Fashion Jungle

by Kathy Ireland

  “It doesn’t have to be.” He lowered his voice.

  “Too late.” She took a few deep breaths. She thought of Oliver and, for some reason, that centered her. It took her outside of this fake, happy shoot and into reality where he was literally fighting to save lives on a daily basis. That was reality. This? This was to sell magazines. This was to pay for ad campaigns.

  This was to sell an idea to the people.

  And she was the person helping to do it.

  Her job was to make Ronan look good.

  To make the magazine look good.

  That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like a million knives getting shoved into her chest. Because what she always saw as her plan, obviously wasn’t God’s.

  What did that mean, then?

  And why was she suddenly haunted by him? Ronan. By a past that wanted a redo and a future that looked bright.

  It felt like she was at a crossroads, and one misstep would destroy her forever.

  “Brittany?” Grace snapped her fingers. “Up here, yes, I need you to look happy, can you look like you don’t want to murder a US Senator in his own bed with his tie?”

  Brittany forced a smile. “Yes, yes, I can do that.”

  “Lovely.” Grace nodded. “Jauq, go.”

  The camera flashed even as Brittany crawled into the bed. It felt so familiar, though when she was a teenager, it had always been rushed, they were constantly trying not to get caught. It had seemed romantic at the time, very Romeo and Juliet. The older college student and teen romance.

  But now? Now that she looked back, she’d always felt… dirty, like she was a secret he wasn’t allowed to share with the world.

  She put her hand on his chest and smiled as he leaned down and tilted her chin toward him, the newspaper in one hand like it was something they did, lie in bed on the weekend and talk about their perfect lives.

  Someone gave Brittany a mug to hold while she laid her head on his shoulder.

  He rubbed her hand and then grabbed a pillow and lifted it like he was going to hit her.

  Jauq and Grace instructed, and they obeyed.

  And soon, she forgot it was Ronan.

  It was just another shoot.

  Just another payday.

  Just another day.

  At least, until they transitioned positions.

  “Lie down,” Jauq instructed. “On your back, Brittany. Perfect, yes.” Panic set in as she gazed up at Ronan, who stared down at her with unease. “Ronan, yes, straddle her a bit, make it playful.”

  Ronan moved and then shook his head. His eyes never left hers as he said, “No, I won’t do that.”

  Brittany breathed out a sigh of relief. While Grace muttered a curse. “Just do it.”

  “I’m still going through divorce proceedings.” Ronan shrugged. “It would look bad.”

  He was lying for her.

  She mouthed a thank you.

  He nodded and then squeezed her hand.

  Why did life have to be so difficult?

  Why did everything with Ronan always feel wrong?

  They shot for two more hours.

  And when everything was done, Brittany’s body was so sore from holding poses that she wanted to take a long bubble bath.

  “Good job. I think we got it.” Frederick took a few shots then grinned at them.

  Ronan held out his hand and pulled Brittany to her feet. “You look exhausted.”

  “I feel exhausted,” she agreed and then crossed her arms. “Ro, do you ever feel like we just weren’t meant to be?”

  He froze and then lowered his gaze to hers. “Sometimes, it feels that way, like we’re dancing around each other, but the universe refuses to let us touch.”

  She nodded. “I want you to be happy.”

  “What if you’re what makes me happy?”

  “Then we’re still not right, we’re unbalanced. I don’t want to be your anchor, Ronan. I want to be your partner. Wanted. Past tense. But can I admit something?”

  “Anything.” He grabbed her hands.

  “I wanted this.” Tears filled her eyes. “I wanted this so desperately. I think at the time, I would have given you anything.”

  “You did,” he whispered. “You gave it all. I was just too stupid to see it, too young, too arrogant.” He bit out a curse and then kissed her fingertips. “I’m not letting you go yet.”

  “You let me go the day you gave me back the list.”

  “Because I knew.” He didn’t miss a beat. “I knew that the kindest thing I could do was to set you free.”

  “And what are you doing now?”

  “Changing my mind.” He lowered his head.

  She backed away and gulped. “I’m saying no.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  “It’s not about what you want, not now. This is about what’s good for me, what’s good for us, I think—” Brittany licked her dry lips. “I think I’m going to see if I can find our daughter. Just to see her, to check in on her.”

  He covered her mouth with his hand. “You can’t just say that in public. There are voters and—”

  Her smile felt sad as he lowered his hand, realizing what he’d just said. “That’s why we’ll never work, why we never did, Ro, because at the end of the day, your career will always mean more than anything else. And that’s okay. We need more men like you in the Senate, more men leading us, those willing to sacrifice everything. But I refuse to be sacrificed.”

  For the first time in her life, she witnessed Ronan Kampbell give her a look of complete surrender and defeat as he whispered, “You’re right.”

  Dane had access to everything on Frederick’s computer. It wasn’t pretty, the pictures he had, the things he’d recorded without consent.

  But what was worse?

  The fact that Everlee had seen it all.

  She’d called him bawling again, raging, begging Dane to let her approach him. He hadn’t thought she’d be so bloodthirsty, and now he had to worry about her saying something to Frederick and ruining it all.

