The doctor decided, and Fran reluctantly agreed, that it’s too soon for her to travel abroad. Although she’s feeling much better and is able to care for herself, an overseas trip is just not in the cards right now. Her mom was hugely relieved to see Fran’s improvement and went home to Boston last week — and I’m sure Fran was hugely relieved to see her go. Even though Fran can’t go to Milan, I think it’s been good medicine for her to participate in the plans for this trip. And she’ll continue to play a consultant role from her home. Plus she assured us that she intends to be well enough to come on the next trip we take.
After the stresses of the Bahamas trip, Mom had really hoped that Fran would be up for this one, and Helen had planned for them to direct in tandem, lightening the load. At least Leah gets to come now. Naturally, Leah is thrilled, but Paige is concerned. For some reason Paige doesn’t completely trust Leah’s ability to direct or produce. Paige only sees her as a motivated assistant —not someone with producer abilities. I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to see.
“I have something special planned for this trip,” Leah tells us as we’re boarding the flight to Milan. She points to me. “Which is why I asked you to bring your camcorder. My carry-on bag is full of accessories and beauty items I gathered from a couple of sponsors last week. We’re going to give some lucky passengers in-flight makeovers.”
“Seriously?” I glance around the first-class section, wondering how these people will react to a fashion intervention.
“We might have to start in the coach section,” Mom suggests.
“What about the flight attendants?” Paige looks worried. “Will they think we’re a security risk?”
“We’ve already gotten permission from the airline,” Mom explains. Obviously she and Leah have been in cahoots. “The airline appreciates the free publicity we’ll be giving them.”
“If all goes well, they might even buy some ad time on the show,” Leah says.
Paige smiles. “Well, this could be fun.” She points at me. “Let’s start with you.”
“Right,” I say sarcastically. “I’ll film myself while you make me over.”
“We’ll do you off camera,” Paige says. “That way the passengers will see two good examples of travel chic.” “Travel chic?”
She nods as she reaches for her own carry-on. “That’s what I’m going to call this.” And just like that, she’s working me over. “At least you’re wearing a cool set of sweats,” she tells me. “But you need some color and sparkle.” I let her do her thing as a middle-aged woman across the aisle watches with interest.
“You’re very good at that,” she tells Paige. Paige explains who we are and why we’re doing this and asks the woman if she’d like a minimakeover too. At first the woman is hesitant.
“Oh, come on, Mona,” the guy with her urges. “What can it hurt? And it’ll pass the time.”
So Leah gets Mona to sign a release paper, and with my camera running, Paige begins her magic. Because my sister is so cheerful and upbeat, Mona actually begins to relax and has a good time as Paige perks up her makeup, helps her with her hair, adds a scarf, and tries out some accessories.
“And I get to keep these?” Mona asks as she puts on a pair of silver earrings.
“All the accessories are compliments of Banana Republic and Bluefly dot-com,” Leah explains.
“You look great,” the guy tells Mona when Paige has finished her magic.
Leah pulls out a hand mirror and gives it to Mona.
“See,” Paige says with satisfaction. “Travel chic.”
When our flight is somewhere over the Atlantic and food-and-beverage service is taking a break, we emerge from the first-class section to seek more takers. I continue to film Paige as she approaches her first “lucky” coach-class candidate—a young woman dressed in frumpy sweats, with her hair pulled back in a stark ponytail.
“Hi,” Paige says cheerfully. “I’m Paige Forrester from On the Runway and I’d like to give you a minimakeover.”
The woman blinks. “What?”
“We’re on our way to Fashion Week in Milan,” Paige explains. “And we thought it would be fun to help some passengers arrive at their destination looking travel chic.”
“Travel chic?”
“I know how lots of travelers just crawl out of bed, don’t take any time with their appearance, and arrive looking like something the cat dragged in.”
The woman laughs. “That’s true.” She agrees to participate, and after about twenty minutes, Paige has this woman looking great too.
Paige does about a dozen travel chic makeovers. Some women only need a light touch, accessories, and some lip gloss. Some need major help. Finally, despite the increased interest in being made over, Paige and I are both ready for a break. Before we return to first class, we get a solid round of applause from the pleased passengers.
“That went well,” I tell Leah and Mom as we return to our seats.
“Yeah.” Paige nods. “Fun idea.”
“Now you girls might want to get some rest,” Mom advises. “We have a busy schedule in Milan.”
With a connection in Zurich and eighteen hours of travel time, we’re all fairly exhausted when we land, but on the way to the hotel, I feel energized by the beauty of Milan. “I can’t wait to get out there with my camera,” I tell Mom.
“Well, it’s your free day to do as you like,” Leah says. “Make the most of it, because tomorrow, we shift into full speed.”
“We’re staying in a former convent,” Mom informs us.
“Are you kidding?” Paige asks.
She laughs. “Not at all. It’s a smallish Four Seasons hotel near the Via della Spiga and it’s supposed to be quite nice.”
As it turns out, the hotel is very nice, with a great Italian feel to it. Paige and I share the suite this time, and Mom and Leah share an adjoining room.
