“The hottie with the searing blue eyes?”
Indigo had tried to forget how beautiful Wilt’s eyes were. Not to mention how handsome he was when he wore his glasses. And when he didn’t have them on. It was criminal that he could look so good both ways.
She shook her head to try and dislodge the image of him from her mind. “That’s the one,” she said instead, and held her hands out so Zara could untie her boxing gloves.
“He didn’t say much during the meeting, but most of those guys don’t. They take their job of melting into the backgroundseriously. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Zara pulled the gloves off and dropped them to the ground.
“I know, and it’s not like I need to get along with my security detail, but this job feels different. Which is silly to say.”
“Not really, itisdifferent. We’re talking expensive pieces of jewelry. The hype around this collection is insane. Jeffrey’s first one in years. I don’t know how anyone can afford his pieces, but obviously there’s a market for it.” Zara pulled out her phone and tapped away at the screen before holding it out. “Did you see some of these designs? They’re breathtaking.”
The image was of a necklace with a large yellow diamond set in platinum. What was so beautiful about it was that it wasn’t suspended from a simple gold chain, instead, diamond flowers trailed up and disappeared behind the model’s neck. The piece should’ve looked gaudy with all the stones in it, but it looked elegant and tasteful. And she was going to wear stunning pieces like that. She was going to be the face of Jeffrey Courteux’s comeback collection, a huge addition to her already impressive resumé. If he did any more collections, she would love to be considered as the one to model them for him.
She and Zara had discussed the idea, and her agent would approach Jeffrey and Greta while they were working. It was one of the reasons that Zara was with her on this trip. The other was her friend needed a break, she’d worked non-stop for so long. Zara also had to let her staff know she could trust them to handle things if they went a little haywire while she wasn’t there to oversee it all. Indigo understood letting go of control wasn’t easy for Zara, but this was a start.
“He really is talented, and he also designs jewelry that the everyday consumer can buy. I heard he sells them exclusively for the tourist shops in Broome.” Indigo couldn’t wait until they got there. Broome was located up the north coast of Western Australia and he was excited to take a tour of a pearl farm.Not to mention, spend time at the luxurious resorts the region was known for. She would also love to be an ambassador for that brand too. She may have access to designer clothes and accessories, but she also remembered her humble beginnings when money was tight and she had to go to thrift shops to get outfits for school dances.
Broome was their last stop, and after the photoshoot was over, she was taking another week to relax at the resort and do nothing but sleep and walk along the beach.
An image of someone with bright blue eyes, holding her hand as they walked together across the soft sand flashed in her mind, and she slammed the door on it.
That was never happening.
It would be lucky if Wilt even smiled at her the whole time they were together, let alone hold her hand and walk along a beach with her.
“I had heard that,” Zara said. “Also, did you know that he met his wife up there, and she had no idea who he was?”
“I didn’t know that. But that must have been nice for him to meet someone who didn’t want anything from him. Or only wanted to get to know him because of who he was and what he could do for them.” It was hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
Being in the limelight as much as she was and having such a recognizable face, made having relationships difficult. There were men who were threatened by her success, and others who only wanted her for what she could give them.
One day, though, she would find someone who would love her for her true self, and not the model they saw plastered everywhere.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Indigo stepped out of the car at the ferry terminal.
There were people milling about, chatting excitedly about their trip. There was a slight breeze, and she closed her eyes and lifted her face toward it. There was nothing like feeling fresh air on her skin.
Today was the first day of her tour around Western Australia. They were heading over to Rottnest Island, and she hoped she could get a selfie with a quokka, like she’d seen so many famous people do. The little creatures always looked so carefree and happy in the photos. It seemed impossible that they actually smiled, but the pictures would suggest otherwise.
Her phone rang, and she pulled it out seeing Zara’s name on the screen. She wasn’t joining them on this portion of the trip after all, and she was very disappointed she couldn’t get a selfie either. Unfortunately, one of her clients wasn’t as good as Indigo in keeping themself out of trouble, and she had to fly back to Sydney to try and sort it out. One of her staff had tried to deal with it, but the starlet was being difficult and only wanted Zara to fix it. Perhaps Zara was right when she’d said that taking a break would be impossible for her.
“Where are you?” Zara clipped out before Indigo could even say hello.
“I’m at the ferry terminal.” Indigo looked around, surprised she couldn’t see any of the crew and especially her security detail. Wilt had called to tell her he would meet her in themorning at her hotel to take her to where they were catching the boat to the island. But that was the last thing she wanted.
Wilt hadn’t been happy when she told him she could make her own way. He’d argued, and she’d argued right back, until eventually she’d gotten her way. Somehow Indigo didn’t think there would be many more times he’d give in like he had. She could tell he wasn’t happy, but this alone time was important to her.
“Which one?” Zara’s sharp request pulled her from her thoughts.
“The one where all the Rottnest ferries leave from in Fremantle.”
Zara’s heavy sigh sounded down the line. “You told Wilt you’d make your own way there, didn’t you?”
“It’s not like this is a surprise, you know I like some quiet time to myself before I begin a shoot this big. It helps me get focused on the task at hand before all the chaos starts.”
“I know that, and ordinarily it’s not a problem because we’ve already been to the fashion house where the shoots are taking place. Or it’s on a beach on an island and there aren’t many places to go. But this is different. You’re not taking the general ferry. Jeffrey has a boat which is transporting you to the island. Didn’t you review the itinerary Wilt sent you?”
“I did.” She may have not given it a good study, but she had looked at it. “I told the hotel’s driver that I needed to catch the Rottnest ferry and he brought me here.”
