by Cassie Rocca
“Fear Zoe?” said Eric with a bitter laugh. “Didn’t you see the kind of man she likes?”
“She does have rather unusual taste.”
“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it.”
Stephanie stared at the road ahead, suddenly looking melancholy. “Listen, I hope I didn’t give you the impression that I’m some kind of crazy jealous fruitcake, but it’s hard for me to trust people. Years ago I fell in love with a guy who was really close friends with this other girl – they’d been family friends since they were at kindergarten together. As far as he was concerned she was like a kid sister or something, but then we started dating and she got jealous and she kept throwing spanners into the works until we eventually split up. I hated the way she was always meddling in our relationship and it ended up driving me nuts, but at the same time my boyfriend was still too attached to her to tell her to buzz off – he didn’t want to hurt her,” she said as she observed him from under her long lashes. “So can you understand now why I wanted to make sure that Zoe wasn’t another rival? Us women always tend to make the same type of mistakes in love, and this time I just really want to avoid doing that…”
Eric was silent for a moment, feeling more guilty than ever. But if Steffy needed reassurance about there not being anything going on between him and Zoe he could give it to her without lying. He was the one who was hopelessly in love with Zoe, not the other way round, and he was determined to remedy the situation with Steffy.
“You heard what she said today – if nothing has ever happened between us in all the years we’ve known each other, you have nothing to worry about,” he said, gallantly opening the door of the taxi for her, then following her in and sitting beside her.
“I’m really happy to hear that,” she murmured with a smile, pulling him closer to her.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
Steffy looked at Eric, a clear invitation in her eyes.
“The night’s still young. You want to come back to my place?”
He hesitated a moment, feeling confused, and then the image of Zoe on that pig in heat’s bike appeared in his mind.
“Good idea.”
Chapter 7
Things were buzzing at that time in Giftland. To cope with the constant demands of customers, Liberty had recruited a couple of extra girls so as to let her, Zoe, Eric and Clover get on with their own jobs.
That particular day, however, the situation was even more chaotic than normal. In addition to the usual customers – of whom there were more than usual because Valentine’s Day was approaching – there was a Hollywood star and a listed Canadian model in the store, and confusion reigned supreme. The employees wanted to take a look at the celebrities and the customers jostled to admire the fantastic models parading up and down the shop’s stairs for hours.
Intent on adjusting her camera, Zoe waited for Brooke Samuels to explain the purpose of the photo shoot to her astonished friend Sydney. She and the actress had met the previous afternoon to choose twelve faces from among those the model agency had made available, and to assign roles for each calendar month. Now, the same models were gathered in a corner, almost ready to start, but Sydney was still shaking her head in disbelief and amusement.
The phone rang and Zoe answered it without thinking. “Giftland,” she said, still staring at the settings on her camera.
“Hello, this is Cade. I’d like to speak to my insane girlfriend!”
“No chance that you’d rather speak to me, then, I guess?” joked Zoe, peering around her in search of Clover. Her friend had stayed in the store to help choose the costumes so she couldn’t be far away.
“Stop hitting on me – you’ll make Patrick jealous!”
“Patrick?”
“Dempsey. I’ve got his autograph for you. He didn’t put his phone number on it, unfortunately, but it’s better than nothing…”
“Oh, Cade, you’re the best!” laughed Zoe, as she located Clover. “I’m going to try with all my might to get between you and that darn redhead – who, incidentally, doesn’t deserve you. You’ve only been away only a few days and she’s already replaced you, did you know that?”
“Oh, really? Who with?”
“With a bevy of oily, half-naked models. She’s over there schmoozing them right now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to drag her away,” she cooed, smiling at the look in Clover’s eyes once she realized who was on the other end of the phone line.
“What the hell are half-naked models doing in your shop?” growled Cade, affecting a stern voice. “I thought it was safe to let her work there!”
“I know – but hey, what can you do, we’re about to start doing a racy photo shoot and Clover immediately offered to lend us a hand. She’s completely shameless!”
“Send me the photos of these guys – I’ll show them to my team of hitmen so they know who they need to take out.”
With a grin at Zoe, Clover snatched the phone from her and said, “See what happens when you’re away from me? If you hadn’t gone to Los Angeles, I wouldn’t have needed to try and forget how lonely I felt with the help of twelve hunky strangers!” she said as she walked away.
How sweet, thought Zoe as she returned to her desk, looking around her as she went.
The large room in which she worked was unusually full of people: twelve models, four costume designers, the makeup artists, Brooke and Sydney, Clover and Liberty, and even Eric. Samuels had asked for him in fact, and they had also requested a backstage film that showed the most entertaining moments of the photo shoot, and so Eric was working hard with cameras and microphones.
Zoe allowed herself a moment to observe him. Since the awful evening they had spent together with their respective partners they hadn’t been alone for a minute and so they’d had no chance to talk about it. In fact, he seemed to be keeping his distance. Perhaps he had other things to think about – his new relationship, for instance. Had his sweet girlfriend already begun to brainwash him about not getting too close to her?
