Chapter 29
ADRIAN
“Come on, we’re already late.” Sebastian grabbed my arm, pulling me away from where I’d been reviewing the final lighting cues with the technical director.
“Late for what?”
“Press photos. You know, the thing we scheduled two weeks ago that you apparently forgot about?” He dragged me toward a section of the gardens where I could see lights had been set up, photographers gathering with their equipment.
“I didn’t forget. I just had more important things to do. I’m taking care of the details you should be handling.”
“Everything is handled, Adrian. The show is going to be perfect. Now come smile pretty for the cameras so we can get some good publicity.”
I walked with him and spotted a few familiar faces from the American press. We usually didn’t have an issue with bad press, but I wanted to protect Elizabeth as much as I could. She didn’t need the bullshit questions meant to antagonize.
Our PR people would have provided all invited press with the basic information as well as questions that were off limits. My brothers and I always did our best to keep our personal lives out of the interviews. That and internal issues were not up for debate.
But then I introduced Elizabeth to the world and that opened the door for those personal questions we all hated.
The moment the press saw us, they exploded with questions. I ignored them and allowed Sebastian to position me wherever. I had to remember this was his rodeo. I was just along for the ride.
At least that’s what I was going to try and do.
He positioned me next to him in front of a backdrop featuring the Blackwell logo. Sebastian patted my back and leaned close. “Try to look happy. You’re supposed to be celebrating love, remember?”
I arranged my face into something approximating pleasant as photographers began shouting.
“Adrian! Over here!”
“Sebastian, to your left!”
“Both of you, look this way!”
I’d done this a thousand times throughout my life.
I knew how to paste on the automatic smile and how to turn to catch the light.
I was not a professional model anymore, but I knew the poses that looked natural but were anything but.
My mind was already elsewhere, cataloging the seventeen things I still needed to check before the show started.
And I wondered where Elizabeth had gone.
I hadn’t seen her since she’d disappeared to find Annika over an hour ago.
The distance between us felt wrong somehow.
Like I was missing a limb. I liked having her close.
I liked being able to look at the back of the room or to my left and see her there.
Somehow, she had become like a security blanket.
I didn’t even want to think about what that meant. Couldn’t be anything good.
Movement to my right caught my attention. An assistant was ushering models over. They were some of the women who’d be walking in tonight’s show, all stunning in that particular way that fashion models were stunning. Tall, angular, otherworldly.
And they were basically naked.
I had seen the designs that would be in the show but seeing them on models was a whole new level.
They wore the dresses exactly as intended.
They were meant to tease and tantalize. When I glanced back at the media professionals, I knew the goal had been hit.
There were mouths hanging open and tongues practically dragging on the lawn.
The women positioned themselves around me and Sebastian. More than one boob brushed against my arm. I went through the motions. Smile. Pose. Let them drape themselves decoratively while cameras clicked.
One of them leaned into me, her cheek resting on my shoulder in a pose that probably looked intimate and romantic through the lens.
She was doing her best to make it look like we had just finished fucking or were about to.
Two of the models were pawing Sebastian.
He was of course leaning into the spectacle.
I was annoyed but not enough to make a scene. It was part of the job. The models were assets. Nothing more than props that were part of the visual story we were selling. Shoving them away would create awkward photos and awkward questions.
The cameras went crazy, the clicking intensifying. When the model trying to mount me finally pulled away, she moved to stand directly in front of me. I couldn’t avoid looking at her.
“You don’t even say hello?”
I looked at her properly for the first time.
Clara Moreau.
Fuck.
“Clara.” I kept my voice neutral, professional. “I didn’t realize you were walking tonight.”
“Sebastian called me personally.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Said he needed his best models for his big show. How could I say no?”
I was going to kill him.
Clara and I had a complicated history. If you could call a series of casual encounters over the course of a few months “history.” We’d hooked up at fashion events, shared hotel rooms during Fashion Weeks in various cities, maintained something that was convenient but never serious.
We texted. We never really had actual phone calls.
We were both too busy and usually on different continents.
It was just an easy thing. Very unserious.
At least, it had never been serious for me.
“It’s good to see you,” I said, the lie automatic. “If you’ll excuse me—”
“That’s it?” Her hand caught my arm. A year ago, that touch would have me dragging her into the nearest dark hallway for a quickie. But now, it made my skin crawl. “After everything, that’s all I get? It’s good to see me?”
“Clara, this isn’t the time.”
“You wouldn’t commit to me.” Her voice was low but heated, meant only for my ears even as cameras continued clicking around us. “You told me you weren’t ready for anything serious, that you needed to focus on the company, that relationships weren’t your priority.”
