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I didn’t like it.
“She’s gorgeous,” Vanessa said. “Where did you find her?”
My eyes remained on One, staring at her backside as she continued to uphold perfect posture and carry on a conversation at the same time. “She auditioned last month.”
“Where has she modeled before?” my sister asked.
“She’s a rookie,” I said. “Never set foot on a runway.”
“For having no experience, she’s pretty damn perfect.” Carter followed my gaze and stared at her too.
That pissed me off. I’d expected her to be the highlight of the show, but now that everyone was falling all over her, I felt my rage swell. I didn’t want a single pair of eyes on her. I wanted her all to myself.
My muse.
Vanessa spotted Nicole and walked over to her to have a few words.
I felt bad for ignoring my sister, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. Right now, a jealous bear had taken root inside my chest.
“Conway.”
I turned my eyes back to Carter. “What?”
“I got that information you asked for.” He held up a white envelope.
All the answers to my questions would finally be revealed. I wanted to know what this woman was running from. I wanted to know her name. I wanted to know everything about her—for better or worse.
Instead of waiting until I had some privacy, I snatched the envelope and ripped it open.
Then I read every single word.
11
Sapphire
I didn’t realize this was going to be such a highly publicized event.
And I didn’t anticipate I would be the focus of it all.
People were fascinated with me, talking to me and constantly snapping my picture. The lingerie I was wearing that night had sold out in the first hour after the show. My image was plastered all over social media.
I went from being a nobody to a somebody overnight.
This was bad.
In my attempt to survive, I had made the worst mistake of my life.
Now I was terrified Knuckles would find me.
I might get lucky because Knuckles didn’t seem like the kind of man who paid attention to the fashion sphere of the world. And I might also get lucky because I looked vastly different when my hair and makeup were done. Since it didn’t make sense for me to live such a public life, he might assume it was just a doppelganger. And it wasn’t like my name had been released.
But that didn’t stop me from being paranoid.
And terrified.
Maybe I should run while I still had the chance.
* * *
I went to the studio on Monday with my heart filled with dread.
I’d become an important component of Barsetti Lingerie. My appearance had caused a serious boon to his line of products. Because of me, his brand was reaching new heights. Conway handled me in a different way from how he handled the other models. He seemed to be gentle with me, even sweet.
Maybe he was like that with everyone.
But I felt terrible for what I was about to do to him.
He was an asshole sometimes, but he had a heart underneath that hard shell. He gave me money when he didn’t have to, and he even offered to get me a phone. He told me I was beautiful when I felt most hideous.
And he’d offered to help me several times.
I wasn’t sure if I could trust him, especially since my entire body went haywire anytime I was near him. When his lips brushed against my skin, I melted into a puddle right at his feet. No man had ever made me feel so many things with such a simple touch.
I knew he would be livid with me, especially since I couldn’t offer him a real explanation.
I walked into his studio, but I wasn’t sure if he would be there. He’d had a successful show, and orders for his new designs were piling up. If I could speak Italian, I could understand what they were saying about him in the news. So it didn’t make sense for him to be back in the studio.
But he was there.
And he wasn’t himself.
He was more irritable than usual, giving me a gaze full of contempt. He seemed angry before I even opened the door—but his anger appeared to be directed at me. He stood at the table with his hands resting on the surface. Normally, he would stare down at his work until he completed his sketch. But this time, he wasn’t working at all. It seemed like he’d been waiting for me to walk through that door all morning.
Did he know I was quitting?
I stepped inside and purposely stayed on the opposite side of the table, out of arm’s reach. This man made me melt, but he terrified me at the same time. He could turn into a monster once you became his enemy.
His eyes remained glued to my face, waiting for me to speak.
What was going on here?
