone see them.”
    Julia dropped her forehead to her palm. “You didn’t.”
    â€œI did. Well, not on purpose. I forgot about the promise. Spending time with Rowan made me think about how I first fell in love with horses, and I wanted to thank Sarah for all those times she took me to her dressage