# Read the first page of One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune Read the opening of One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune free, no signup. A photographer returns to the lake of her youth. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/one-golden-summer-carley-fortune - Genre: Contemporary romance - Year: 2026 - ISBN: 9780593638910 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9780735247314&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9780593638910 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9780593638910 ## The opening A great photograph makes you think you know the subject, even if you've never met. A great photo reaches out and pulls you inside the moment, so you can feel, smell, and taste it. And this, by all accounts, is a great photo. I stare at it, and just like that, I'm seventeen. I hear them across the bay. It's the end of summer, and those three voices are as familiar to me as the weight of the camera between my hands. The older boy is calling out to the other two—his brother and the girl, who lie on the floating raft in their bathing suits, sunny-side up. I've been at the cottage since the end of June, watching them swim and flirt and fly around the lake in their yellow speedboat. Each of them is beautiful. So sunkissed and free. They climb into the boat. The oldest drives. His brother and the girl sit in the front. I stand on the edge of the dock, adjusting the aperture. It happens in the shortest blink of time. I hear the boat. Their laughter over the engine. I look up to see them heading toward me. I bury myself behind the lens. They enter the frame. Click. THEY ARE FIVE OF THE MOST STUNNING WOMEN I've ever seen. It has nothing to do with the lighting or how much time they've spent in hair and makeup. It's the genuine smiles on their faces. The fan is blowing, the music is loud, and the photo editor oohs as she watches the images load onto my laptop screen. I don't need a glimpse to know they're spectacular. I can feel it with every press of the shutter. I'll crash later, alone in my empty condo, but right now I'm in my element. When I'm behind a lens, I can draw out a sly grin or a slight tilt of the chin. I'm in command. It's one of the reasons I've been working so much lately. I need this feeling. The buzz of a perfectly humming set is my high. The youngest woman is in her twenties, the eldest in her seventies, and none of them are professional models. It took time to earn their trust when they arrived at my studio. If anyone understands how nerve-racking it can feel to have your photo taken, it's me. Now, the women dance and pose in bathing suits without a shred of self-consciousness. Their stretch marks, wrinkles, and cellulite are on display, emblems of their lives given due reverence in each frame. “It’s going to be impossible to make selects,” Willa, the photo editor, says once we wrap. We’re standing shoulder to shoulder, scrolling through the images on my computer. The best will run in Swish, a weekly style magazine that debuted this spring. “There are so many great shots, Alice.” “I’m glad you think so,” I say, beaming. I’ve never worked with Willa before, and I want to wow her. Swish is distributed in the country’s largest paper, and it’s all my industry friends can talk about. This is my first gig for the magazine, and I want to nail it. Magazine work doesn’t pay very well, but it’s far more creative than what I get to do with my commercial clients—it’s also increasingly rare. I pause on a shot of Monica, a new mom who was the most nervous of the group. Her head is thrown back and her arms are flung out. It’s a moment of pure joy. “We have two weeks for you to file,” Willa says. “No problem.” This will be a low-touch edit. The assignment brief described it as a “refreshingly real” swimwear shoot with “regular people” showcasing the looks. It’s another reason I was excited about the job: no aggressive photoshopping. “I’ll just fix the flyaways and blemishes. It’ll be fast.” ## Books with a similar feel - [Rootbound by Tarah DeWitt](https://uncovered.ink/read/rootbound-tarah-dewitt.md) - [Great And Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros](https://uncovered.ink/read/great-and-precious-things-rebecca-yarros.md) - [People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry](https://uncovered.ink/read/people-we-meet-on-vacation-emily-henry.md) - [Searching for Beautiful by Jennifer Probst](https://uncovered.ink/read/searching-for-beautiful-jennifer-probst.md) - [Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood](https://uncovered.ink/read/not-in-love-ali-hazelwood.md) - [And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison](https://uncovered.ink/read/and-now-back-to-you-b-k-borison.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.