Beauty Shot (Hope Parish Novels Book 5) by Zoe Dawson Page A

foolishness.
    “I can’t
lie. I am trying to avoid you, because I’m finding it difficult
to be near you and not want something more.”
    I put a hand on his
chest, and that was a mistake. It was supposed to hold him back until
I said my piece, not remind myself of how solid he was, how warm his
skin was, and how smooth. My hand ached to move all over him.
    “Wait. Before
we do anything we can’t take back, we’re going to need
you to work for us…me and Verity…exclusively. We can’t
have our competition stealing our thunder. We’re about to
launch an ad campaign for the Bespoke brand, and now you’ve
made such an impression on the movers and shakers of the fashion
world, you will be hounded with offers.”
    “You’re
offering me a job?”
    “Yes, we would
pay you.”
    “I’m no
model. I don’t know the first thing about it. I’m not
interested in what you can do for me in your world. I just want a
chance with you .
And, I hate being objectified. Especially for money. And, even more, I hate that the money is coming from you.”
    “This is such
a complicated situation.”
    “Shug,”
he said, teasing the corner of my mouth with his thumb. “I
wouldn’t betray Verity in any way. Why can’t I just fade
into obscurity?”
    “Because the
fashion world won’t let you.”
    “Then, okay.
I’ll work for you.”
    “Now the hard
part. You have to keep your distance until this does die down.”
    “No. No deal.
Don’t try to wrangle me, Minnie. It won’t work.”
    “Deke….”
    “No.”
    “Damn you.
Stop being stubborn. Can’t you just keep your distance until
the prep for this campaign is over? It’s just a few weeks of
shooting.”
    “No. I’m
negotiating. If I do this for you, I want to take you out. Get to
know you.”
    “I can’t
go out in public with you Deke. It’s about gossip and tabloids
and scandal. I can’t see you in public.”
    His mouth tightened
and he shifted. “I don’t like sneaking around and being
your closet boy toy.”
    “It wouldn’t
be like that and you know it. This business is catty at best and I
have other stressors regarding dating younger men. But I would like
to get to know you better, just not in a public setting where people
will talk. This would be private between us. Can you at least agree
to that? Besides, you’ll soon learn that we probably don’t
have much in common except how much we want to get physical—”
    “You want to
get physical with me?”
    “Like you have
to ask that. I want to get close to you, but I…can’t
Deke—”
    “Minnie. About
the physical. I’m, ah, a virgin.”
    I blinked. “What
did you just say?”
    “I’m
never been with a woman.”
    “ Blimey .”
    “I want the
first woman I’m with to be you.”
    I couldn’t
respond since Boone and Braxton came out of the kitchen,
play-battling with each other, with Verity and River close behind,
telling them to stop horsing around. Everything changed. My whole
perspective on him. Here I thought he was experienced in more than
just being charming. He wanted me to be his first? I was overwhelmed
and touched.
    “You guys
ready?”
    I nodded not taking
my eyes off him and he smiled as if all I had just thought flitted
across my face. It was the first time I had seen him look so
tentative. But there was no time for conversation.
    We trooped down to
the street together and caught the tour bus. The first stop was the
art museum.
    “Kandinsky is
one of the exhibits,” I said, hyper-aware of Deke’s
presence and the stuff that was still not resolved between us.
    “Kan—who?”
Brax said.
    “Wassily
Kandinsky. Russian artist. He was actually a lawyer and economist
before he studied art. Even though he came to art later in his life,
he challenged other artists to capture the essence of their vision or
story through a reduced means of expression. His woodcuts, for
example, were a vehicle for articulating his romantic tendencies.”
    All of us stopped
and stared at Deke. He was