Chapter 1

Chapter

One

GRACE

T he car picked me up at four in the morning to get me to the shoot before sunrise. The perfume campaign was kicking off with a series of print ads, billboards, and eventually commercials. My agent was up my ass about setting up a “publationship” with someone in the sports or acting world. It would raise my profile and set the stage for making the leap from modeling to acting.

Possibly.

Course, I wasn’t totally decided on making that leap. Not that my agent wanted to listen to me on the subject. Modeling was a challenge that also required a solid bit of acting to deliver the mood, or not deliver it, as required by the job. Five years in the business and I still enjoyed what I did.

The air was crisp when the driver opened my door. I was more than capable of doing it. This early, however, I would absolutely let them spoil me.

“You made good time,” Nancy, my manager’s assistant and also mine for shoot days, said as she met me with a stay-warm tumbler. The flat white was the perfect temperature, likely made in the past five minutes. My driver probably kept them alert to when I was arriving. The unsweetened oat milk added a creamy texture while the non-dairy helped prevent bloating.

It was the only indulgence for the long shoot in front of me. While I preferred to limit those when working, it was too damn early in the morning and the day promised to be brutally long. I deserved the coffee, particularly since it would just be water after this. I’d add electrolytes to the rotation at lunch because food wasn’t on the menu until after we finished.

“Madeline and Louise are already here,” Nancy said as she walked with me toward the trailers that were set up. The whole shoot was on location with a full crew from the photographer, the product company, and the marketing company. “Eleanor is still on her way.”

Nancy climbed the three short steps ahead of me to the prep trailer and opened the door. The warmth inside flowed out to wrap around us.

“There she is!” Louise hustled up the aisle to me. “Good, you have your coffee, come sit, sit. Let’s make you more beautiful.”

From the moment I arrived, I relaxed into the moment and just sipped my coffee while Louise and Madeline debated the hair, the makeup, and the look they were going for. Since we would have several styles for the day, they had to go with what the photographer and marketing rep had agreed on first. All I had to do was settle in and let them play like I was the dress up doll.

The next ninety minutes passed swiftly. I finished my coffee, then took a moment to clean my teeth before switching to water and they resumed working on my hair. Ringlet curls were the style for the morning, it would be easier to start higher and tighter, then loosen it up as the day went on.

Eleanor arrived just as Nancy unzipped my first outfit. I was dressed in a lace thong and nothing else when the chilly air flooded in with Eleanor’s arrival. Dressed and made up with near flawless precision, Eleanor exuded all the style and class of Anna Wintour and the warmth of an ice queen.

As she often said, Eleanor was here to make money, and negotiate business deals. It was better for people to fear her and even better if she left them unsettled. I liked her. Ballsy bitch terrified me when she’d taken me on as one of her “girls.” Then I’d seen her take down a man, twice our weight and standing nearly a half-foot taller, using an umbrella and wasp spray.

Her absolute irritation at having broken a nail may have contributed to her making sure he was unconscious after he was down. Eleanor would back you all the way to the wall and come out swinging on your behalf. By the same token, she would also tell you if you were full of shit.

Frankly, beyond my sister Amorette, Eleanor was one of my favorite people. We disagreed. Hell, we even fought, Eleanor and me, but she had my back and not once did I doubt it.

“You look too skinny,” Eleanor said as she stepped inside. “And you need to make an appointment for a spray tan. Nancy, take care of that.” She set aside her massive purse and untied the scarf from around her neck. “Also, who signed off on this? You look like one of those cartoon creations where they hyper sexualize all the doll-like features.”

I lifted a shoulder. “I think the ladies did a lovely job, Eleanor and you know they always want me overdone so they can airbrush it down.”

With an indelicate sniff, Eleanor gave me a once over. The coolness in her eyes warmed a few degrees. I could practically see the question burning in them. Was I really fine with this?

“Hopefully, I’ll be a little more warmly dressed, at least until we get to the water shots.” The northern coast this time of year was definitely not pleasant and one of the shot series involved me on rocks and the waves splashing in.

I was going to be frozen to the bone.

“Never say I don’t take you to exciting places.” Eleanor’s droll tone shifted as she removed the schedule from the mirror.

“I would never make that mistake.”

The corners of Eleanor’s lips twitched at the comment and the rest of the room remembered to breathe again. The first outfit was a simple white shift. The butter soft cotton would not obscure much of my figure and my nipples were definitely going to be on display.

This, however, was the look Lloyd wanted, so this was the look he’d get. At least I had slippers to wear to the actual site, because I’d be barefoot after that. The sunrise was a ribbon of orange in the distance, a promise of pink and red at the very edge of the horizon as Eleanor, Nancy, and I made our way down toward the rockier shoreline, where the dark water rolled in and the air held a briny freshness, even with the breeze nipping at my nose.

