Portrait of Love Read online

  Copyright

  ISBN 978-1-60260-906-8

  Copyright © 2010 by Debby Mayne. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Heartsong Presents, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 721, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.

  All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. niv®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental.

  Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

  one

  More than twenty elementary-aged children swarmed Mandy Pruitt the instant she snapped the last picture. She laughed as she handed out the candy she’d promised. A group of moms had gotten together and brought their homeschooled children for their fall “class” photo.

  The smallest of the children, a boy with floppy red hair and big green eyes, touched the camera. “Can we see the picture, Miss Mandy?”

  She placed one hand on his shoulder and gestured for the other children to come around behind her with the other. “If you’re very still, I’ll show you what I have here. It’ll look a little different after it’s developed.”

  Mandy enjoyed her job of being a children’s photographer at the Small World Portrait Studio on Market Street in Wheeling, West Virginia. A year ago, jobs were scarce, so she’d resorted to walking up and down Market Street, handing out copies of her résumé to anyone who’d take one. The former photographer had just walked out the day before, and the manager was stuck snapping pictures of unruly children.

  As soon as she’d walked into the studio, one of the children in the Sunday school class she taught at church recognized her. “Miss Mandy!”

  “Hey, Bailey!”

  “What are you doing here?” Bailey had glanced around behind her. “Are you getting your picture took?”

  “No,” she’d told him. “I’m not getting my picture taken. I’m here to apply for a job.”

  When the manager saw her instant rapport with the pint-sized set, he hired her on the spot. “All we have to do is a background check, and you’ve got yourself a job photographing kids,” he told her. “I’ll put a rush on it, and you’ll hear back from me in the next couple of days.”

  “Um. . .” Her mindless scattering of résumés had landed her a job she had no idea how to do. “I’m not exactly an experienced photographer.” She’d been thinking more along the lines of receptionist since her degree in business didn’t seem to matter.

  He’d snickered. “That’s fine. We train our photographers.”

  “Are you sure?”

  The manager rocked back on his heels and studied her with a narrowed gaze. “Do you want a job or not?”

  “Oh, yes, of course I do.”

  “Good.” The man smiled. “As soon as we have the required background check in, I’ll call, and you can start right away. I’ll teach you how to use the equipment. Shouldn’t take more than a day or two.”

  The squirminess of the children now surrounding her jolted her back to the moment. “Miss Mandy, can I have another piece of candy? Tyler took mine.”

  Mandy leveled the tallest boy with a stern gaze. “Tyler, keep your hands to yourself.” She reached into the bag and pulled out another piece of candy for the girl. “Here ya go, Mackenzie. Why don’t you save it for later?”

  Mackenzie nodded and turned toward the waiting room mothers. “Mommy, looky what Miss Mandy gave us.”

  After the children left, Mandy went to the front desk and checked the appointment book. She didn’t have another sitting for a couple of hours, but she was the only person in the studio, and she couldn’t leave since they took walk-ins.

  ❧

  Tony Mancini stood directly across the street from the studio and watched the pretty woman with the short blond hair and expressive eyes work her magic. He’d been told what a dynamo Mandy Pruitt was. If this was Mandy, her reputation didn’t do her justice. She was a magician as far as he could tell. As the children filed out of the studio, they all waved and hollered their good-byes, while she smiled and waved back. After they were gone, she didn’t drop the smile, but he saw her shoulders lift and fall in what appeared to be a deep sigh. The woman obviously enjoyed her job.

  Tony didn’t want to manage a studio, but he’d been warned when he first left and joined the army after college. His mother’s brother Edward had always wanted his own son, Ricco, and nephew, Tony, to take over the company, but at that time, it wasn’t what Tony had wanted. Things had changed. His father had passed away, and Tony had gotten out of the army. Now he’d have to do his time and prove his commitment to the family, starting at the store level.

  Movement in the studio captured his attention once again. Mandy had the phone at her ear while she jotted something down. He watched as her expression changed. Tony decided it was time to quit standing on the sidewalk staring and go on inside. He squared his shoulders, set his jaw, and headed for the entrance.

  Mandy glanced up as he entered. “May I help you?”

  Tony stopped at the counter and nodded. “Yes, I’m Tony Mancini, and I’ll be working with you.” He pulled out his company ID and showed it to her.

  She frowned. “I just found out you were coming. Sorry I didn’t have more time to prepare.” Her voice cracked, and she stopped talking. “Ever since Parker left, it’s just been me and a couple of part-timers. I wish someone had told me before today I was getting help.”

  “I’m not just here to help out,” he said before she buried herself any further. She obviously didn’t know he was related to the owners. He resented having to take this job, but he didn’t want to take it out on her. “I’m the new manager.”

  She blinked as the surprise registered on her face. She didn’t look any happier than he felt. “Did you come from another Small World studio?”

