Chapter 30
BERNADETTE
Standing in the wardrobe tent in just my underwear while Elizabeth and Annika fussed over which dress would work best, I questioned every decision that had led me to this moment. There were less than ten people on the planet that had seen me this naked.
I was shy at first, but they didn’t seem to notice the state of my undress. I knew Annika had probably seen thousands of mostly nude bodies. Maybe even fully nude, given some of the outfits she dressed the models in.
To them, it was just another day at the office. They weren’t looking at the scar on my thigh from when I fell off the swing when I was eight. They didn’t seem to notice the little pouch just below my belly button that would never go away no matter how many sit-ups I did.
They were too busy putting dresses on me, studying them and then taking them off me like I was their personal Barbie doll.
And once again, I thought about how insane the whole thing was.
I was the insurance representative. I was supposed to be monitoring the shoot, not participating in it.
My father would lose his mind if he found out.
He would probably fire me. And yet, when Sebastian had looked at me with those blue eyes and asked for my help, I couldn’t resist.
Of course I’d said yes. I’d been doomed from the moment he said please with that perfect mouth that had been on me just last night. I was pretty sure no one said no to him. It was impossible.
He asked me to be Venus. The goddess of beauty. Which was flattering in a way I couldn’t even process. I wasn’t beautiful—not like the models, not like the women Sebastian usually surrounded himself with. But he looked at me like I was.
I wasn’t made of stone. I couldn’t just ignore his attention. It was a very large dose of self-esteem. I probably could have picked up the whole damn island with how powerful he made me feel in that moment.
“This one,” Elizabeth said, pulling out a dress in shades of cream and pale gold that seemed to shimmer in the light. “It’s from the collection but hasn’t been photographed yet. It’s perfect.”
The dress was gorgeous, flowing and ethereal with a Grecian-inspired one-shoulder neckline.
The fabric was lightweight and whisper thin.
It wasn’t revealing but definitely more romantic than anything I’d ever worn.
The high neckline meant there would be no cleavage showing.
It went all the way to my ankles with a high slit that would only be shown if there was a breeze.
Truthfully, it was very conservative but it made me feel like a seductress. It was sensual and alluring.
“It’s beautiful,” I admitted.
“You’ll be beautiful in it,” Annika said firmly. “Now hold still while we get you into it.”
Getting dressed felt like being prepared for some kind of ritual. Elizabeth and Annika worked together adjusting the draping and making sure everything sat perfectly.
Annika grabbed a thick gold belt and wrapped it around my waist. I stood still as a statue as they worked on me. Elizabeth stood back and nodded.
“That’s it,” she said. “That’s the look.”
Mary Jo appeared with her makeup kit.
“Nothing too dramatic,” I said nervously. “I’m not a model. I can’t pull off the heavily made-up look.”
“Hush,” Mary Jo said, already studying my face with professional intensity. “You have great bone structure. We’re just going to enhance what’s already there.”
She worked for what felt like hours but was probably only twenty minutes.
I kept my eyes closed, trying not to think about how many people would see these photos.
Trying not to think about my father’s reaction if he somehow found out.
My dad wasn’t exactly a fashionista, so I wasn’t too worried he’d be flipping through a magazine and see the pictures.
And that was assuming they turned out well enough to actually make it into the campaign. I wasn’t convinced they would.
I felt bad for wasting everyone’s time and energy on what might not be usable material. I just hoped Sebastian wasn’t making a mistake by putting me in the vision he was so eager to make come alive. Personally, I felt like Clarissa would be the better choice.
But he chose me and that meant something. Now I wanted to impress him.
“Done,” Mary Jo announced. “You can look.”
I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror Annika held up.
I barely recognized myself. My eyes looked huge, emphasized with subtle gold and bronze tones. My skin glowed. My hair had been left down but styled into loose waves that looked effortless. It looked like I had twice as much hair as I normally did. There was some serious volume.
The dress made me look like someone from a painting. Someone ethereal and otherworldly and nothing like the uptight insurance rep who wore pantsuits and severe buns.
“Oh,” I breathed.
“Exactly,” Elizabeth said, smiling. “Now go knock Sebastian’s socks off. And probably his pants too.”
“Elizabeth!”
“What? That man is gone for you.”
I felt my cheeks heat, but there was no time to respond because Annika was already ushering me toward the tent exit. “Go on,” she said. “Your photographer awaits.”
I stepped out into the sunlight, suddenly self-conscious about the dress, my hair, and my makeup.
All of it. I had on a pair of water shoes with grip that would help keep me from slipping—my addition to the outfit.
The crew was setting up near the water, and I could see Sebastian talking to Reese and gesturing at the cove.
Then he turned and saw me. He stopped mid-sentence. Just stopped. His mouth fell open and his eyes went wide. For a long moment, he just stared, and I felt simultaneously exposed and powerful under that gaze. It felt like the world stopped for just a few seconds.