Lloyd was already there, along with Jock and his people. They were scouting the area for the best angles and spots. There were rock markers set up in a few locations. It was all designed to get me where they wanted me before the sun came up. Exterior, environmental shoots were among the most difficult.

Limited time made for shorter tempers and brusque comments.

“I had a call from Maurizio,” Eleanor said as she lit a cigarette. The crisp burn to the tobacco scene was as familiar as her perfume. “He’s increased the offer to one million, but he needs you there all week.”

“I already said no,” I told her, arms folded. I had a robe on over the shift as a concession to the temperatures. My legs were bare though and at this rate, the laser appt was going to have been for nothing because I’d be sprouting new leg hairs in the cold.

“That was to a quarter of a million,” Eleanor reminded me like I’d forgotten. “This is for a whole million and I promise, it’s not about sex.”

“It’s always about sex,” I said, unimpressed.

“Five minutes, sweet one,” Lloyd called.

I lifted my chin toward him, a thank you as much as anything.

“Not this time,” Eleanor said. “In addition to the standard NDA, I had them add a clause that if he or any of his people propositioned or made any sexual advances on you, the contract would be null and void.”

I slid a look toward her. “Seriously?”

“He wants you there because he wants one of the most beautiful women in the world on his yacht for the whole week. Your presence will bring more A-listers out to join him, not to mention improve his stock with the ladies. After all, just because you aren’t fucking him doesn’t mean others won’t think you are.”

Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. “I don’t care what he offers. I have plans and I’m not changing them. We had this fight last week when you booked this shoot, this week.”

“Your sister is just a few hours away and I’m sure she’d understand…”

I raised my hand. “I don’t care if Amorette understands. It’s not about understanding. She and I haven’t had time together in over a year. We have plans and a place on the Outer Banks, that’s where I’m going. No yachts. No paparazzi. And no billionaires with delusions of grandeur. Just, Am, me, and some wine with greasy food and terrible choices in bad movies.”

Eleanor sighed.

“I know you like money, but not everything is about money.” Even if most things were. Five years ago, I would have leapt at the offer and made my apologies to my sister. We’d both done that, in the pursuit of our careers and our dreams. She never failed to support me, even when she didn’t get it, and I wouldn’t fail to support her now.

She was in the process of saving a woman named Irena from her vicious ex and taking him for everything he had. Not all heroes wore capes…

“Grace, darling,” Jock called, snapping his fingers. “Come. Now.”

I shed the robe, letting Nancy catch it, as I strode forward. My nipples were hard as rocks before I even took three steps. The sun was climbing relentlessly higher. The rocky shore hurt the bottoms of my feet, the thin slippers proving to be little protection against the sharper stones.

“Beautiful,” Lloyd said as he caught my hand. “We’re going to have to move fast. We’ll be doing topless as well at least for the sunrise. One arm across your breasts…”

“I remember,” I assured him. Lloyd and Jock preferred to cover all their bases. They also loved the more artistic shots. Working with them was always a blessing and a challenge. They would push me, but it wasn’t about sex for them. Did sex sell? Absolutely. But making sensual poses look sensual in places like this was all about the angle of the camera, the eye of the photographer, and my ability to project the image they wanted.

The first few shots were static, then they waved me toward the water.

“Walk along the edge,” Jock said. “Let the water stroke your toes.”

I didn’t snort, though I was almost dead certain Eleanor had. Maybe I imagined it. She was a dozen feet away, sunglasses on and cigarette lit as Nancy spoke to her. They were probably handling emails and messages.

Barefoot, I padded down over the rocks and ignored where they stabbed at the soles of my feet. The first rush of water over my toes was brutally cold. The second helped to numb the ache. A breeze picked up and I raised my arms as if imagining I could fly with it.

It was cold as hell and it pressed the cotton shift so tightly against me, I didn’t have to imagine it highlighted my whole body.

“Perfect!” Lloyd called. “Keep moving. Just—play with the water. Kick it up…”

Every instruction added a fresh layer of hell to the morning, but I didn’t let it disturb my zen. When Lloyd called for a smile, I smiled. When he said glare, I glared. When he told me to play, I danced like it was raining. When it came time to let the shift go, I walked with my arms wrapped around my upper half, just enough to hide the curve of my breasts.

We’d gone almost a half-mile by the time the sun was up hovering above the horizon and the light stretched out with almost insubstantial fingers to stroke over me. The wind redoubled and tossed my hair.

“Spin!” Jock said. “Arms wide!”

A laugh escaped me. These images would be all whimsy and seduction. A temptress of purity on the warm shores as the summer waves came in.

The absolute absurdity of it all captured for the masses who couldn’t feel how frozen I was or how cuts on the bottoms of my feet stung. They wouldn’t know the frostbite I courted with my nipples or how today was anything but a warm sunny day.

That was fine, after all.

I traded in dreams and mystery. My job was to put on the show and make them believe in the magic.

And I was damn good at my job.