“Some do,” she challenged.
“You’re right, teenagers and hipsters. I’m neither, if you haven’t noticed.” He crowded her space just enough for her to be overwhelmed with his scent, his protective stance.
She was giving in like she knew she would.
But she would give in on her terms. “If I asked you to hold me all night, just hold me, make sure I fall asleep, what would you say?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he jerked his shirt open. Buttons flew everywhere as he continued to strip down to his boxers, and then he was carrying her to her bed and laying her down on it. He covered her with a million blankets and then lay down next to her, pulling an afghan over himself.
“You know we can share blankets, right?”
“No,” he said gruffly. “We really can’t. You’re asking me to protect you from all the things on the outside of this apartment. This is my way of protecting you from the things on the inside.”
She gulped.
“Celibate, Zoe. Cut a man some slack. And if you wiggle even once, and I leave, don’t panic. I’m just taking one of the very many cold showers that I’ve been cursed with over the last year.”
With a giggle, she turned and faced him. “How cold?”
“Let’s just say…” He sighed and started brushing her face lightly with his fingertips. “That I was afraid of blood loss and possible amputation of something greatly needed to have kids.”
“Kids,” she repeated.
His lips pressed up into a blinding smile. “Kids.” He kissed her forehead. “Now, go to sleep. I’ll keep the monsters away.”
“And what about the monster in my bed?”
“Sometimes, men have no choice but to become monsters to protect those they love from the darkness in this world. Monster fighting monster is better than monster fighting man.”
She sucked in a sharp breath as the reality of his words sank in, and then she was flying, soaring, in the arms of the city’s most renowned crime boss.
A murderer.
A thief.
An extortionist.
Funny how the safest place people always expected to find themselves in, was the most dangerous. And the most dangerous?
Peaceful beyond reason.
New York Fashion Week Countdown – Day 6
“I needed this so bad,” Everlee said the next day as she hooked her bag on the seat and slumped against the wooden chair. They were finally at happy hour together the following day. How had the week gone by so fast?
“How are you feeling?” Brittany asked. Her eyes were puffy, and she looked as if she hadn’t slept in a week, but other than that, same old Brittany, concerned about everyone and everything. It was sweet, except Everlee didn’t want sweet right now. Her husband was currently getting investigated by the police. And he was a monster.
She didn’t want to hate him.
But she did.
“I’m getting a divorce,” Everlee blurted. “I just… I wanted you guys to be the first to know.”
Zoe chose that moment to breeze in, her face a bit pale, her smile brittle. A chill rippled through Everlee. What was going on with her group of friends? A week ago, everyone had seemed as if they were at least surviving. And now?
“Divorce?” Zoe asked, sliding into her usual seat.
“Yeah.” In spite of her supreme effort to remain steady, Everlee’s chin wobbled, and then she burst into tears. “He shoved me, and the police came—”
“You called the police on him?” Brittany was out of her seat, her arm wrapped around her as Everlee cried in her friend’s arms.
“No.” Everlee sniffed. “I mean, they came because of Dane, because… I thought Frederick might be up to something, and I just had this feeling. His computer has all these encrypted files, so I asked a favor.”
Zoe froze in place. Brittany kept rubbing her back.
“I asked him to hack Frederick’s computer. Guys, it’s bad. It’s so bad. I don’t see how he’s going to get out of it, and I don’t want him to! If it’s true, if what he’s doing and has done is true, then I can’t believe I ever thought I loved him.”
“I’m so sorry.” Brittany rubbed Everlee’s back more and more. It should be calming, it wasn’t. “Sometimes, these things just happen—”
“If you say ‘for a reason,’ I’m going to shank you with this fork!” Everlee burst out. “Everything’s so perfect. When have you ever struggled in life? What? You’re upset because your politician boyfriend didn’t love you enough?” She knew she was overreacting, but she was just so angry, so hurt. And it was easier to lash out at family, at loved ones, rather than taking the blame, wasn’t it?