I dropped the jaw of Sebastian Blackwell. The hottest man I’d ever seen in real life. The man who’d probably seen thousands of beautiful women.
And he was looking at me like I’d stolen his breath. No matter what happened between us, I would always have this moment. The certainty that I had affected him.
“Bernadette,” he said, finally finding his voice. “You look incredible. You are the vision I imagined.”
“Don’t make this weird. Let’s just do the shoot.”
But I was smiling. I couldn’t help it.
The shoot was incredible. Once I got past the initial self-consciousness and stopped overthinking every movement, it became almost meditative.
The water was warm around my legs. The sun was perfect on my skin.
The dress flowed around my legs. There were several assistants making sure the gown was just right.
Sebastian directed me, telling me where to turn and how to angle my face. Mostly he just let me be and told me to just be in the moment. I didn’t know what that meant, but he seemed to be loving whatever I was doing.
Reese was shooting, but Sebastian was watching. I could feel his gaze on me. It made me want to give him exactly what he was looking for.
“Beautiful,” Reese kept saying. “Bellissima. Yes, just like that.”
We shot for maybe an hour, and through it all, Sebastian watched me with an intensity that made it feel like his fingers were brushing over my bare skin.
When Reese finally called it, saying he had more than enough shots, I felt almost disappointed. I wanted to stay in the moment forever.
“That was amazing,” Elizabeth said, appearing with a towel. “Bernadette, you’re stunning.”
“I just stood there.”
“You did more than that. You inhabited the concept. You were Venus.” She hugged me. “Thank you for doing this.”
I changed back into my regular clothes, but I left my hair down. Kept the makeup on because that was going to require some minor sandblasting to remove. I held on to the feeling of being someone else for just a little longer.
I couldn’t wait to find Sebastian. I wanted to celebrate and share the moment with him. I was riding the high of feeling pretty. It had only been a week since we’d met, but it felt like so much more than that.
A whirlwind romance. That’s what this was. Fast and intense and probably doomed, but real, nonetheless.
I couldn’t deny I cared about him. Couldn’t imagine celebrating with anyone else. I wanted him to act on all those looks he’d been giving me. I wanted his hands actually on my body.
I was just slipping on my very sensible shoes when I heard a commotion.
“The Blackwells are here!”
My stomach dropped. Sebastian’s family. His brothers and mother. Already?
I stepped out of the tent to see everyone rushing around. The energy had immediately shifted. Not because the Blackwells were scary or bad people, but because they were the bosses. Everyone put on their professional faces.
I saw Elizabeth practically run to Adrian, throwing her arms around him with the kind of joy that made my chest ache. She had someone who loved her like that. And she obviously loved him.
Sebastian was talking with his other brothers and an elegant older woman, who had to be his mother. They looked like a magazine spread, all of them tall and attractive and expensive.
I walked over to greet them.
Sebastian saw me approaching. “Everyone, you all remember the insurance company rep. Bernadette Simmons.”
The words hit me like cold water. Rationally, I understood it was the right way to introduce me. Professional. Appropriate. These were his business partners. He couldn’t exactly say, “This is Little Bee, the woman I’ve been sleeping with.”
But it still stung. After everything we shared, reducing me to “the insurance company rep” felt like a slap.
“Nice to meet you,” his mother said graciously.
“We’ve heard good things,” Adrian added, though his tone suggested he’d heard mixed things at best.
I forced a smile. “Thank you. The production has been very smooth.”
“Glad to hear it,” Briggs said. “I knew you two could work together.”
There was an awkward pause. I waited for Sebastian to say something more. Maybe mention I just finished an amazing shoot.
But he didn’t. He just stood there, looking uncomfortable, like he couldn’t wait for this interaction to end.
Elizabeth was watching me. I could see it in my peripheral vision. She was a woman that saw too much and I was certain she noticed my reaction, judging by the concern in her expression.
But there was nothing to say. Nothing that wouldn’t make everything worse.
“I should go,” I said. “I need to… finish up some reports.”
I turned and walked away before anyone could respond. I refused to let Sebastian see the hurt on my face.
Annika materialized beside me. “Come on, darling. Let’s get out of here.”
We ended up at the resort bar, where Annika ordered us both something strong and tropical.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I downed half the drink in one go, welcoming the burn. “Yep.”
“He was probably just being careful,” Annika said. “His family doesn’t know about you two. He couldn’t exactly tell them you’ve been shacking up.”
“I know.” I finished the rest of my drink. “I know all of that. Rationally, I understand. But it still hurt. I almost forget I’m just the pain in the ass bitching at everyone about the rules.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“Do I? Because from where I’m sitting, it seems pretty accurate. We had a fling on a tropical island. That’s all this is. All it was ever going to be. I’m not the first and I definitely won’t be the last.”
Annika ordered us another round. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing to do. I’m going to finish the job and go home and forget any of this ever happened.”
“Can you do that?”
I sighed. “No, but I’m going to try it anyway.”
Because the alternative was too painful to consider.