  He shook his head. “No, I just finished a few weeks of crash training at the home office, and they sent me here.”

  “Oh.” She looked down, and her shoulders sagged.

  “But I have photography experience. I was a photographer back in college, and I did a little stringing for newspapers on the side, but it was mostly journalistic work.”

  She didn’t even try to smile when she looked back up at him. “Like car wrecks and stuff?”

  He couldn’t help but grin, in spite of the tension. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Then you should do just fine.”

  At least she had a sense of humor.

  ❧

  The one thing that annoyed her most about the Small World company was how they never let the store personnel know their next move. As annoyed as she was, she didn’t want to risk her job, so she forced a smile.

  “Oh, by the way, my name is Mandy Pruitt, and I’ve been here about a year.”

  His instant smile was warm, and she wanted to like him. “Nice to meet you, Mandy Pruitt.” He extended his hand.

  She wiped her palm on the side of her slacks before taking Tony’s. His handshake was firm and quick.

  “Mind if I take a look around?” he asked.

  “C’mon, let me give you a tour of the place.” She turned and walked toward the back, hoping he’d follow. The soft sound of footsteps behind her let her know he wasn’t far behind. Suddenly, she heard a thumping sound, so she spun around in time to see him catch himself a
fter nearly tripping over a stuffed animal. “Sorry,” she said as she bent over to pick it up. “Kids leave things—”

  He held up his hands. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Their gazes locked, and her voice stuck in her throat. She quickly glanced away.

  “Nice,” he said, breaking the silence. “It looks just like the studio in the home office.”

  “It is.” When she met his gaze again, she saw a flash of something—concern, maybe?

  Tony opened his mouth to say something, when the phone rang. He nodded to the chirping receiver in her hand. “Don’t let me keep you from your work.”

  Mandy pushed the talk button and lifted the phone to her ear as Tony added some distance between them. “Small World, this is Mandy. How may I help you?”

  “I’m stranded, and I don’t know what to do. Mom said to call you.”

  It sounded like her sister. “Christina?”

  “Yeah, Joe told me he didn’t want anything to do with me anymore, and I couldn’t get an acting job, so here I am, stuck in LA, no job, no boyfriend, and I can’t pay my rent.”

  Christina had the worst timing possible. “Do you have a way to come to West Virginia?”

  “No, I’m flat broke.” She sniffled. “I really wanna come home. I should have listened to you and Dad about how hard it was to make a living in Hollywood.”

  Mandy only paused for a second before making a de-cision. “I’ll order you a ticket, and you can pick it up at the airport.”

  “Thanks, Mandy. I promise I’ll pay you back.”

  “Ssh, don’t worry about that now, hon. I know you’d do the same for me. I’ll call you after I book your flight.”

  “Can you do it now? I don’t have a place to stay tonight. I–I’ve been evicted.”

  “Um. . .” Mandy glanced up at Tony, who’d once again backed away. “Sure.”After Mandy hung up, she gave Tony an apologetic look. “I have a family situation.”

  “Better handle it then. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She made a beeline for the front desk to book Christina’s flight. She felt Tony’s presence as he joined her.

  Mandy was embarrassed. “I don’t do this kind of thing often, but my sister is stranded in California, and I have to buy her a ticket home.”

  Tony grinned. “The two of you must be close. Have you always gotten along?”

  “If you don’t count the childish squabbles we used to have in the backseat on long family car trips, yes. We’re very close.”

  “Good. I’ll just look around some more while you take care of this.” Still smiling, he turned and left.

  As Mandy went to the airline Web site, she thought about how nice Tony seemed to be—or was at least trying to be. If she’d met him anywhere but work, she would have wanted to find out more about him—like whether or not he was a Christian, and if so, was he married. But as a co-worker, the married part didn’t matter because she had no intention of having an office romance.

  It only took her a couple of minutes to book Christina’s flight and make a brief phone call to let her know. As soon as Mandy finished her family business, she joined Tony.

  “So what do you think?” she asked.

  “Looks like you’ve done an excellent job of keeping this place running. I heard you haven’t had a manager in more than a month.”

  Mandy wasn’t about to tell him she was applying for the manager position. Last time she’d brought it up to Ricco, the corporate regional manager, she’d been advised to wait until it was posted companywide.

  “Are you always here with your part-timers?” he continued.

  She shook her head. “Not always, but they’re both very good and reliable. I can leave either of them alone, but during the busy times, I try to schedule two people.” She paused and made a face. “I’m here as much as I can be, though.”

  “That must be challenging.” He rubbed his chin as he turned and scoped everything out. “Now that I’m here, I hope you’re able to relax and maybe take some time off.”

  “I’m relaxed.”

  He nodded toward the white knuckles of her hands folded in front of her. “Oh yeah?”

