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He scratched his chin. Should he apologize for sending the flowers? Or maybe just keep his mouth shut? He wasn’t the most eloquent guy on the planet. It was better to keep his mouth shut and avoid the risk of putting his foot in his mouth. He frowned. He had a tendency to do that, especially with women. It was a fatal flaw of his and perhaps one of the many reasons why he struggled in relationships.
Love doesn’t come easily. How many times had his father told him that? But watching his brothers settling down and pairing off was making him feel a bit down about himself and his romantic prospects. Did he feel the same way others did? Then why hadn’t he ever had an epic love story? Why did it seem as if something had always been missing in the relationships? Why was he always messing up?
Daniel had prayed a lot about it over the years. He’d asked God to make him more like his brothers, who never seemed to have the type of relationship problems as he did. Granted, some of his brothers had been through the ringer romantically, but in the end, they had all pushed through their issues and ended up blissfully happy.
Lord, make me more like my brothers. I don’t want to be alone forever.
He had prayed this prayer for quite some time now, but so far God hadn’t heard his pleas. And on certain days he told himself his life was blessed and he shouldn’t ask for more.
Suddenly, a knock sounded on his door. The door swung open and Nash popped his head inside. “Hey! I’m getting ready to take a few pictures of Lorelei if you’d like to come watch.”
“Sure thing, unless you think she’ll mind the audience.”
“Are you kidding? Models are used to an audience. It’s just a few promo pics so it’s nothing too intense. Lorelei seems really laid back. She’s not what I expected at all.”
“Did she finish up in hair and makeup?” Daniel asked, pleased at Nash’s assessment of Lorelei. He’d wanted to check in with Lorelei earlier but he had felt a bit awkward about walking into the area designated as her dressing room. Perhaps he was overthinking things, but for a man who had already stepped in it with Lorelei the first time they’d met, he didn’t want to do anything to mess up again.
“Yes, she’s actually all set for the photo shoot.” Nash rubbed his hands together. “We’re ready to rock and roll.”
“That’s great,” Daniel said, heading toward the door so he could follow Nash down to the studio. As they headed toward the location Daniel felt a surge of gratitude for having all of these amenities at his business. Everything was located at DD Studios. They didn’t have to go off site for anything unless they decided to use actual locations for shoots. Generally, they could achieve the effect they were looking for through digital magic.
Daniel spotted Lorelei the moment he walked into the room. He imagined it would be near impossible not to notice her. With her fiery hair, statuesque figure and one-of-a-kind looks, she stood out like a neon sign. All the hairs raised on the back of his neck when their gazes locked. It was such a strange sensation! Her hair had been swept up into a high ponytail and braids were resting at the crown of her head. Her makeup was subdued and fitting for her coloring. She looked beautiful. Her dark outfit was comprised of dark gray leather pants, a black bustier paired with a burgundy long-sleeved leather jacket. To cap off her look, she was wearing black boots that came almost to her kneecaps. Daniel felt blown away by her appearance. Lo
relei had been transformed into a warrior. She was just as he’d always imagined Rhiannon. She didn’t look like a princess in the slightest.
“Lorelei. It’s good to see you again.”
“It’s great to see you too,” she said with a nod. “I’m really excited about this.”
Lorelei’s joy was imprinted on her stunning face. She looked as if she wanted to jump up and down with excitement. Seeing her like this caused a groundswell of happiness to rise up inside of him. Video games weren’t just a job for him. It was his life’s passion. It made him feel good to see that Lorelei was really into it. She truly embodied Rhiannon.
He grinned at her, loving her enthusiasm. “Wait till the game actually comes out. You’re going to be a big star in the video game world.”
Lorelei’s eyes widened. “That’s really wild. I need to get myself up to speed on the video games and the jargon so I know what I’m talking about.”
Daniel chuckled. “It’ll take you a while so you better get started,” he said in a teasing voice. “It takes a while to get acclimated. It’s a lot of fun though.”
“Speaking of fun, how about those flowers you sent me?” Lorelei grinned at him. “That was pretty epic.”
“Sorry if it was over the top,” he said with a grimace, shifting from one foot to the other. “Micah brought it to my attention that it might have come across as weird.”
“I’ll take that weird any day of the week.” She smiled. “It really brightened up my home. And my day. I’m very grateful for your thoughtfulness. It’s not every day I get a room full of flowers delivered to me. Thank you. Seriously. It really was very sweet of you,” she said, her tone gushing.
Phew. His shoulders sagged with relief. She hadn’t thought it was a bizarre thing to do. Micah had been wrong! He couldn’t wait to tell his brother he’d read the situation wrong. He knew Micah was probably just watching out for him to make sure he didn’t look creepy, but he really hated that a thoughtful gesture could be twisted and taken out of context. Why did he get the feeling there was something Micah wasn’t telling him about Lorelei?
“It’s the least I could do considering we got off on the wrong foot. You really showed a lot of grace in accepting my apology.”
Lorelei shrugged. “Hey. It was easy. I really wanted the role of Rhiannon,” she said, chuckling. Daniel joined in on the laughter. The more he saw of Lorelei, the more he liked her personality. To think he had almost blown her off during their first meeting. That experience had taught him a monumental lesson. Judging people was always wrong. Whether it was for their looks or socioeconomic status or religion or race, it was dead wrong.
“Ready to start?” Nash asked, appearing beside them with a wide smile on his face. Daniel knew how much Nash loved to photograph people. At the moment it was written all over his face. Daniel imagined someone as beautiful as Lorelei would make it easy on him. She would photograph like a dream. He had seen some of her work online and he could see why she was a top model. She shimmered like the sun.
“I sure am,” Lorelei said. “Let’s do this.”
Daniel stepped to the side, far away from the action taking place. He didn’t want to disrupt anything. He just wanted to get a glimpse of Lorelei in her element. He wanted to see her bring Rhiannon to life in this photo shoot.
For the next half hour, Daniel felt like a fly on the wall as he watched Nash photograph Lorelei in all her Rhiannon glory. Lorelei took Daniel out of his surroundings and transported him to another world. It amazed him how much she could convey with her eyes and her expressions. She was fierce in some shots, yet tender in others. It was stunning how she was able to transform herself like a chameleon. Daniel’s chest tightened with pride.
Lorelei was sheer perfection. He’d made the right decision.
