Page 30 of My Playboy Neighbor

She showered and dressed mechanically, checking her phone for any message from him about today's shoot.Nothing.The professional silence spoke volumes about how he intended to handle what had happened between them.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, she finally gave up and knocked on his door.

"Come in."

Dom was at his laptop, fully dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark jeans, looking every inch the professional model.No trace of the man who'd almost let his guard down completely the night before, who'd held her like she was the most precious thing in the world before remembering he wasn't supposed to care.

"Good morning."

"Morning."He didn't look up from his screen."I've been reviewing our schedule.Colleen wants outdoor shots today."

"Okay.Hey, about last night—"

"Last night was exactly what we agreed it would be," Dom interrupted, finally meeting her eyes.His expression was distant.

Something cold settled in her stomach.After everything they'd shared, he was reducing it to just sex.

"Is that really what you think happened?"

"That's what I know happened."He closed his laptop with a snap.

The casual dismissal hit Maya like a slap.She'd felt his emotional walls crumbling, had seen the moment when he'd almost surrendered not just his body but his heart.Now he was acting like none of that vulnerability had existed.

"Fine."Maya swallowed her hurt."Let’s get going."

If he was determined to pretend that moment of honesty had never happened, she would document the lie.The camera saw what people tried to hide, and she was beginning to understand that might be the only way to preserve what was real between them.

The photo shoot that followed was a study in controlled tension.Dom posed with practiced perfection against the backdrop of Connecticut's autumn forest, but she saw the strain around his eyes, the way he held his shoulders like he was bracing for impact.

"Turn slightly to the left," Maya directed, her voice professional even as her heart ached."Good.Now look directly at the camera."

Despite his carefully controlled expression, there was pain there—carefully hidden but unmistakable to someone who'd learned to read his micro-expressions.She clicked rapidly, capturing the moment before he remembered to mask it completely.

"That’s perfect," Maya said softly, though they both knew nothing about this was perfect.

They worked in near silence for an hour, the space between them charged with everything they weren't saying.She studied him through her viewfinder, memorizing the angles of his face, the way the autumn light reflected in his dark hair.If this was all she could have of him—these stolen moments of honesty when he forgot to perform—then she would make them count.

"I think we have enough," he said finally, straightening from his pose against a massive oak tree.

"Actually, can we try a few more?"She adjusted her camera settings, moving closer."Something less posed.More real."

He sneered."This is as real as it gets, Maya."

"Is it?"She lowered her camera, meeting his gaze."Because the man I see through this lens looks like he's fighting a war with himself."

"You're reading too much into it."

"Am I?"She raised the camera again, this time focusing on his eyes."Tell me what's wrong.You've been on edge all morning."

"Nothing's wrong.I'm fine."

But he wasn't fine, and she saw it clearly now.The slight tremor in his hands, the way he kept checking his phone, the barely contained energy that suggested he was holding himself together through sheer force of will.

"Dom, what happened?Did you get bad news?"

For a moment, his composure cracked."Jake called this morning.Three more brands pulled out.Apparently, my unpredictable behavior makes me too much of a risk."

"I'm sorry."

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