Melting the Ice(52)

            “Just one thing, though,” Carolina said, squinting as she observed. “The color. It’s too muted. We need to change the fabric. Flesh it out a bit. Maybe more of a deep coral rather than a peach?”

            Edward studied the model, too, then finally nodded. “I think you might be right. I like the peach, but the coral would be stunning, especially with Felicia’s skin tone.”

            Carolina nodded and jotted down the change in her notebook. “Let’s do that.”

            Edward made a note as well.

            They spent the next hour going over textures and fabrics and design, watching the way each piece of clothing moved and the way they looked under the lights before making some changes. All in all it was a good fitting.

            She’d spent the past few weeks immersed in the line. It had been a furious undertaking and she’d worked nonstop, seven days a week, burying herself in her designs as the clock ticked on finalizing everything.

            Since that night she’d spent with Drew, she hadn’t had a moment to think about him.

            Much.

            She’d woken early that morning after and gotten up to use the bathroom and had come back into the bedroom, planning to slide under the covers with him.

            But something had stopped her. Maybe it was the way he looked, the covers drawn down, covering only his lower half. He’d been sprawled on his stomach, his hair wildly unkempt, his arms thrown up over his head. His lashes, so sinfully long, nearly brushed against his upper cheek. His full lips were closed and she’d held her breath as she watched him sleep.

            God, he’d looked so sexy at that moment all she’d wanted to do was grab her sketch pad and draw him looking just like that.

            Before the inspiration left, she’d gotten dressed and hightailed it out of there, grabbing a taxi and heading home. After she’d spent an hour getting the angles and shadows just right, she was satisfied she’d gotten the sketch as she’d envisioned it.

            It was beautiful. Perfect.

            Exhausted after that burst of creativity, she climbed into bed and slept for two hours. It wasn’t until after she woke up, showered, and made a cup of tea that she realized she’d just up and left Drew without a word.

            She thought about calling him, even picked up her phone, her finger hovering at the button, then laid her phone down.

            After that night, it was probably best to just leave it alone. They’d had a good time. Or at least she had. The sex had been phenomenal. Not that it had surprised her that they would be good together. Their first time had been more than she’d fantasized about. This time? Even better.

            She warmed thinking about how he’d touched her, how many times he’d made her come. She wished she were back in bed with him right now.

            But just once. Only that one time. That was all there could be between them. It wasn’t going to happen again.

            Diving headfirst into work had been the best way to keep herself from contacting him.

            And he hadn’t called her, so that was a good sign he’d thought much the same thing.

            Then again, maybe he was pissed she’d walked out on him. She really did owe him an explanation. Or maybe she should just leave well enough alone and call it another great one-night stand with Drew. They seemed to do one-night stands really well, only that night had been the last night.

            The only problem was, she needed to start calling in her male models for fittings. Christmas was right around the corner and she needed to finalize sizings before the holidays shut everything down and she wouldn’t be able to get in contact with everyone.