Zoe gritted her teeth at the thought of yet another girl who was going to try and get between her and her best friend. What was it they were afraid of? If Eric had had any interest in her he would have shown it by now, wouldn’t he?
She remembered the thoughtful, sweet way he had acted towards Stephanie during dinner and let out a sigh. Now that was a normal couple. Whatever it was that she and that sex addict with ambitions to break into the world of entertainment had definitely couldn’t be considered a relationship!
She looked around for the man in question and when she spotted him, intent on admiring himself in the mirror before getting ready for the photographs, she grimaced. Their relationship had taken a weird turn after the evening at the restaurant – a sexual one that Zoe wasn’t really into. But she had made the mistake of giving him one steamy night to try and regain the ground she felt she’d lost when she’d seen Evan staring admiringly at his ex-girlfriend, and now keeping him at bay had become even more difficult than before. She was ashamed of the awkward strategy she had adopted so as to avoid being pushed out of the way by that walking pair of fake boobs. On the other hand, the thought of being single and desperate around the couple of the year made her feel like crap, and that was why she was carrying on with this stupid relationship, hoping to get something positive out of it. But the task was proving more difficult than she’d expected.
Against her will, she turned her eyes back to Eric. He looked distracted and quiet. His face looked relaxed, which she read as a sure sign of sexual satisfaction, but his eyes weren’t shining the way Clover’s were.
Wasn’t he happy with his girlfriend?
He turned and Zoe met his gaze. She wanted to ask how he was, how his new romance was going, or just spend some time chatting to him, teasing each other the way they always did, just to make sure he wasn’t trying to put some distance between them, but she wasn’t sure that he was willing to confide in her – and anyway, at the moment she was too busy to be thinking about this s
tuff, so she forced herself to put the whole thing out of her mind until a later date.
Evan emerged from one of the makeshift cubicles that had been put up to give the models some privacy, dressed – or rather, undressed – as Cupid. A piece of white fabric was draped over his private parts, from his back sprouted a pair of white wings and in his hand he carried a bow. There was no denying that he was genuinely attractive and very sexy, though perhaps the makeup artist had gone a bit overboard with the body oil. Every single muscle was highlighted, glossy and quivering, and his blond curls were artfully arranged.
Zoe saw him approach Brooke and Sydney and swore under her breath. She had told him to stay away from them, but it was evident that he hadn’t listened to her. On his face was the same expression you might see on the face of a kid going into a toy store, as he stared at the two women almost adoringly.
Sickened, she approached Liberty, who was absorbed in choosing the background music. “I’ve never seen a man brown-nosing the way Evan is doing right now with those two,” she muttered.
“Is he trying to become a male model?”
“I have no idea.”
“What do you two talk about when you are together?” asked Liberty, without looking at her.
Zoe shrugged. “That’s usually left up to me.”
“I see.”
Eric stopped next to them with a bundle of wires in his hand, trying to arrange them so that they wouldn’t get in the way.
“Be careful with those, I wouldn’t want someone to trip over them,” Liberty reminded him. “We’d have to pay the agency if one of their models got hurt.”
Zoe grimaced. “The only one who can get hurt without it being a problem is Evan, he doesn’t belong to any agency – at least, not the moment.”
“Cupid has wings so I don’t know if I can trip him up. But I can try,” quipped Eric, ducking under a table to hide the tangle of electrical cables. Brooke and Sydney came over. “Zoe, can we have a word?”
“Sure, girls, what’s up?”
“It’s really fun, and I absolutely love the idea,” smiled the model, turning to her friend and giving her an affectionate look. “I just have one teensy problem.”
“Tell me what it is and we’ll try to sort it out.”
“Cupid.” muttered Brooke. “Can’t you just get someone else?”
An amused snort coming from under the table made Zoe smirk. She tried to restrain herself. “What’s the matter with Evan?”
“He’s a little… insistent!” said Sydney, rolling her eyes. “All he does is smile and keep giving us compliments. I have a feeling that he’s trying to get me to put a word in for him with my agency… Either that or he’s angling to get a date. But either way, I’m not interested and he’s getting on my nerves.”
“What we mean is that we would have preferred someone a bit more delicate for the part of Cupid,” said Brooke.
Zoe blinked in surprise. “I’m sorry, I should have had him come to the casting yesterday. Wasn’t the description accurate enough?”
“Oh, no, I thought it would be a great idea. A beautiful, sexy cherub. But your guy just doesn’t quite square with my idea of sensuality.”
“He squares with mine – or at least with that of my ‘almost’ husband,” snapped Sydney, an angry spark flickering in her eyes. “He has the same kind of animal charm that asshole Trevor had!”
“Maybe we could call the model agency and get them to us send one of the guys that we turned down.”
Sydney turned back to Liberty, an apologetic expression on her face. “I’m sorry to be causing all these problems.”
“Not at all – the calendar is a gift for you and it should be completely to your taste,” replied Liberty reassuringly.
Brooke’s gaze was drawn towards Eric, who was still crouched under the table, and a devilish smile appeared on her face. “Syd, honey, I think that I might just have found you a perfect Cupid.”
