Chapter Six #3
I turned and froze when I saw it was Jasper.
He stopped dead in the doorway when his gaze collided with my own.
My heart kicked into a sprint the minute our eyes met, and ice shards trickled down my spine as his dark-brown gaze began to rove hungrily over my face and my freshly styled hair.
Jasper licked his lips and appeared completely unabashed that he liked what he saw.
No, no, no . . . All my resolve I’d built against him of late began to fall away.
I flicked my hair off my shoulder, and finding my voice, tried to greet him normally.
“Jasper.” I discreetly let myself drink in my fill too—I couldn’t help it.
He was dressed in dark jeans and a plaid shirt with a KE-branded fleece gilet over the top.
The outfit was effortlessly stylish and screamed country gentleman.
I, however, became suddenly aware of being only in a dressing gown. A thin one at that.
In my dreams of late, in a scenario like this, this man would be pushing me against the wall, loosening the gown’s tie around my waist, and wrapping my legs around his hips.
He is your boss. He is your boss, I chanted to myself. Keep it professional.
“Ms. Oakley,” he eventually greeted, although tightly. It seemed keeping things professional between us was his goal too.
He stiffly nodded his head to leave when I couldn’t help but blurt out, “Hallie.” Jasper stopped dead and looked at me over his shoulder.
That was okay, right? Ms. Oakley just seemed so .
. . cold. We could remain professional and still be on a first-name basis.
Right? It seemed weird not to be. “Call me Hallie,” I repeated, confidently.
Jasper stalled for a second, whether in shock or something else, I didn’t know.
But he eventually gave me a single nod again and left, just as Sage walked in.
Her eyes bugged out of her head when she saw who had passed by.
“Jasper Knighton!?” she said, half question, half surprise. I had forgotten that Sage hadn’t seen Jasper at Golden Oaks yet.
“Jasper,” I echoed in confirmation, and busied myself looking at the clothes. Sage wasn’t having any of that bullshit and grabbed my arm.
“Um . . . Why aren’t you freaking out?” Her dark eyes searched mine.
“You just met your icon and teen crush, and you play it off nonchalantly?” I opened my mouth to say something when a knowing look came over her face.
“You’ve already met him! Before today.” It wasn’t a question.
The problem with having such a close friend was that, at times, they knew you better than you knew yourself.
Sage pulled me away from the door and into the privacy of a corner. “Spill.”
Sage had her arms folded across her chest in her I’m-taking-no-shit-from-you stance. “I briefly met him the other week when I was training with Leon.”
Her eyes narrowed at me and her head tipped to the side in assessment. “And why am I just hearing about this now?” She was right to be suspicious. If I had just met him then, I would have told Sage immediately.
“You need to tone down your animosity toward Atticus,” I fired at her. It was a shit move and I knew it. “Don’t jeopardize your place here because of your sour history with him.”
A pissed-off smirk was etched on Sage’s perfectly made-up face.
“Oh, interesting. You don’t want to talk, so you’re using my wrath toward Dickface against me.
” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and she cocked her hip at me.
“I’ll let you keep your secrets for now, lady, as we’re in a public place.
But I’m onto you, and you will be telling me everything.
” Sage leaned in so close I could smell every note of her sweet perfume. “All of it, Hals.”
“Okay,” I said in defeat. It had only been a matter of time anyway.
Marco came back into the room, followed by another member of the team. I’d met so many staff members of late my head was spinning—the Knighton family had a dizzying number of people in their employ. This lady was the KE head stylist, Audrey.
Ten minutes later and dressed in a butter-yellow, long-sleeve base layer and matching riding tights and black boots, I was led to the studio.
Sage was behind me, dressed in the same outfit but in scarlet.
The color suited her dark eyes and blond hair so well.
Atticus was already there, dressed in his signature black.
The photographer called us over and arranged us with Atticus in the center, Sage and me on either side of him.
“A rose between two thorns,” Atticus said when we were in position.
“Careful, fuckface, or I’ll prick you,” Sage replied between her teeth while smiling for the camera like a professional model.
“Oof. Is that a promise?” Atticus said, under his breath.
Sage growled.
It was gonna be a long day.
I told myself I’d never think modeling was an easy job again. Nine hours in and a billion outfit changes later, every muscle was screaming more than it ever had sitting in a saddle. My cheeks ached from smiling, and I wasn’t sure how I’d ride Hux tomorrow for the action shots.
