She had imagined that she would feel nervous and even intimidated by the stunning models Poppy had asked to support the fundraiser. But she wasn’t. She felt wonderful; confident and relaxed. Delighted to be at the party to celebrate what she had achieved and raise money for the charity at the same time.
Perhaps that had a lot to do with the man whose arm she was holding on to.
Hal had told her that she was talented, pretty and attractive. And she was starting to believe him.
Something close to happiness bubbled up inside her. He was right; this should be one of the happiest evenings of her career.
By this time tomorrow evening, her very first catwalk show would be over. And she did deserve to feel good about that, no matter how the collection was received.
She should feel happy. It had taken her so many years to reach this point it was hard to believe she had done it.
He must have read her mind, for at that precise moment Hal passed her a glass of pink champagne from a silver tray a waiter was holding in front of her and smiled down at her. ‘Glad you came?’
She raised her glass in a toast, took a long sip of the delicious, chilled sparkling wine and wiggled her shoulders in delight. ‘I love it, Hal. I am so excited I can hardly speak. Thank you for making me change my mind about turning up.’
She stood on tiptoe, wrapped her free arm around Hal’s neck and kissed him on the lips with all of the thanks and love she could come up with.
His arm circled her waist. ‘Well, I am going to have to bring you to parties a lot more often if that is the kind of response I can expect. So, you are enjoying yourself?’
‘Very much,’ Mimi whispered in a hoarse voice, too emotional and happy to feel pathetic about almost having missed out. She hugged Hal tighter, eyes closed. As she opened her eyes and looked over Hal’s shoulder, she saw Poppy waving at her from the bar, where one of the volunteers was lifting his hand jerkily, as though downing a pint glass of beer, and hanging his tongue out.
‘Sorry to be a killjoy but I think the guys need that drink you promised them. Go; don’t worry. I’ll be right here when you get back.’
Hal’s lips touched her forehead as she stood back and released him from her arms, her feet once again in contact with the soles of her evening sandals.
‘Try and keep me away,’ he replied, and touched the tip of her nose with his finger.
Mimi watched him stride out across the crowded room, his lopsided body moving with energy and determination. A man on a mission, driven, passionate and single-minded—even if his ankle was wrapped in a strange-looking inflatable boot and he was using a cane to propel himself along. He was unstoppable.
And she loved him for that.
Her fingers shot up to cover her mouth and she glanced from side to side to check if she had actually said that out loud, and if someone had heard her.
She loved him.
She was in love with Hal Langdon.
Bubbles of crazy joy burst inside her head and her fingers pressed even harder onto her mouth. The lip gloss was history.
Her heart was beating so fast she felt dizzy for a moment and she sipped her cool champagne, the glass trembling in her fingers.
She was in love and it was the most glorious sensation in the world.
Tomorrow she was launching her own line of clothing, she was at a fabulous party buzzing with laughter and life and energy—and she was in love with a man who thought she was beautiful and talented.
She took another sip of the delicious wine and smiled. This was turning out to be quite a party!
The fingers of her left hand touched the strand of pearls around her neck.
Only forward, Mum. Only forward.
‘Oh, what a stunning jacket. It’s a vintage Fiorini, isn’t it?’
The sweet American voice came from behind Mimi and she turned to face one of the loveliest women she had ever seen in her life smiling down at her. She must have been at least six feet tall, even without her four-inch heels. Long, shiny ash-blond hair was piled on top of her head in a knot then fell like a waterfall down a long and very slender back. She was the epitome of elegance and perfect grooming, the kind of girl that made Mimi want to slink into the ladies’ room, repair the damage to her lipstick and start a crash diet—right now!
‘Yes, it is.’ Mimi laughed in surprise. Then she did a double take, her eyes wide. The blonde was wearing a Fiorini cocktail dress she had never seen outside a sketch and photographs.