“I know Dylan’s going to be in Milan,” I say to Paige as we’re getting situated in our room. “I hope you’ll respect me enough not to invite him for a sleepover here.”
She rolls her eyes. “Taking that whole convent thing a bit seriously, are we?”
“You know how I feel about it—engaged or not engaged, I think you should wait until after the wedding.”
“I know.” She sighs. “My old-fashioned little sister.”
“Maybe so. But considering how things went—or nearly went — in the Bahamas, I’d think you might want to reconsider the whole sleeping together thing even more now.”
“Why?” Paige asks as she starts unpacking her carry-on.
“Well, if Dylan had really had an affair with Eliza, would you have broken off your engagement?”
“Maybe …” She sets her cosmetics bag on the bathroom’s travertine countertop.
“And would you have regretted having had sex with him?”
“Maybe …” She turns and looks at me. “So that’s why you think it’s wrong to have sex? Because we might not get married in the end?”
“I saw how hurt you were after the Bahamas, Paige. And I could be wrong, but I think a big part of that hurt was the result of having been so intimate with Dylan. It’s like you gave your heart and everything to him. You totally trusted him with all of you—and then it seemed like he just stomped on it. I mean, he didn’t really, because he didn’t really cheat on you. At least we don’t think he did.”
“But if he had actually cheated, you think it would hurt me even more because I’d had sex with him?”
“You’re the only one who can answer that for sure, Paige. Honestly, if it were me—if I trusted someone like that and then he betrayed me? Really, it would hurt a lot!”
She seems to be considering this. “You know, you could be right.”
“And maybe if you weren’t having sex with him … well, maybe it would be better for both of you, and for your relationship in general.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know … but I guess I’ll think about it.”
The rest of our ba
gs are delivered and we continue to unpack. I’m thinking perhaps, just perhaps, I made a little progress with Paige. I really think she’s more vulnerable than she realizes when it comes to her relationship with Dylan. And sometimes I wonder if the engagement might not have simply been a handy escape for both of them. I remember how freaked Paige had been in London, thanks to the media frenzy over her alleged relationship with Benjamin Kross. The paparazzi got the best of her and she even considered stepping out of the spotlight permanently.
And then, like a knight on a white horse, Dylan showed up and rescued her with an engagement ring. But we later learned that his design firm was having a serious struggle. His reception in Paris had gone from poor to positive due to my sister, but the critics had turned on him shortly after his show, and getting engaged to a fashionista like Paige gave him a nice PR boost. So what if both of their motives were more about convenience than love?
Chapter
12
Milan is amazing! The architecture, the gardens, the river, the light — it’s all a photographer’s paradise. But by the end of my “free” day I am so tired I feel like I can barely focus my eyes, let alone my camera lens. By the time I drag myself back to the hotel, I’m so exhausted that I can’t even remember my room number. I actually call my mom from the elevator, waking her up to find out which floor to get out on.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she tells me. “At least I can sleep more soundly now.”
When I get to our suite, to my surprise Paige is already there, and looks as beat as I am. She’s already in her pajamas, with a partially-eaten room-service meal in front of her. “I know it’s early,” she tells me. “But I plan to crash any minute now.” She points to the food. “And I ordered way too much, so if you’re interested, have at it.”
I take her up on the offer. As she heads for bed, I polish off her leftover dinner of pasta and shrimp, which is delicious. Then I take a shower and am in bed at just a little past seven—and Paige is already fast asleep.
I wake up early the next morning, pull on some sweats, and head downstairs to get some espresso. Sitting outside at the veranda restaurant, enjoying the beautiful morning light, I decide that I totally love Milan. I check my phone and am surprised to hear a voicemail from Blake.
“Hey, Erin,” he says. “Sorry I missed seeing you off yesterday. I really meant to make it over to tell you good-bye. I hope you’re having a great time in Milan. I can’t help but feel envious. Maybe I’ll see if we can arrange some international blind dates.” He laughs. “Have fun!”
Since I think it must be late at night there now, I send him a text, telling him that we’re here and that I love Milan. I try to think of something more to say, but suddenly I’m replaying Mollie’s words about Blake and Grace. How would I feel if they started to date? The thought of that just shuts me down, so I hit send and put my iPhone back in my bag. I check out the menu and have just placed my order when I see my mom coming out to the veranda.
“There you are,” she says as she comes over to my table. “I was hoping you were down here.” She sits across from me. “Isn’t this absolutely lovely?”
I nod. “Great hotel, Mom.”
She smiles. “I could get used to this.”
“So, what’s on the docket this morning?” I ask as she peruses the menu.
“Well, you’ve heard of that new Italian designer, Alberto Baggatio, haven’t you?”
I try to remember then nod. “Yes. He used to be with Gucci, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.” She pauses to place her breakfast order and I’m impressed that her Italian is not too bad. “So anyway, we’ve got an interview appointment with him at his studio. His show is Saturday, so he’s busy, but his people seemed happy to squeeze us in at eleven o’clock. As a result we’ll have to keep it short. I promised them it would take less than an hour.”
