Melting the Ice(116)
“Oh, this coming from a guy who has never had a serious relationship in his life?”
“You have a point. But I know you. You’re a good friend and always have been. I want you to be happy. Does Carolina make you happy?”
He thought about it, and realized that over the past few months, he’d never been happier. He loved spending time with Carolina. She made him laugh, she challenged him, and of course, the sex was off the charts. They had similar goals—their careers were their number one priorities right now. But there were a lot of other things they still needed to talk about, which had nothing to do with happiness.
“Yeah, she does.”
“Then follow through. Talk to her about how you feel and see what happens.”
“Maybe. When the time is right, I’ll do that.”
“That’s the right move. You shouldn’t let a good woman slip through your fingers.”
“Sounds to me like you might be ready to take that step with someone.”
Trevor let out a laugh. “Yeah, right. When? Like you said, I’m too busy, and having the time of my life right now. Long-term relationships just don’t fit into my career plan right now.”
“You never know, Trev. The right woman might just blindside you when you least expect it.”
TWENTY-THREE
FASHION WEEK WAS BARRELING DOWN ON CAROLINA like a meteor hurtling through the atmosphere.
She barely had time to breathe. Her to-do list was a nightmare and every day she felt like pulling her hair out, because either beading had to be replaced on her signature dress or one of the suits wasn’t fitting the model just right and had to be altered—again. She was sure a certain model was changing his physique in some way, because it fit him just damn perfectly a week ago and if she found out he was using performance enhancing drugs or pumping too much iron or something that was making her have to refit this coat one more damn time she was going to explode.
Or maybe replace the model, though she was out of time, and most definitely out of patience.
She sat in her office going through the lineup of the walk-through, numbering and renumbering everyone on her lineup card, when there was a knock on her door.
“Carolina, Esme is here for her final fitting.”
She didn’t even look away from her desk. “Get her dressed, Tierra, then call me.”
“Okay.”
She needed to schedule Drew in here for final fittings, too. She and Drew had traded phone calls, but hadn’t yet connected. She picked up her phone and sent him a text message.
I need you to come in to my office for a final fitting. What does your schedule look like for this week?
She laid her phone down on the desk, hoping he’d text back today.
“Esme’s in the dress.”
Carolina left her office and checked the fitting on Esme’s dress. Esme was a very sought-after model, so to get her for the show was a big deal. She’d put Esme into the beaded gown. It fit her perfectly. Esme walked for her, and of course she did it beautifully.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“I think it’s a knockout dress,” Esme said. “I want it.”
Carolina grinned. “Thank you.”
At least something had gone right today. Esme was going to be the hit of the runway. And she hoped the dress would be, too. She’d spent hours designing it, crafting it to absolute perfection. Esme was gorgeous, with her tawny skin, tall frame, amazing body with her curves in all the right places, and those golden brown eyes of hers that were incredibly mesmerizing. The dress, with its copper and orange beading, set off Esme’s coloring perfectly. Carolina couldn’t have found a better marriage between outfit and model.