“Everlee!” Zoe snapped. “Stop!”
“And you!” Anger and sadness pulsed with every breath Everlee took. “Dane’s been in love with you since we were teens, and you just lead him around like some pathetic guy on a leash. He’d kill for you, probably has if we’re really throwing down at the table. It’s not like half the city doesn’t know he’s connected to the Italian mob!”
Tears streaked down Zoe’s cheeks, but Everlee couldn’t stop. They didn’t get it. She’d lost everything! She’d lost her baby! Her husband! Her life! Child pornography? Seriously? Could it get worse?
Brittany stood, swayed toward Everlee, then locked eyes with her and whispered in a choked-up voice, “Chrissy Mendoza is my daughter.” She squeezed her eyes shut and started to cry softly into her hands. “Mine and Ronan’s.”
The server chose that stellar moment to stop at the table and drop off the tequila shot for Danica and to take their drink order.
“Alcohol,” Everlee said in a desperate, confused voice. “Just… all of…” He gave her an annoyed look. She waved him off. “Just bring us house wine, go!”
“Honey…” Zoe reached for Brittany. “What are you talking about? You’ve never been pregnant. I thought you were still a virgin!”
“Joke’s on you,” Brittany said between sobs. “Ronan and I… We loved each other. I thought he was my forever… things just… escalated. It was exciting, and I felt cherished and wanted. And I mean, look at him. His family? When they found out, they sent me away. Roger helped, he didn’t know what else to do except lie to Marnie and tell her I got really sick and that if I had a career left, he’d take over. That’s why I switched, probably why she still hates me.” Brittany slumped against Everlee. “She’s perfect. Chrissy is perfect. I held that girl in my arms, I gave her up for adoption. I gave her away!” She started sobbing even harder.
Everlee wasn’t sure what to do, mainly because the news was so shocking, so raw that she resorted to doing what Brittany would do, which led them all back to the soothing back rubs and complete shock.
“Britt.” Everlee went from the back rub straight into a hug. “Talk to us. How’d you find out?”
Brittany wiped under her eyes. “I only knew I needed to close that chapter of my life, come clean. It felt like I always had this guilt hanging over me, this shame, the happiest girl alive isn’t really the happiest. She’s just barely surviving. I lost both Ronan and Chrissy that night. But I chose to lose her. I chose my career over her, just like he chose his career over me. So, I felt like, in some small way, I deserved whatever came next.”
“You know that’s not true,” Zoe piped up, tears in her eyes. “You’re one of the best people I know, probably the best. You deserve all the good things life has to offer. Abandoning your child and her mother to choose a political career versus ensuring a good life for your baby are two very different things.”
“But that’s the thing. I gave her a better life because I wanted to still live mine. I was selfish, young…” Brittany shuddered. “And now, I don’t know what to do. I thought I would see a picture of some vaguely familiar face and move on. But now I know where she is, who she is. I know she idolized me growing up, and she’s in the same city as both me and Ronan.”
“Creepy.” Zoe breathed out what Everlee was already thinking. “Wh
at? It is! How does that even happen?”
“Second chances,” Everlee said on a whisper as she stared into both her friends’ hurt faces, pain she had put there because she was hurting herself and because lashing out felt better than crying herself to sleep. “Maybe you’ve been given a second chance to do it right this time. Have you thought about that?”
Brittany nodded. “I have, and I want to, I just don’t know how to get my second chance with Chrissy while still dating Oliver. I mean, that’s a big secret, a huge one. It’s like dropping an elephant onto a Maserati and going, ‘whoops!’”
“Nice.” Zoe grinned and then sobered as she reached into her purse and pulled out the piece of paper that had Dane’s list of demands, including the proposal. “Dane asked me to marry him.”
Everlee’s jaw nearly came unhinged from her face. “Say what?”
“Marriage. There is no great aunt or trust fund. He gave me every dime I had to start the line… I paid him back, but the interest was me, literally. So, I either give him the cash, or I marry him. Oh, and it gets better. He bought me a loft, remodeled it, put everything in it that I would have put in it myself, and then, last night when Aaron stopped by—”
“Wait! Aaron? Creepy Aaron?”