I glance at my watch, surprised to see it’s only seven thirty.
“Shawna and Luis should be at the hotel by nine,” she tells me. “And we’ll leave here around ten thirty. The Baggatio studio is only about fifteen minutes from here.”
“Sounds good.”
“I made sure Paige was up. I know how much time she needs to get ready.” “Great.”
I tell Mom about the conversation I had with Paige yesterday and my concerns about her and Dylan. “I wasn’t trying to be preachy,” I explain, “but I am worried that she’s opening herself up to be hurt again.”
Mom frowns. “Do you have any real reason to think that Dylan isn’t sincere about their engagement?”
I tell her a bit about the critical fallout after the Paris show and how Dylan’s design career seems to be failing. “You have to admit that it was convenient publicity for him to link himself to Paige.”
“Yes … but he seemed so sincere in New York. I hoped all that would be behind us now.”
“Maybe it is.” We pause our conversation as our food is served. I almost wish I hadn’t mentioned anything about Paige and Dylan at all. Really, why should I care so much? They have to live their own lives.
“I wish Jon could see this place,” Mom says wistfully.
“It’s really romantic, isn’t it?”
She smiles as she reaches for her espresso. “Very.”
“I was just texting Blake about it. I told him I think I’m in love with Milan.”
“Speaking of Blake …” She looks curiously at me. “I can never figure you two out. Are you still seriously dating him or not? I know that whole Celebrity Blind Date show kind of shook you up.”
“They could’ve called it Blindsided as far as I was concerned,” I admit.
She shakes her head. “It seemed an odd idea to me — sending you and him on a double date, but not as a couple.”
“And that other girl—her name’s Grace—she pretty much dominated the whole evening. Not in a bad way either. In fact, she reminded me a little of Paige —you know, with that gift of charm and beauty that I don’t have.”
“Sounds frustrating.”
“It was. Before I left for this trip Mollie asked me how I’d feel if Blake started to date Grace. I mean, outside the show.” “How would you feel?”
I’m surprised that I’ve opened up this much with Mom. But since I’ve already gotten this far, I decide it probably doesn’t matter. “Well, I was just thinking about it. I think I would feel a little bit sad.”
“For so long you’ve said that you and Blake were only good friends, Erin. Have you really changed your opinion on that? Or do you think it’s a case of wanting something that someone else wants?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. Even before Grace came along, I was starting to think I might be ready for a more serious relationship with Blake. I mean, he’s asked about being exclusive before, but I always kind of blew him off.” Then I confess to her how I’d hoped that he was going to bring it up again awhile back. “He’d called to say he had something important to talk about.”
“And you thought he was going to ask about being exclusive?”
I nod. “It was silly, I know. Especially considering how I’ve acted. When I realized he only wanted to talk about the new reality show, I was kind of hurt.”
Mom laughs, but not in a mean way. “I’m sorry, Erin.”
I force a smile. “I’m sure I deserved it.”
“So … if he’d asked, what would you have said?”
“Honestly?” I consider this. “I think I might’ve said yes. That’s why it hurt so much.”
She pats my hand. “You know, I’m glad to hear that, Erin.”
I blink. “Huh?”
“Not the part about you getting hurt. The part about you being willing to commit.”
“Why?”
“Oh, I’ve wondered if you were going to have some commitment issues.”
“Commitment issues?” Although I feign surprise, this is something I’ve actually wondered about myself.
“Well, I know that losing your dad was hard on you.”
She sighs. “It was hard on all of us. Then you and Blake were so serious throughout high school, and when he broke your heart … well, I worried that you were kind of pushing other guys away too. Like Lionel. He seemed to really like you. And Paige told me about the young man in Paris —the one from Hermès?”
I smile. “Gabin.”
“Yes. Paige thought you really liked him and she said she thought he was smitten with you. But you pushed him away too.”
“That was because Blake showed up,” I admit. “Aha.” Mom grins. “So perhaps you like Blake more than you realized.”
“Maybe.” I shrug, trying to figure this out, and wondering why it’s so hard. “But Gabin’s awfully nice too.”
“Will he be here this week?”
“Good question. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“We’re scheduled for the Hermès show,” Mom tells me as she checks her notebook. “In fact, it’s tomorrow afternoon.”
“Well, maybe you’ll get to meet Gabin then.”
“I hope so.”
We finish our breakfast and run into Luis and Shawna on our way to the elevator. “Nice digs,” Shawna says as we ride up.
“How’s your place?” I ask as we walk through the elegant lobby.
“Not bad.” She wrinkles her nose. “But not as posh as this.”
Soon Paige and I are being coiffed and made up, and Leah and Mom are going over today’s schedule.
“Why is the visit to Gucci scheduled so late in the day?” Paige asks.
“They wanted to do it after hours,” Leah explains.
Paige makes a disappointed face. “But I made dinner plans with Dylan.”
“Then you’ll have to change them,” Mom tells her. “Your first priority here is the show, Paige.”
“I know.”
“When did Dylan arrive?” I ask as Luis gives me a quick mist of hairspray and then fluffs my hair. “He gets here this afternoon.”
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