Even if I couldn’t give him everything.
I typed back:
Me:
Okay. But I’m warning you—Paris Rachel is very busy.
His response made me smile.
Dominic:
I’ll take her anyway.
I set the phone down, heart full and uneasy all at once. This whole journey of self-discovery had its own pitfalls, potholes, and speed bumps. It also wasn’t without its own bit of sacrifice, because the fear of missing out was way too real.
The rest of the week came at me sideways, with too much too fast, to worry about Dominic’s upcoming visit.
René kept me moving between shoots, edits, and meetings that blurred together into a rhythm I barely had time to question. Some days I barely made it to my desk before he was already redirecting me somewhere else. Other days he left notes instead of instructions, expecting me to read between the lines and fill in the rest.
I was learning how he thought. That was both thrilling and terrifying.
Then—her. She didn’t reappear with any kind of fanfare. No grand coincidence or dramatic setup.
I walked into a shoot one afternoon and she was already there, laughing with one of the stylists, hair pulled back, dressed in something soft and unremarkable that somehow made her look even more striking than the clothes she modeled.
It took me a second to register that my pulse had changed.
She noticed me at the same time.
Our eyes met. Recognition sparked—quiet, warm.
She smiled first.
“Hey,” she said, that Australian lilt making the word sound like an invitation instead of a greeting.
“Hey,” I replied, suddenly aware of how tired I probably looked.
“Busy week?” she asked.
I snorted softly. “When isn’t it?”
She laughed. Not polite laughter. Real.
We stood there for a moment longer than necessary, neither of us rushing to fill the space.
Still no name. Still no labels. Still no real time either.
When we were called to opposite ends of the set, she glanced back at me and said, lightly, “You still owe me a rain check on that drink.”
I hesitated.
Then smiled. “I do,” I admitted. “Not sure when… but rain check.” It wasn’t a commitment. It wasn’t a no either.
Something unfamiliar settled into my chest as I watched her walk away. The set swallowed her up with motion, demands, and work.
It wasn’t urgency or longing, not like with Dominic.But there was definitely anticipation—especially when it hit me that I could have asked her name. The moment had been there—soft, open, uncomplicated. It would’ve taken nothing more than a breath and a question.
Instead, I didn’t. Not because I forgot. Because I didn’t want to know yet.