  “I’m fine,” she said as she dropped her hands to her side, her voice tight and squeaky. She cleared her throat. “I’m a very organized person.”

  He studied her for several seconds before nodding. “That’s nice.”

  The way he looked at her was unsettling. “I, uh. . .I need to go back to the front desk. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “I’ll be up there in a few minutes. Ricco said to give him a call after we met.”

  Once Mandy was alone, she tried to force her nerves to calm down, but they were still jangled. She never liked surprises like this.

  The second line on the phone at the desk was lit up, meaning Tony was still on with Ricco. She was tempted to call Ricco’s assistant to ask what was going on, but she refrained. Too many people knowing her insecurities would only make things worse.

  Since the next appointment wasn’t due for another hour, she busied herself filing cards and organizing the desk. School was in session, and it was too close to lunchtime to expect preschooler walk-ins.

  The sound of Tony’s voice startled her. “Got a minute for a quick chat?”

  “Now?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  Her heart pounded. Here it was, the reason he suddenly appeared without warning. She swallowed hard and nodded. “Here or in the office?”

  “Here is fine.”

  She took the liberty of studying his face as he gathered his thoughts. Thick eyebrows hooded his deep-set dark eyes. His jawline was strong, and his temples pulsed when he wasn’t talking.

  “So what did you want to discuss?”

  He lifted the top sheet from the notepad and pulled out a slip of paper she recognized. The one she’d jotted her to-do list on. And that included—oh no. Her heart sank.

  “I see that you were going to apply for the manager’s position,” he said softly.

  Mandy’s mouth went dry. She nodded. There was no point in denying she wanted the title and pay to go with what she’d been doing since Parker had left. If she’d known someone else was coming, she wouldn’t have left it by the phone in the office.

  “I wasn’t trying to snoop,” he said. “It was right there in front of me.”

  “That’s okay.” What else could she have said?

  “Sorry.”

  The straight line of his lips and his sympathetic gaze made her stomach churn. She hated people feeling sorry for her.

  “There’s something I think you should know about me,” he said.

  “Really?” Her own sarcasm surprised her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound so. . .”

  He smiled sympathetically. “That’s okay. This is very awk-ward, and I understand, but there’s a reason I was brought here. You see, I’m—well, Edward is my uncle.”

  “Edward?” she asked as realization dawned on her. “As in Edward Rossi, founder and president of Small World?”

  “Yep, that’s the one.”

  She couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “I didn’t really want this job,” he went on, “and I don’t expect to be here long, so I’ll make sure to put in a good word when they move me back to Atlanta.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t dare say anything else, or she’d risk sounding surly.

  As conflicting thoughts continued to collide in her head, Tony jotted down a few things on his pad. She wanted to grab his pencil, break it in two, then snatch the notepad and read what he was writing about her.

  He stopped writing and looked directly at her. “If it’s any consolation, I’ve heard you’re one of the best photographers in the district.”

  ❧

  Tony knew he shouldn’t continue standing there staring at her while she processed what he’d just said. She needed time alone.

  “I have a few things to do, so I’ll be in the office. If you need me, just holler.”
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  “I’ll be fine.”

  He offered a smile. “I’m sure you will.” After he took a few steps toward the office, he stopped, turned, and waited for her to look up. “Mandy, I’m sure someday you’ll make an excellent manager. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”

  Her lips quivered for a split second before she nodded. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a squeak.

  “If you need some time off, let me know, okay?”

  Her face looked stricken. “Why would I need time off?”

  “I’m just saying. . .”

  “I don’t.”

  She took a step back and slammed into the corner of the wall. Tony instinctively reached for her as she rubbed her shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” she said softly before glancing at his hand resting on her arm.

  He quickly pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket. “That’s fine. I just wanted to let you know it’s okay if you need time to think about things.”

  There wasn’t even the hint of a smile on her pretty face as she stood there staring at him with those wide, long-lash-framed hazel eyes.

  Tony didn’t want to torture her, so he added, “After I get acclimated to the place, I’ll need to start interviewing for another full-time photographer. Since you’ll be training the person, I’d like for you to participate.”

  She didn’t say a word, so he took off for the office. This had been much more difficult than he’d anticipated.

  He closed the door behind him and hesitated as he looked around the room. Mandy had all but made the space her own.

  A trio of butterfly prints adorned one wall, while a collage of portraits, probably from this very studio, hung on the adjacent wall. A small dish of pastel mints rested on the corner of the desk—behind the vase of spring flowers.

  His first inclination was to remove some of the feminine touches, but he paused and closed his eyes. Lord, guide me in how to handle this situation. Mandy is obviously distressed, and rightfully so. I don’t want to upset her, but I want to do well with the job I’ve been hired to do. Oh, and while You’re at it, help me work on my attitude about being where I don’t want to be.