  He continued digging into the past.

  And nearly fell out of his chair when he came across photos from a little over a year ago. Shots of Danica.

  With Frederick and Jauq.

  Marnie in the background.

  Roger standing to the side, giving them a look of disapproval.

  It looked like they were all at a shoot. Danica was laughing, Jauq had his arm around her. It was candid, everyone appeared happy—except Roger, of course.

  Marnie stood off to the side with a scowl on her face, the look directed at Roger.

  Who’d taken the picture?

  Dane scrolled through more.

  Jauq had his hands all over Danica.

  There was a video dated the night before.

  Dane was almost afraid to press play.

  “Danica,” Jauq’s voice sounded as she danced in front of him. “Stop teasing me.”

  Why did Frederick have this?

  “Teasing you?” She did a little twirl. “I’m not teasing you. You’ve been teasing me for ten years. Maybe I’ll just move on to someone else.” Dane’s stomach lurched. Jauq was at least twenty years older, which meant that when Danica was in her teens, he would have been in his mid-thirties. “You know you love me.”

  “I’m addicted to you,” he said.

  The camera moved, and then he was in front of it with her, kissing her, pulling her into his arms like he had a right to. He stripped her clothes down.

  “There’s more where this is coming from.” He pulled out a stack of cash. “If you want in, just say the word…”

  “What do I have to do? Nothing illegal, right?”

  “Does it matter?” Jauq laughed against her mouth. “I know who your brother is. What he does. Besides, business is business, right? Think of it as an early retirement from that modeling career. You could have it all, you just have to trust me, trust all of us.”

  Danica hesitated and then wrapped her legs around him
. “I’ll think about it.”

  “You’ll do it,” Jauq said simply, taking her mouth in another punishing kiss.

  The door to the apartment opened. Dane quickly closed the screen, and looked up as Zoe stomped in, throwing her purse onto the countertop in a huff and grabbing the glass of wine he had set out for her when she said she was headed his way.

  Amazing how she never realized or even fully acknowledged how easily he’d crept back into her life. She’d gotten used to it, was comfortable with it. If he stayed over, he slept in the other room. After all, it was a gift, her place, and he wouldn’t move in until she finally said yes.

  At the rate they were going, he’d be eighty, but at least he’d finally get the answer he wanted. “Rough day?”

  “No. Yes, I don’t know.” She took a small sip and then faced him. “It was the shoot for Ronan and Brittany. I know there’s history, heaven knows I’m well-versed in past relationships.” She shot him a look, and he held up his hands in surrender. “Anyway, it just seems… sadder, if that makes sense? It seems harder on Brittany, and I worry about her, that’s all. Ronan broke her heart.”

  He’d done more than that, but that wasn’t Dane’s story to tell.

  “You’re too quiet.”

  “Hmm?” He tilted his head. “Am I?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What do you know that I don’t know?”

  Everything.

  “Marry me, and you’ll find out.”

  “Ha, good one. I can’t tell if you’re being honest or if it’s a trick.”

  “Why can’t it just be a proposal where I ask a question, you say yes, and then you kiss me?”

  Her smile faltered. “Kisses from you lead to very bad decisions.”

  “So I’ve been told.” He smirked. “By you, actually.”

  She nodded to his laptop. “Are you working late?”

  “Something like that.” He leaned back against the leather couch. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “You never ask permission to do anything.” She flopped down next to him. “Are you sick?”

  “Only for you,” he said, the reply dripping with sarcasm.

  She swatted him with her hand. “Stop being cute, it annoys me.”

  “Maybe I like annoying you.”

  “I think it’s our foreplay.”

  He agreed, noticing how her cheeks pinked, how her breathing almost stopped altogether. Oh, he had an effect on her, she just didn’t like it.

  Zoe cleared her throat. “What’s this question?”

  He turned to face her, took in her large, green eyes and flawless, coffee colored skin. “Did Jauq or Frederick ever come on to you when you first started in the industry?”

  She recoiled. “No. Never. Then again, Jauq always had eyes for Danica, and as for Frederick, I think we all know how that’s going to end.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Dane drummed his fingertips against his thigh. “I just wanted to be sure.”

  “If I said yes, would you kill them both?” she teased.

  “Yes.” He said it swiftly, with determination. “Then again, you know that.”

  Her breath hitched. “Why the question?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled even though his head was strained with all the possibilities, all the information that was now on his computer. Maybe they weren’t hiding anything. Then again, perhaps they were.

  He wouldn’t stop.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

  Danica didn’t.

  That much he knew.

  He needed to put more pressure on the players. Someone would crack, someone would be afraid enough to out someone else. Dane just hoped it would be the weakest of them all. Frederick.

  Dane needed to find a slip-up somewhere. From Frederick, Jauq, anyone. The best way to catch a fish.

  “Really big bait,” he said to himself.

  “Did you really just have a conversation with yourself in front of me?” Zoe leaned in and patted his shoulder. “I can’t decide if it’s creepy or endearing.”

  “Let’s go with endearing.” He gave her a wolfish grin. “Why don’t I order takeout, and you can tell me all about your long day and the designs that are about to take the world by storm.”