“He’s currently Creepy Aaron to a nice jail mate.” Zoe lifted the untouched tequila shot and swallowed it. “Dane saved me, again, and yet I’m still holding back. Why am I holding back? Why am I so afraid of him?”
“Because he sees you,” Everlee found herself saying. “And to be seen beyond the glitz, the glamour, the face, it’s a beautiful thing. Frederick only saw the outside. He only cared about what it would do for his career. And now look at us. Look at him.”
“Well!” Brittany laughed through fresh tears. “We’re a mess, aren’t we?”
Everlee reached out and grabbed each of their hands. “I’m sorry, guys. It’s just everything always looks so perfect when you’re on the outside.”
“It’s the Instagram effect. Perfect pictures on the outside, total mess on the inside.” Zoe agreed.
“I need to tell Ronan,” Brittany said in a quiet voice. “And Oliver, of course.”
“And I need to decide if Dane loves the power he wields over the city more than me, or if it’s because of me,” Zoe admitted.
Zoe and Brittany looked at Everlee.
But she had nothing.
And then she stared at the empty tequila shot and thought about Danica, about her feisty attitude and easy smile. About the way she had looked at the world, not as a friend but as her opponent, something that needed to be beaten into submission.
“I think…” Everlee leaned back in her chair. “I need to discover who I am again, without Frederick by my side.”
“Cheers.” They lifted their water glasses and then Zoe set hers down and stared at each of the girls. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Anything,” they said in unison.
“A few models dropped out of the show. It’s not a huge deal, probably Marnie just pulling her models because she hates us and always has, but would you guys be willing to model? At all?”
“Of course!” Everlee was the first to answer. “Plus, it will be fun, walking with both of you again.”
Brittany nodded. “On one condition.”
“It’s yours,” Zoe said quickly.
“I want to walk with Chrissy.”
“Oh, man, now I’m going to cry.” Zoe glared. “You know I hate crying. I have to redo my makeup, and this is perfection.” She pointed to her golden-brown skin and perfect eyeliner.
“It really is,” Brittany agreed.
“Is that a new eye palette?” Everlee leaned in.
And then the girls burst into laughter despite all the tears that had been shed, despite all the tears they had yet to shed. Despite the still empty seat at the table.
And the now-empty shot in front of it.
They all stared over at the chair.
“You think she did it?” Brittany finally asked the question that had been looming over them for a full year.
“No,” Everlee said quickly. “I really don’t.”
“Me either,” Zoe agreed.
“Frederick.” Everlee licked her dry lips. “He had a lot of pictures of her on his computer, several videos of her and Jauq.”
“Jauq sobbed at the funeral,” Zoe pointed out.
“It just—” Everlee stopped talking and thought about it. “It doesn’t make sense. She never really hung out with them as much as the pictures show. It’s almost like it was on purpose.” She shook her head. “I just wish I knew what that reason was. Why would Danica spend any time with Marnie? She hated her.”
“But she loved Jauq,” Zoe added. “And Marnie and Jauq have always been close with each other and Frederick.”
“Yeah.” Everlee toyed with the end of her straw. “Maybe?” She grabbed a menu and opened it. “I guess we just need to trust that the truth will come to light.”
“Exactly,” Brittany agreed, squeezing Everlee’s hand and then turning to Zoe. “What do you need us to do to help you get ready for the show?”
“Thank God.” Zoe’s shoulders slumped as she exhaled in relief. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Zoe, I’m hoping that was a prayer.” Brittany couldn’t believe she’d just scolded her friend out loud; she’d been thinking it but hadn’t realized she said it until her friends gaped at her. She was tired of people throwing God’s name around when they really should be that thankful. Brittany took a deep breath as the buzz of music added to the noisy restaurant. “As seriously failed as I am, I know you guys think of me as this church lady, but unless you’re really using his name in thankfulness, it bothers me, and I should have said something sooner, I know that. I’ve been quiet too long, I just love you guys, and when you use his name, it means something to me, like it should to you.”
