Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The pictures of the guesthouse Sheila had helped to select looked absolutely perfect. It was right on the beach, and the interior images showed that it had been tastefully decorated.
Camille appreciated the calm blue, white, and pale beige color scheme of the furnishings. It spoke of a relaxing place where she and Ryan could spend the weekend away from the city. Where she could tap back into her empty soul, and come up with a design concept for the runway show.
It was odd that it had taken someone like Ryan to finally make her see what had been staring her right in the face all this time. She wasn’t on the verge of burning out, she was already well past that point. But instead of acknowledging it, she’d ignored all the signs and kept going.
Seated cross legged on the couch in her living room Camille stared at her laptop. After checking the email Ryan had forwarded about the beach house, she’d gone back to looking at the flat lay designs of her upcoming collection.
She clicked back and forth through the images of the fifteen pieces which currently comprised her New York Fashion week collection; all the while fighting a rising wave of panic. Her work was good. Classic. The sort of thing which would provide her customers with years of dependable wear.
But where was the magic?
Raking her fingers through her long blonde locks, she quietly swore in her native tongue. “C'est une catastrophe.”
There was nothing in her collection which spoke to the Cinderella in the City theme of the show. Nothing that would have the bloggers or influencers writing pithy pieces about her collection on social media.
If they say my work is good, but boring, I’ll die.
“So what do you think of the place I booked?”
She blinked back hot tears and turned to Ryan. He was standing in the doorway of the living room, a pensive expression on his face. He was worried. Worried about her.
“It’s very nice. I’m sure it will do just fine.”
As he moved into the room, she set her laptop aside and rose from the couch.
He came to stand in front her, closer than he’d been since that day their bodies had been pressed together on the sidewalk. His gaze searched her face for answers she knew she didn’t have. But what if this man was the answer to a lifetime of unresolved questions?
“What’s wrong Camille? If you don’t like the beach place, I can speak to Sheila and cancel the booking. We can find somewhere else for us to go.” She didn’t resist when he took a hold of her hand. “But I don’t think that’s the problem, is it?”
She let out a tired sigh. “My new collection is terrible. Not bad terrible, just bland. Which I think might actually be worse. I’ve never considered presenting anything which makes my heart hurt like those garments do. I’m wondering if I should just call the manufacturer and cancel the production order.”
“But you’ve worked so hard on them. How can you suddenly decide you hate your designs?” he said. The genuine surprise in Ryan’s voice tore at her. Where he probably saw a few suits and some pretty dresses, she saw only failure.
It was going to take more than a couple of days at the beach to fix this impending disaster.
Thank god I saw the truth before fashion week.
Camille could just see the write up in the media.
Yawn. A fashion misstep for a rising star. Dull and dreadful. Camille Royal has resigned herself to designing for the masses.
That last one she could handle. She wanted everyday American women to wear her clothes. But she didn’t want them looking drab or frumpy in her creations.
She gathered her thoughts. It might be tempting to let panic overwhelm her, but it wouldn’t solve her problems.
What did Bryce say when he faced these sorts of moments? Work the problem. Stop. Look. Determine where the issue lay, then calmly set about trying to find a way forward.
“Could we perhaps look to rent the beach house for a week?” she asked.
If she brought one of her mannequins with her, and some rolls of muslin, she might be able to come up with a few extra pieces for the collection. Pieces which not only spoke to the Cinderella in the City theme, but also sparked joy once more in her. It would take a lot of work.
But I can do it. I have to save this collection.
Tight deadlines were not something entirely new to her. Heaven knew her father had sprung enough of them on her and Sophie over the years. Francois wasn’t above waking his daughters in the middle of the night if he’d been struck by a wonderful inspiration. Some of his biggest successes had been born on the back of a linen napkin in a Parisian restaurant. Coming to life a matter of hours later as a fully mocked up design in his atelier.
If she had to put in some insane hours to get the show collection back on track, then so be it. But if she took that course, then it made sense not to be travelling back and forth between Fire Island and NYC.
Ryan brushed a reassuring hand over Camille’s. “Let me see what I can do about extending the booking.” He went to turn away, then came back to her. Their gazes met once more. “Anything you need me to do between now and the show, you only have to ask.”
Camille nodded, but he didn’t move. “I mean it Camille. This show is important to you. It has to be a success. If you need me to go and get fabric at two am, I will do it. Just promise me you won’t go changing any of the completed designs. I think they are amazing, and I think you would be angry with yourself if you went and did anything reckless like cancelling the production order.”
The fact that she had even considered doing such a thing spoke volumes for how badly she’d burned out.
I love every one of those pieces. They really do work.
She just needed to come up with a couple of extra pieces to make the collection work with the fashion show theme. Along with the runway design which would tie it all into the main theme.
Ryan disappeared back upstairs to the studio. When he returned a few minutes later, a soft smile sat on his lips. “I got us two weeks. I figured you might need longer than a couple of days to start coming up with new concepts, and a week wouldn’t be enough.”
That he’d actually considered how her design process might work had Camille swallowing down a lump of unexpected emotion. Hope had always done what she’d been asked, but rarely offered up her own opinion.
She liked how Ryan had made it his business to think beyond the boundaries of his job description. He was making himself indispensable.
Us. He said us.
Camille pushed that thought away. It would be the height of stupidity to start thinking that Ryan might want to stay on after the end of his contract.
Or that he might be starting to have the same feelings about her that she did for him. The same soul deep attraction.
This is a work trip, not a vacation. We need more boundaries.
“Thanks Ryan. Two weeks sounds great. Though of course I don’t expect you to stay beyond Friday afternoon on any of those weeks. I’ll make sure you are able to get back to the city by Friday night, and then you’ll have your weekend all to yourself.”
His brows knitted in obvious confusion. “Why wouldn’t you want me to stay over on the weekend?”
Because the thought of you and I in a secluded beach house is giving me all sorts of stupid and wild ideas.
“You have your life. I shouldn’t ask for you to give up all of your free time just for me. If I have my design books, some muslin, and the dressmakers dummy at the house, I’ll be more than happy to work on my own.”
He held her gaze for a long moment. The chuckle which escaped his lips went straight to her sex.
“No you won’t. You’ll be thoroughly miserable, and wishing I was with you.”
She went to protest, but he pressed his finger gently to her lips. “Let’s not talk about sending me home from the beach. I’m staying the whole two weeks, end of discussion.”
It took all her strength not to open her lips and brush her tongue on his fingertip. As Ryan took a step back, Camille dropped her gaze to the floor.
She searched the pattern of the living room rug for answers, but nothing came. It was no surprise. She doubted the universe could solve the problem she was about to face head on.
How was she going to spend the next two weeks with Ryan—her old reality tv crush turned real–life fantasy—and not make a complete fool of herself?