“That’s all true.”
“And now you’re engaged.” She laughed, the sound shrill enough to make me cringe. “I guess you’re fine getting married as long as it’s someone else. Someone new. Someone who isn’t me.”
The jealousy in her voice bled through every word. I could already see how this was going to play out. Clara wasn’t going to fade quietly into the background. She was going to make this difficult, dramatic, and oh so messy.
That’s what she did. She was always one to make a scene.
She was gorgeous, with legs to her ears.
It wasn’t hard for her to draw attention.
And like so many celebrities, she liked drama.
Good or bad publicity didn’t matter to her.
She was spoiled and used to getting her way.
Women who looked like her weren’t used to being told no.
“I’m done here,” I told Sebastian, not bothering to keep my voice down. “Handle the rest of this.”
“Adrian, we still have more—”
I was already walking away, leaving Clara standing there with whatever she’d been about to say dying on her lips.
I didn’t owe her an explanation. Didn’t owe her anything, actually.
What we’d had was casual. I was under no illusions she’d been faithful waiting for me to choose her.
I had very personal knowledge that was the farthest thing from the truth.
I mentally kicked myself. I should have known she’d show up here.
Clara was French, and hopping across the Channel for a high-profile gig was easy.
Sebastian probably hadn’t thought twice about booking her, probably hadn’t even mentioned it to me because why would he?
She was a professional who did good work.
The fact that she was also my ex was just an unfortunate complication.
I found Elizabeth in Annika’s makeshift workshop, the two of them bent over a sketchbook, talking in low, animated voices. They both looked up when I entered.
She took one look at me and frowned. She immediately walked to me. I liked that. Even when she was angry with me, she could read me and wanted to help. “Hey, everything okay?”
“Fine. Mostly fine.” I moved closer, lowering my voice even though Annika could definitely still hear. “Listen, I need to tell you something.”
There were other models in the room getting dressed or sucking on green juices.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“My ex is here.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose. “Your ex?”
“Clara Moreau. She’s a model, one of the ones walking tonight.
She just ambushed me during the press photos, and I can only imagine what the headlines are going to be.
” I reached for her hand, needing the contact.
“I wanted to warn you in case she tries something dramatic. She’s not happy about our engagement. ”
“Was it serious?” Elizabeth asked. “Between you two?”
“No. At least, not for me. We hooked up occasionally when we were in the same city, but it was never exclusive, never discussed as anything long-term.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Apparently she had different expectations. Or so she says now.”
Elizabeth slowly nodded. “I see. And she’s upset you’re engaged to someone else.”
“Very upset. Which means she might try to cause problems.” I squeezed her hand. “I just wanted you to know. She means nothing to me, Elizabeth. Nothing. So no matter what happens, please don’t be jealous. Don’t let anything she says or does get to you.”
Something shifted in Elizabeth’s expression, her smile turning brittle. Her eyes cold. “How can I be jealous if this is just pretend?”
Ouch.
Just pretend. Right. Because that’s what we agreed on. A business arrangement, a PR strategy, a fake engagement with a clear expiration date.
“Right,” I said with a nod. “Pretend. So there’s nothing to be jealous about.”
“Exactly.” She pulled her hand from mine. “I need to help Annika get the rest of them dressed.”
“Elizabeth—”
“It’s fine, Adrian. Really.” But her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m not worried about your ex. She’s free to hate me. I don’t care.”
She turned away before I could respond, immediately engaging Annika in conversation.
She’d thrown my own arrangement back in my face.
Dammit, it hurt.
“I’ll see you at the show,” I said to Elizabeth’s back.
She nodded but didn’t turn around. Didn’t give me another chance to see her face.
I left the workshop and headed back toward the main preparations, my mind spinning.
I was jealous. I had been jealous when I’d seen her talking to Chris. I nearly kicked his ass before I even saw his face. I had felt possessive when I’d watched other men look at her during interviews. I’d felt all the things I had no right to feel in a fake relationship.
But Elizabeth had just made it clear she didn’t feel the same way. For her, this was still business. It was a means to an end. She wanted the job I offered. Her big break.
Maybe Sebastian was wrong. Maybe I’d read too much into the way she looked at me. The heat between us was just physical attraction. I fooled myself into thinking it was something more.
“Adrian!” One of the production assistants flagged me down. “We’ve got an issue and Sebastian disappeared.”
I rolled my eyes. He didn’t disappear. He was in a dark closet with one or two models. I would bet money on it.
I needed to focus. I just had to make it through the rest of Love Week and then figure out what the hell to do about the mess my heart had made.
Just a few more days.
I could survive a few more days.