Chapter 24
chapter twenty-four
MARISOL
“I am so excited to have you here today! Thank you so much for taking a chance on me and Sirena Swim,” says Leila, the influencer whose bikinis I’ll be modeling today. I ignore the way the name reminds me of the club where I was drugged.
“Thank you for having me,” I reply.
This is my first photoshoot in a long time, and I can’t help but feel uneasy.
I know that my muscle memory will come back to me once I’m in front of the camera, but I also used to work out religiously before a shoot and watch what I was eating.
I haven’t had time for that recently, and I’m nervous about how these photos are going to turn out—and how they’re going to be received.
Leila smiles in response as we walk down the beach to a rocky cove hidden in the corner. It’s a beautiful backdrop. “I’ll introduce you to the other models,” she says. “This is our photographer, Elio.”
“Marisol.” Elio moves to pull me into a hug, and a little drop of that uneasiness falls away.
I laugh. “Hi, Elio.”
“You know each other?” Leila asks.
“Ovvio!” Elio says, holding my hands. “Marisol is one of my favorite people to shoot. The most beautiful,” he adds, and I roll my eyes. I used to work with Elio often, one of the few photographers who manages to get photos of me that I actually like.
Leila smiles like all of her wildest dreams are unfolding in front of her eyes, and I can only imagine the feeling. Today has to go well. For her, if nothing else. “Even better.”
Elio blows me a kiss as Leila leads me toward the other models, but as we approach them, I catch sight of a head of styled blond hair that I recognize all too well.
You have got to be kidding me.
“This is Marisol, everyone.” Leila introduces me to the group of models, and considering I know Elio, I don’t recognize any of them, none except the woman standing hand in hand with Jack.
She’s beautiful up close, her tightly coiled black hair falling down her back.
She’s wearing an olive green knit cover-up, one that complements her umber skin so beautifully.
“This is Isabella, Anna, Lucia, and Julia, and her agent, Jack,” Leila says.
“We’ve met,” Jack says, sending a sly grin my way that forces a shiver up my spine.
“Oh, good!” Leila says, completely oblivious to the situation in front of her. “Well, I’ve got your swimsuits set out over here,” she carries on. “There’s a changing room set up around the corner for you girls. Grab your first set, and we can get started.”
I move to walk past Jack, but I can’t ignore the way he says, “And so we meet again.” I clench my jaw as I push past him, moving over to where a rack stands in the sand, swimsuits grouped and named.
“I’m sorry,” the model beside me—Isabella, I think—says.
My brows pull together as I reach for the swimsuit with my name on it, not sure if she’s talking to me.
“It’s not enough that he dragged your name through the mud, but now he has to be in the spaces you are trying to create for yourself to climb back up the ladder.
” My mouth falls open as I look at her. She smiles softly.
“Leila might not have a clue who he is, but you have friends here. Don’t worry.
” Her hand lands on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze before she makes her way to the pop-up changing room.
“Thank you,” I say to the footsteps she leaves behind in the sand.
* * *
I smile wide as Isabella looks over her preview shots with Elio. They’re beautiful, and Leila is more than excited about how the shoot is coming together.
“You’re up, Marisol,” she says with an explosion of little claps.
I slide my cover-up off, my stomach churning as I walk with Leila while she explains the shots she has in mind. “But I want this to be natural,” she adds. “So move freely. Do whatever works for you and makes you feel good. That’s what will make the shot.”
I can do that.
Leila skips over to the monitor beside Elio. Isabella gives me a reassuring nod, and I take a deep breath. Then I move. I do as Leila said, moving freely as I pose, hooking my finger under the straps of the bikini bottoms. “That’s incredible, dolcezza,” Elio calls out.
I smile as I feel the sun on my skin, allowing myself to soak up this moment, this feeling of confidence flowing through me.
But when I open my eyes again, the first thing I see is Jack.
He stands with Julia, one hand holding his chin as he watches me, his eyes roaming all over my body, and I feel a surge of nausea.
All of my confidence drains from my body.
He says something to Julia, and she laughs, and I swear my stomach drops so far, it lands in the sand beneath me.
I shuffle on my feet, trying to change my position, but everything feels unnatural all of a sudden, awkward. I feel the air change around me, and I can see the sudden apprehension in Leila’s gaze. “Just relax, Marisol, you look beautiful.”
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. He’s just a man. A fucking vile weasel who likes to ruin people’s lives for the fucking fun of it. But he’s still just a man. A man who doesn’t deserve any more of my energy than what he’s already sucked from me.
Jack moves to Leila’s side. “Maybe she needs some direction. That can help in these kinds of situations.”
“Oh, vaffanculo, Jack,” Elio spits from behind the camera, and if I was tense before, I don’t know what word to use to describe how I feel right now. He is taking every single opportunity to make me look bad, to make me feel like I’m nothing but dirt he kicked from his shoe, and it’s working.
I hate myself for it. I wish I could block him out, but he used to be the one person who controlled all of my emotions.
He was there for all of the ups, and he held me in the downs.
He was the one who told me about my wins, and he was the one who handed me the biggest loss on a silver fucking platter.
He has always had control over me. I just didn’t know it at the time.
Now I do, yet I still struggle to drag myself out from under his thumb.