  Her face lit up and then fell. “It’s okay, you don’t have to—”

  “Actually…” He stood. “Why don’t we go out and then stop by your office? You can show me your entire plan.”

  She gaped. “You’re serious?”

  “I care. Yes, I’m serious.”

  “But—”

  “It would be a privilege to see the choices you made, the designs you created. In a week, the world is going to know you not just as a model but as a fashion icon. I’m lucky to be a small part of that.”

  “Now you’re laying it on thick. You know you’re the only reason I was even able to start this label.”

  “Now she says it,” he whispered, lowering his head.

  “Well, she’s tired and cranky. She’s not really thinking clearly.”

  “Good.” He pressed his mouth to hers, cautiously, waiting for permission, searching for any sign from her or the universe that this was right. She parted her lips, and he tasted Heaven, he tasted her and him the way they were always supposed to be: together.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck as he jerked her against his chest, deepening the kiss, relishing each and every second he was given with her in that moment, one that would be over too soon, lost to the evening, never to be had again.

  She didn’t pull back.

  He did.

  Her expression was more shock than anything.

  “Chinese?” he rasped.

  “Food,” she repeated slowly. “You want to eat food and leave and…” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not…”

  “I can wait for you. I want you willing, not because you’re thankful or because you’re tired. I want you when you can’t think of anything you’d rather be doing than standing in my arms.”

  “Should have worked for Hallmark,” she grumbled, pulling away and reaching for her purse. “And you’re buying.”

  “Deal.” He chuckled, following after her.

  This was what they could have.

  If she would just let it happen.

  A life where they teased and kissed, where they argued over takeout and business decisions.

  One day.

  One day, she would see what he’d seen all along.

  That they were soul mates.

  With equally needy souls.

  “Here.” Oliver didn’t kiss her, didn’t even ask how the shoot had gone. He just opened the door to his apartment building and handed her a glass of wine then opened the portal wider for her to come in.

  They’d planned on dinner out.

  But after his day.

  And hers.

  All they wanted was to stay in.

  He’d ordered Thai food and said he’d have wine, and she’d hopped into a taxi, ready to forget about the day.

  “I love your place.” She did a small turn in the middle of the gourmet kitchen. “Did you have a decorator come in?” It was masculine but still warm, even with all the modern touches. The entire loft was open-concept. The place couldn’t have been cheap.

  “No, that was ex-wife number three. She had a real eye for color.” He shrugged.

  She almost dropped her glass of wine. “Wait, what?”

  He grinned up at her. “Got you.”

  “Hilarious.” She was ready to throw a pillow at his face. “I think my heart just stopped.”

  “Never been married, no weird stalkers other than Marissa from third grade, but I think she just wanted a friend who wasn’t imaginary.”

  “Poor Marissa.”

  “I shared my Cheetos every Friday. She did okay.” He laughed as he opened the takeout boxes and spread everything onto black plates. “So, what about you? Any skeletons that Google doesn’t know about?”

  Brittany froze.

&n
bsp; It wasn’t like Oliver could find out unless she said something, or unless Roger or Dane said something, but now? She just didn’t want to talk about the past, she’d just spent the past few hours reliving what she thought was her future.

  No more.

  “Nothing you need to worry about,” Brittany settled on. “Do you work tomorrow?”

  “No, actually, I’m off tomorrow, and I think you should take the day off, too. We could explore the city… go do that cooking class we missed on our first date. What do you say?”

  “I say…” She walked over to him and sat on one of the leather barstools, tugging her black Armani dress toward her knees. “After today, that sounds incredible.”

  His smile was so adorable and sexy all at once, white teeth and a small dimple at the corner of his mouth as his hair fell over his forehead. “Mmm, so I just have to ask you all the hard questions when you’re mentally exhausted? Is that the secret?”

  “Well, that and I’m starving.”

  “Must. Feed. Models.” He chuckled at his joke. “And just in case you don’t get full enough, I also bought garlic bread. Before you say no,”—he held up his hands—“I think the only way for a person to truly feel full is to carbo-load. You got all your veggies and meat here, rice noodles.” He made a face. “But garlic bread? It saves lives, you know. Just like me. Lifesaver. Right here.”

  Brittany burst out laughing. “So, you and garlic bread, same thing?”

  “Basically.” He nodded seriously. “Only I think I taste better. Shhhh, don’t hurt the bread’s feelings.”

  She crossed her arms. “Do you?”

  “Do I what?” He was back to putting food on the plates.

  Brittany leaned in with an amused smile. “Taste better?”

  His eyes narrowed on her mouth. “I’m all for an experiment.” He held up a plate between them. “But first, you need to eat. I don’t want you passing out mid-experiment and embarrassing us both.”

  She moaned. “That smells amazing.”

  “Geez, I give you food, and you moan like that? It’s like you just showed me your kryptonite.”

  “Good Thai food always works.” She held out her hand, and he placed a fork in it, and they both dug in.

  No cameras.

  No awkwardness.

  No wondering if people were taking pictures or speculating about what it meant that they were sharing a meal together.