‘Wow. I didn’t think there were any of the original Greek goddess dresses left. Fiorini couture, 1980; private clients only. How on earth did you manage to get hold of one? And it looks fantastic on you!’
The blonde’s blue eyes widened and she blinked several times before blowing out hard.
‘Well, thank you. You are very kind. But you have to be the first person who knew the maker, the range and the year. I am seriously impressed. You have to be another Fiorini fan. Right?’
Mimi laughed away her nervousness. ‘Does it show? You might almost say that I grew up surrounded by Fiorini couture.’ Instinctively her fingers pressed against the pearls around her neck for a fraction of a second before sliding to the silk. ‘The jacket was made for my late mother in the ’80s.’
‘Oh, how fantastic!’ Aurelia placed her hand over her heart and fluttered her fingers several times. ‘I worked for the Fiorini family during their very last season before they sold the company. It was the finest fashion show I ever did. In fact, that is where I met Poppy Langdon. She was only seventeen at the time, and we were at the same modelling agency in London. We’ve been friends ever since.’
‘You were a Fiorini model? Oh, now that is fantastic,’ Mimi replied, sucking in air between her teeth to boost her courage in the presence of such a lovely woman. She stretched out her hand with such confidence that it surprised her. ‘Mimi Ryan. Newbie designer and not-so-newbie knitting-shop owner. Pleased to meet you. I’m the brave soul who will be showing my new collection at the catwalk show tomorrow.’
The blonde gave her a dazzling white smile which left Mimi feeling even more in awe and shook her hand more firmly than Mimi had anticipated. ‘Aurelia DiMarco. Former model, hotel owner and avid collector of anything Fiorini. And good on you for supporting the Tom Harris Foundation. You couldn’t have chosen a better cause.’
‘Lovely to meet you, Aurelia. And it is my pleasure…’ The words dried up in Mimi’s mouth as her heart leapt into her chest.
Aurelia. Tom Harris’s girlfriend was called Aurelia. This had to be more than a coincidence. Oh, no. The poor girl. This must be a terrible ordeal for her.
The smile faltered on the lovely woman’s face. ‘Yes,’ she nodded. ‘I am that Aurelia. And it’s okay; you don’t need to be embarrassed. I’m proud of the work that Tom started. The weird thing is, if it hadn’t been for that Fiorini show, I might never have met Poppy or her brother.’
Mimi’s breath caught in her chest. Speaking was suddenly rather difficult.
‘Her brother? Do you mean Hal? Hal Langdon?’
Aurelia raised her head and looked around the room. ‘Sure. Hal was the person who introduced me to his best friend in the world, Tom Harris, mountaineer extraordinaire. He is the reason I gave up my modelling career and moved to a tiny chalet in the Alps. Oh, yes, Hal Langdon certainly has a lot to answer for!’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
AURELIA added with a sigh, ‘He certainly made up for it after the accident. Hal was quite remarkable, you know. I really don’t know if Tom’s family or I could have coped without Hal’s strength. He must have been in considerable pain those terrible first weeks but he never complained about his leg. Not once. We needed him and he was there, even though he was laid up in hospital most of the time.’
She smiled down at Mimi. ‘Tom told me so many times that Hal was more like the kid brother he would have loved than an old college-pal. They really were two of a kind, always trying to push the boundaries. Life was certainly never boring when T
om and Hal got together.’
Aurelia looked out over the heads of the other guests back to the bar, where Hal and Poppy were chatting away to the crowds of people as they collected drinks. ‘He must miss Tom almost as much as I do,’ she added in a low, wistful voice that only Mimi would be able to hear.
Before Mimi could reply and ask her to explain, Aurelia rested her hand lightly on Mimi’s arm, which had the elegant people surrounding them raising their eyebrows with more than a little envy.
‘And here I am blabbering on. I’ve bored you for far too long. Ignore me. I knew the kind of man I was getting involved with right from the start, and I’ll have plenty of time to talk to Hal over the next few days. Now,’ she said firmly, linking her arm through Mimi’s, ‘time to show me that catalogue of your designs. I want to see everything. This show is just going to be spectacular and raise lots of cash for the foundation!’