“Alright.” Leila holds her hands up. “Maybe we should all take five.”
“Brilliant idea,” Isabella mutters, and that’s when I see him.
Black pants, a black polo, and strands of his black hair blowing in the light breeze as he walks through the sand. He’s like a beacon for the sun, every ray from the sky shining down on him, and every pair of eyes on set is glued to him, too.
“Who is that?” Anna whispers as she and Isabella come to stand beside me. His eyes lock on mine, and a tidal wave of relief floods through me. He’s not paying any attention to the camera or the other models. He’s locked in on me, like a sniper and their target.
“That’s her man,” Isabella says, and it pulls a grin across my face before I’m walking through the sand in his direction. We meet somewhere in the middle, and he pulls me into his chest like holding me might save him.
“Hi.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head as I sink into his embrace.
“Hi.”
“You okay? Eva called. She told me Jack would be here, and I had to come to see you. I’m sorry if it’s weird that I’m here or—”
“I’m glad you’re here,” I say before pulling back to look up at him, and he looks as tortured as he did last night when he woke from a nightmare. I reach up, my hand landing on his bicep, and I squeeze. “I’m okay.”
Leo pushes my hair back with his hands, cradling my head. “You’re sure?”
That pulls a smile to my lips. “Definitely better now.” And now he’s smiling too.
I hear a click somewhere in my periphery, and when I drag my eyes away from the man in front of me, I see Elio to our side, camera in hand. “Elio!”
He chuckles, walking toward us. “Look, when I see a good shot, I have to take it, and you two are incredibly photogenic.”
He turns the little display screen, and I see it—us.
My hair flows perfectly through Leo’s grasp, his hands so big they fit entirely around the back of my head.
His blue eyes shine in the sunlight as he looks down at me, and there’s a whisper of a smile on my lips.
I don’t think I’ve ever loved a photo more.
“I think this is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen you, dolcezza.” Elio raises a brow at me before he slinks away, leaving Leo grinning down at me.
I roll my eyes. “Oh god, don’t go getting a big head.
” He chuckles before he looks over my head at the scene behind me, and I have an irrational urge to force his gaze back to me, lest he look at any of the women behind me in their bikinis.
Women who have curves and flat stomachs, and make it look effortless.
“Marisol.” Leila appears at my side. “I’m sorry,” she says, turning her gaze to Leo. “But this is a private shoot. I’m going to have to ask you to leave before we can carry on.”
When I think Leo will politely nod and be on his way, his jaw hardens. “You see that guy over there?” He points to Jack, and Leila frowns as she nods. “Not a good guy. In fact, one that likes to prey on young models. If he’s here, I’m here.”
Leila’s mouth falls open. “Well, I can’t just tell him to leave. His client is a part of the shoot.”
“Then you’re stuck with me, too. I’m not going anywhere so long as he’s in the vicinity.” Leila looks to me as if she thinks I can help her here, but I now know better than to argue with Leo when he gets like this.
“I think he should stay.” Isabella’s voice comes from behind me, and I turn to see her and Anna approaching us. “Yeah, she’s his client,” she adds. “But Jack isn’t here because of that. None of our agents are here.” She gestures around us.
“I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable by adding another male presence,” Leila says, her voice weary. I know she’s simply looking out for her shoot; she doesn’t want this to turn on its head.
“If there’s a male presence making anyone uncomfortable,” Anna says, “it’s not this one.”
Leila nods. I know she’s evaluating all of this in her head.
This is her first time running something like this.
She’s in charge; every decision she makes affects the outcome of this entire production.
“Alright,” she nods. “James Bond stays, but any hint of confrontation between the two of you and you’re both out. ”
“Understood.” Leo nods.
“Good. Group shots in two minutes, girls,” she says, a hand on my shoulder before she finds her way back to Elio’s side.
“Thank you,” I say to Anna and Isabella. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, we did,” they echo. “He makes all of us uncomfortable. It might do us all some good for him to know he’s not the only guy here, aside from Elio,” Isabella says.
“Plus.” Anna shrugs. “Jack isn’t exactly giving us anything to work with in the eye candy department.”
I snort, and Leo grins shamelessly as the girls walk away. I smack him in the chest. “What did I say about not getting a big head?”
He catches my hand in his grasp and kisses the back of it, leaving me speechless. “Time for me to see you in action, covergirl.”
I feel heat rise in my cheeks. I should be nervous.
I’ve never modeled in front of anyone I know before.
Apart from Jack, that is. But all I feel is a little bit of exhilaration and the warmth of peace.
Leo makes me feel confident without saying a word about how I look.
I know he thinks I look good; his eyes tell me that.
But he also believes in me, and I think that might be what matters more.
I slip out of his grasp and make my way over to where Leila pulls Anna, Isabella, and me into a group shot, positioning us in different poses as Elio yells affirmations from behind the camera.
Leo finds his way over to him, watching the photos as they come up on the big screen Elio has set up.
He smiles as the girls and I laugh, comfortability falling between us easily as we work together.
And for once, I’m not in my head. I’m not overthinking every little movement, and I’m not worried if I look thin enough in every photo.
All I can focus on is the way Leo’s eyes glimmer with pride as he watches me work, like it’s a privilege to witness it.
I think I’m the privileged one, just to witness him.