Zoe was the first to move out of her chair, and then all the girls surrounded her in a hug as Everlee piped up. “We’ll do better, we’ll all do better.”
“We love you.” Zoe sniffled. “And I really am thankful to God and to you guys for being here to help me.”
“Ditto.” Everlee squeezed Brittany harder.
And a weight lifted off of Brittany’s shoulders as she hugged her friends back and said. “Let’s take Fashion Week by storm.”
“Huzzah.” Zoe laughed, and the tension immediately dissipated.
New York Fashion Week Countdown - Now
“Have I ever told you how much I love and appreciate you?” Zoe asked Brittany and Everlee as they were backstage getting ready. The clothing was gorgeous. Brittany knew it was going to be a huge hit.
Already, Oliver was sitting in the front row between Grace and Roger, getting an earful. The guy would probably never forgive her, but every time she looked out, he was smiling, so that was good, right?
Progress.
Because of the show and prepping, they hadn’t seen much of each other, but they’d talked and texted. Things were progressing; Brittany just didn’t know when she could tell him.
And the bigger issue, she needed to tell Ronan first.
“Speak of the devil,” she murmured under her breath as Ronan made his way toward her.
“You ladies look amazing.” He leaned in and kissed each of them on the cheek, saving Brittany for last. “Some more than others.”
“Dating,” she said with a smirk. “Someone else.”
“A guy never stops trying.” He winked and then turned to Chrissy and did a double-take. “Sorry, for a second, I thought I was seeing Brittany’s twin, nice to see you again.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.” Chrissy beamed. “It’s a huge compliment.”
“How long have you been modeling?” He seemed genuinely interested, his smile warm.
“Just this year. And can I say that when I turn eighteen, I’ll totally vote for you?” She made a face. “Sorry, that came out extremely aggressive and way too loud.”
He
laughed and pulled her in for a side hug. “I love the enthusiasm.”
“Good.”
Brittany couldn’t stop the tears welling in her eyes, and when she turned to Zoe and Everlee, both of them were wiping their cheeks as if they were swiping away moisture from their eyes.
“Chrissy! Makeup! Now!” someone shouted.
“That’s me!” She skipped off in the direction of the makeup chairs.
Everyone else dispersed, leaving Ronan and Brittany staring at each other.
“How are things?” he asked in that polite tone she was used to him using when they were in public.
She thought about the last few days with Chrissy and then of Oliver. “Good, actually. You?”
“Other than the ex-wife and her inability to stop talking to the media, good. Busy, but good.” He smiled down at her. “If I told you I missed you, would it matter?”
“Being missed is always nice, Ronan. Of course, it matters. For future reference, I would love to be your friend. I actually have something to tell you—”
She was cut off by Zoe colliding into her and swiping either tears or sweat from underneath her eyes.
“Breathe!” Everlee grabbed Zoe by the hands. “Just breathe. We have time, we can figure this out, all right? In and out, there you go.”
“What’s wrong?” Brittany took in her friends’ suddenly pale faces.
“The models,” Everlee said with a pinched expression and hate in her tone. “A few of the ones that were booked for the show backed out for another one, and basically it looks like Marnie double-booked them on purpose and threatened their careers if they chose Zoe over Marc Jacobs.”
Brittany squeezed her eyes shut. “Why? Why is she so horrible?”
And, of course, that would be the moment that Marnie made an appearance with Frederick on one side and Jauq on the other. “Trouble in paradise?”
“How dare you?” Zoe lunged. Everlee was barely able to hold her back. “What have I ever done to you?”
“Plenty,” Marnie spat. “Besides, you’re all guilty by association. Isn’t that right, Frederick?” She patted his cheek.
He kissed the inside of her palm and stared daggers at all of them, while Jauq just looked at the floor.
Fashion Jungle Page 24