Zoe followed the actress’s eyes and nearly burst out laughing. “Oh, Brooke, I don’t think…”
“Look at that cute ass,” the woman continued, giving Sydney a nudge with her elbow. The model looked at Eric’s backside, which was quite evident in that position, and raised her eyebrows.
“Not bad. But what about the rest of him?”
“Gorgeous!” Brooke assured her. “I’ve already met him.”
“But Sydney hasn’t,” said Liberty with a sadistic smile, as she anticipated the scene that was unfolding. “Eric, can you can come out from under there for a moment?”
Zoe saw Eric back out on all fours and crack his head against the edge of the table as he tried to get to his feet. “Damn,” she heard him mutter, rubbing his brown curls.
She smiled in amusement. Eric was the only guy she knew who could be polite and refined even when he swore.
The knock had sent his glasses flying, so Eric ‘s face was dishevelled but unadorned when he turned to face them. Sydney looked him up and down from head to foot, then nodded.
“I like him!”
Eric put his glasses back on and then stared in puzzlement at the female faces around him. “Did I miss something?”
“You are about to become a model,” said Liberty. “Brooke and Sydney think you would be perfect for the role of Cupid.”
Zoe put her hand to her mouth to try and stop herself from laughing out loud. The shocked expression on Eric’s face was priceless.
“What?! No way! I’m not posing for a photo shoot!” he protested, looking over at her for support. “Tell them I’m not photogenic!”
“Well,” Zoe hesitated, “he is actually is a bit wooden. I think he’s really too shy for this sort of thing.”
“Nonsense, we’re amongst friends here,” said Brooke, dismissing their excuses with a wave of her hand. She grabbed Eric’s arm and dragged him towards them so that she could get a better look at him. “He’s slender rather than muscular, but he’s tall and has a beautiful face. He looks very sweet, and that’s good, seeing as he will be representing the god of love. In Latin mythology, Cupid was described as young and clumsy and that sounds about right too. Okay, his hair isn’t really blond, but it isn’t in Caravaggio’s paintings either, so…”
“You’re right, he’s perfect,” said Sydney with an approving smile.
“So, Eric, if you want to go and change… You’re second in order of appearance,” said Liberty, immediately handling the practical side of the matter. But Eric kept shaking his head vigorously.
“Wait a minute, don’t I get a say in this? I’m not a model!”
Liberty’s expression began to grow more and more threatening and Brooke and Sydney looked at him in a puzzled way. Zoe took him by the arm, but Eric pulled away and began to leave the room.
“Leave him to me, give me five minutes,” she said, before setting off after him.
She intercepted him at the other side of the door and grabbed him. “Eric, wait!”
“I’m not doing it,” he hissed, giving her a glare.
Zoe dragged him into Liberty’s office and closed the door. “There’ll only be a couple of shots! I promise that I’ll be quick, I already know exactly what I want to do, so it won’t take long.”
“But did you see how that clown was dressed?!”
“Oh, come on, make an effort!” Zoe said. “Aren’t you pleased to know that two beautiful A-listers prefer you to Evan? Think of the satisfaction when you go back out there and steal his bow and wings!”
Eric mumbled something incomprehensible and Zoe moved closer to him. “Do it for Sydney. She’s just been brutally dumped by a guy who looks just like Evan.”
“Well maybe that’ll teach her to prefer brains over muscles.”
“Then do it for yourself and for Liberty. If you upset Brooke by refusing to co-operate, Lib might cut your wages!”
“A fine friend she is! She didn’t even ask me for my opinion, she just immediately sacrificed me for the cause!”
“Okay, do it for me then
.” Zoe put her hand on his chest, fluttering her eyelashes as she often did in order to obtain favors from her prey. “You don’t want to make me look bad in front of two women as important as them, right?”
“Are you flirting with me?” Eric blurted out, staring at her.
“Is it working?” she giggled.
“Why?”
“To get you to accept the role of Cupid?”
“Then no.”
Was there another reason that have made a difference? Zoe wondered briefly. But she dismissed the thought and sighed.
“Listen, we’d also be running the risk of giving Cade some bad publicity. He was the one who recommended us to Brooke, remember? If we piss her off she might mention it to some journalist and poor Clover would end up in the middle of it all…”
“You sure know how to get someone in a corner,” said Eric, and then he took a deep breath. “Ten minutes in all – and don’t make me look an idiot!”
“I’ll make you look like a god, I promise!” said Zoe, clapping her hands happily. “Go and get ready. Clo and the seamstresses will tell you what to do. I’ll go and reassure the others.”
She left before he could change his mind and joined Brooke, Sydney and Liberty.
“Everything okay? I didn’t mean to upset him,” began the model, sounding confused.
“He isn’t angry, he’s just terrified,” explained Zoe. “But I’ve calmed him down and promised that it won’t take more than ten minutes’
“I’ll go and get him a beer, maybe that’ll help him relax,” said Liberty, leaving the room.
Brooke looked at Zoe, almost incredulously. “I’ve never seen a man get so anxious at the thought of showing off in front of a group of women!”
“Eric just isn’t like other men,” she smiled. “He’s a nice guy who wants to get himself noticed for his other qualities.”