Hal heard a sudden ripple of applause from the hotel entrance just as he was passing Poppy her chilled sparkling water. Peering out between the shoulders of the other guests, who had turned their heads to see what was happening, Hal turned to Poppy with a frown and asked, ‘What’s all the excitement about?’
Poppy took a long swig of her water before grinning at Hal. ‘Looks like our guest of honour has arrived.’ She sighed in delight. ‘It’s not every day that Luca Fiorini himself finds time to come to a charity event like this.’
Poppy squeezed her eyes half-shut and grabbed Hal’s arm so that she could whisper, ‘I was beginning to think I was never going to change Luca’s mind. I have been trying to speak to his office for months and never got past his secretary. It was strange, actually. The day after I sent Luca a copy of the show catalogue, his secretary called to say that he would find the time. Ticket sales have doubled since word got out that Luca was supporting the show! It’s fantastic.’
Then she stepped back and her smile faded. ‘Hal? What’s wrong? You look a bit pale.’
Hal lifted his chin and blew out hard. ‘You invited Luca Fiorini to this party? And he only accepted when he saw the catalogue with Mimi’s photograph on the back? Does Mimi know anything about this?’
‘Mimi?’ Poppy asked in surprise. ‘No, I haven’t said a thing to Mimi, but I just know that she will be thrilled! She could not ask for better publicity. Luca is giving her debut collection the Fiorini seal of approval; it’s the best opportunity she could have asked for. Unless, of course, there is something that you are not telling me. Hal? What’s going on?’
‘I’ll explain everything later, but right now I need to find Mimi before she sees who has just walked in. And fast.’
Aurelia had attracted quite an entourage of adoring fans as she wound her way into the side room set aside for the press, introducing Mimi to everyone on the way.
Within minutes Mimi found herself inundated with requests for more information, prices and delivery dates on everything in her printed catalogue.
Business cards and telephone numbers were thrust into her hands at the same rate as digital cameras were produced. Suddenly it seemed that everyone wanted to have their photograph taken with Aurelia and this cool new designer who everyone was buzzing about.
Mimi probably had more photographs taken in ten minutes than she’d had in the last ten years. But tonight, and for this wonderful opportunity, she was prepared to smile into the camera lens and pretend that she had been wrapping her arms around celebrity models all her life.
As an added advantage, her new friend provided the perfect distraction from brooding about this new information about Hal.
She could hardly tell Aurelia that Hal had not told her anything about Tom or the accident. At least, not without looking like a complete fool. But, thinking back over the past few days, he had barely mentioned the accident at all.
Perhaps Aurelia was right and Hal was a lot more traumatised than she had thought.
The more she thought about it, the more she realised that she had been the one sharing her personal history with him. Hal had told her almost nothing about himself over these last few days that they had shared together.
Doubts niggled at the edge of her mind and threatened to undercut her new-found happiness in the way she felt about Hal. How much did she truly know about Hal’s past?
How could she care so much about a man she hardly knew?
Suddenly she doubted herself and her feelings. Was this love or was she simply a lonely girl who had been forced to spend time working with an attractive man who seemed to like her in return? Little wonder that she should have a crush on him.
The smile fell from Mimi’s lips as the reality of their situation started to hit home.
Hal probably spent more time in international airports around the world than camping out at Poppy’s flat or her ground-floor studio. She knew that he had rented out his house in France, and London was only ever a temporary base he used when passing through, but he hadn’t talked about his plans going forward.
Her life and work was built around the studio in London where she had lived all of her life. Could she move and still work the way she wanted? Probably not. And what would happen to her shop and business?
What an idiot she was to even imagine that they could have a future together. It had been fun—he had been fun—but she had better come to terms with the fact that after the show Hal would be saying his goodbyes and moving on to his next project.