Sarah refreshed my makeup for the billionth time while Jamie fluffed Sage’s hair and added another squirt of hair spray.
Even Atticus’s never-ending energy seemed to be waning.
He and Sage seemed to have agreed on a temporary ceasefire to their incessant bickering a couple of hours ago when we’d all begun to flag.
“Almost done,” Marco said, ticking something off his clipboard. It looked to be near the bottom of his list, which made me beyond relieved.
We crawled up from the break section sofas and posed one more time.
This time it was just me and Sage. Atticus was excluded from this shot, as we were dressed in the Team USA KE apparel.
We weren’t Team USA members yet, but as Americans, it made more sense to model those outfits.
Atticus already rode for Team GB, another notch on Sage’s rivalry checklist.
“I think that’s it,” Steve, the photographer, said.
I exhaled a long, relieved breath, when a voice from the back said, “No. I want Hallie on her own again.”
I squinted over the studio lights to a dark corner. But I didn’t need to see into that darkness to know who was there.
How long has he been watching?
Jasper stepped forward into the light. He’d lost his gilet and was in his jeans and plaid shirt, his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showcasing his muscled forearms. That sight shouldn’t have been as hot as it was.
Everyone in the room locked in on his commanding presence. He had an aura about him that made everyone stand up and listen. Marco cleared his throat, obviously intimidated. “We have gone through all the listed shots, sir,” he said nervously.
Jasper still hadn’t removed his piercing stare from me. I felt flushed and wasn’t sure if it was the heat of the lights or his attention. My heart kicked into a sprint, and I breathed slowly to try to calm it down. “I want single shots of Hallie,” he said, his voice brooking no argument.
Marco went a little pale as he said, “We only have Steve booked for the day and his hours are pretty much done.”
Jasper turned to Steve. “I’ll pay you double if you stay.”
Steve looked elated. “I can stay.”
“The car is outside for Hallie and Sage. To take them home,” Marco said, almost apologetically. “The driver can’t wait, as he has another booking tonight for a nearby wedding.”
Sage opened her mouth to say something when Jasper beat her to it and said, “I’ll take Hallie home. Sage can leave now as scheduled.”
My heart practically lurched out of my chest as he said that.
Jasper’s arms were crossed over his chest and his jaw clenched, as if he was internally warring with himself over his out-of-the-blue offer.
I’d noticed around me, his hands tended to tighten into fists.
As though he fought himself about any interaction with me.
Was he feeling similar feelings to me? At times, I thought I saw heat in his stare, but . . .
No. I couldn’t go there.
“Great!” Sage said overbrightly. I snapped my head to my best friend to find her grinning like the Cheshire cat. She squeezed my arm. “I’m wiped, Hals. You stay and get the extra shots, and Jasper can take you home when you’re done.” She discreetly winked at me.
I was going to kill her. I was actually going to murder my best friend.
“You can catch a ride with me, Miller. I have my car here too,” Atticus said.
Sage patted him on his hard chest as she passed him. “I’d rather eat a bowl full of horse shit than ride with you, darlin’, but thanks for the offer!” Sage left to get changed. Atticus watched her go, molten lava in his eyes.
“Catch you at home, Jas,” Atticus said with a wave, and made his exit too.
Then it was just the few of us left. My head was spinning. I stayed rooted to the spot, no idea what to do. I can do this, I told myself. Just get the shots and get home. He’s your boss. That’s it. This is just work. There’s nothing more to it.
Marco went to Jasper, and I heard him say, “What shot are you wanting to get, sir?”
“The main campaign shot,” Jasper said after a few silent seconds’ pause, and my eyes snapped to his. The main campaign? As in the lead shot that would be on billboards and magazines. On my own? I’d understood it would have been the three of us for the main shot when we were briefed.
Clearly Marco did too, as he said, “I thought that was the group shot? We got that a few hours ago.”
“I’ve changed my mind,” Jasper said, with all the authority of a crazy rich man who got whatever he wanted when it came to his brand.
“Okay,” Marco said, then asked, “And what will Hallie be wearing? We’ve used all the allotted garments.”
“All but one,” Jasper said. Marco frowned in confusion. “The new sample has just come in. I want her in that.”