And she would be back in her studio.
Someone nudged Mimi out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Aurelia and her fans jostling their way back into the main party area. A wave of warm applause, fierce whispering and laughter rolled back from the centre of the room and the guests seemed to turn towards the slightly raised podium at the front.
As Mimi stood on tip toe, Poppy shuffled forward and tapped twice on the side of a fixed microphone to attract everyone’s attention before looking out over the audience and speaking in a light, clear voice.
‘Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming this evening and for your support of the Tom Harris Foundation for Climbing for the Disabled. I know from personal experience that the team of volunteers do amazing work, and most of them are over there at the bar if you want to buy them a drink or write them a cheque.’
There was a round of applause from the guys, and much laughter from the guests, and Poppy waited a few seconds before speaking again. ‘I am delighted to tell you that, together with our celebrity guests and fashion professionals, we have a very special guest with us tonight who has taken time out of his busy schedule to support our event.’
She paused just long enough for the room to buzz. ‘Here is a man whose name speaks for itself. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr Luca Fiorini of Fiorini International!’
Mimi’s legs gave way under her just as the thunderous applause and shouting started. Sitting on the edge of the press-release table might not have been the most glamorous thing to do, but the alternative was the floor. Luca Fiorini? Her cousin Luca was here as a special guest?
No. Not possible. This could not be happening.
Mimi leant forward and dropped her head lower to stop herself from hyperventilating and passing out. Suddenly there was no air in this room.
She had to get out of here before her cousin Luca spotted her and let the cat out of the bag.
Pushing herself to her feet was the hardest part. Creeping around the back of the party, her back to the wall while everyone was focused on the front of the room, turned out to be surprisingly easy.
Her good luck ran out within sight of the door and she was trapped in a group of new arrivals who surged into the room carrying her along with them to face the stage.
An immaculately groomed young man in a sleek, sophisticated business suit had taken over the podium, confident, tanned, elegant and commanding. Her cousin Luca. He looked like he had just landed from Planet Slick.
‘Thank you for your warm welcome. I am grateful to Langdon Events for inviting me here tonight. I am honour
ed to support this excellent charity and look forward to being part of the celebration of fashion tomorrow.’
He lifted his chin and smiled out into the crowd like an ancient-Roman emperor deciding who lived or died in the arena. Luca knew he held the attention of the whole room. ‘Some of you may not know that tomorrow’s show has a very personal family connection.’
Mimi’s stomach dropped to her shoes and she willed him to stop talking. No. He could not possibly know who was behind Studio Designs. Please do not do say another word, Luca; I am begging you. Not now. Not one more word.
‘Tomorrow the fourth generation of Fiorini designers will be presenting her first signature collection. I am sure that it will be a great success. On behalf of the entire Fiorini family, I am delighted to be able to congratulate my dear cousin, Mimi Fiorini Ryan, on her great achievement. It is pleasing to know that a Fiorini is still designing wonderful fashion. Brava, Mimi. Brava!’
The silence was so thick she could have sliced it. And then the room exploded around her.
She couldn’t speak. She had lost sight of Luca from the crush of people around her and the light from camera flashes was blinding her.
Aurelia and her friends were suddenly next to her, chatting furiously about how she was a sly one and asking why she had not told them earlier. Only, as she turned to try and put together some sort of explanation, men in suits started pushing voice recorders into her face and firing questions at her from both sides.
‘Mimi! Over here, Mimi.’
‘Is that a Fiorini outfit you are wearing?’
‘How does it feel to be the next in line to the Fiorini designer crown?’
‘Has the family firm helped you put together the collection we are going to see tomorrow?’
‘Are you going to head up a new Fiorini line in London?’
‘When is the Mimi Ryan Signature Collection coming out in the shops? How long will we have to wait?’
‘Just who designed these clothes, Mimi?’
Her Moment in the Spotlight Page 14