Page 82 of Brooke's Bliss
Did she want that life back?
She couldn’t even contemplate the answer to the questionwithout talking to him.If she tossed him out right now, she would never havethe chance to make the choice.
“What would that look like?”She was curious about how farhe would go.And what prompted this visit since she knew damn well it wasn’tbecause he was sorry.The man had no shame, so this was about something elseand she wanted to know the whys.
Mark’s eyes lit like he thought he had her now.“Well, I’vetalked to Gianna and she’s agreed to put your name on the line along with mine,and she wants us to design a fabulous gown as the final look, something thatwill wow on the runway.”
Curiouser and curiouser.“My line was ski and resort wear.”
It was chic but fairly casual.She’d done plenty of eveninggowns but mostly in a wedding sense or as costumes.She’d never been allowed towork on the high-end gowns at Bianchi.That was for the Marks of the company.
She glanced over and saw Trev McNamara walk through thedoor, the bell jingling as he approached the counter.
Her heart squeezed because seeing that cowboy walk in madeher think of her own.It made her wonder if Shane had run his errands and wasback on the G with his brother.Hopefully talking about whatever went wrong thenight before.
Trev nodded a greeting her way and then started talking toStella.
Mark huffed, getting her attention again.“Yes, I know, andI see such great potential in them.It’s why I fought for you with Gianna.She’s impressed, too.”
Gianna Bianchi wasn’t impressed with anything.Also, Brookewould be shocked if the woman knew her name.She spent all her time in Europe.She came to the New York offices for Fashion Week and left as soon as shecould.“That’s nice.So she wants me to design a gown to close a show?”
Mark put up a hand.“She wants us to design a gown to closethe F/W show.But she’s going to give an early preview.A salon show in Milan.You’ll be in the room with some of the most influential people in fashion.Youunderstand what a salon show can do for you?”
Fall/Winter show and a salon show?F/W would be a showingduring Fashion Week, and having her name on an actual show would beunimaginable at this stage.But a salon show… Fashion Week was always dizzyingwith so much going on it could be hard to stand out.A small salon show atBianchi HQ in Italy would be all about her.She had no doubt Gianna could bringin some heavy hitters from the fashion world.And they would leave knowing thename Brooke Harper.
Was she willing to put her pride on the shelf for thatopportunity?
“I still don’t understand the change of heart.”She didn’ttrust it at all.
Mark stood and moved to her side of the booth.He didn’tgive her a chance to protest, simply sat beside her, crowding her.“Brooke, youdon’t understand why I want to make things right with the most talenteddesigner I have?Baby, there’s a reason I wanted my name on your work.First,though, we should acknowledge that while I didn’t do it in a particularly niceway, I had every right to take credit.You worked under me.It’s commonpractice.”
She didn’t like being so close to him.Did Caleb still havehis fork?She looked over and he had Amelia in his arms, the little girlwrapped around her loving father while her mom had a cup of coffee.Alexei hadfound his way in, too.He’d probably parked the car while Holly had walked downthe street.
They looked so happy together, and once no one thought itwas possible for Caleb to be happy.
Could she have that with Shane and Bay?Could she find a wayto make it work?
What did she want more?Her career back or something new?
“Sure,” she said absently.Trev usually came into town withsomeone.Likely because he was running errands, and that often involved liftingheavy objects like feed and manure, and that should make her wrinkle her nosebut all she could think about was the fact that it was getting warm andsometimes Shane would take off his shirt when he was hauling stuff and hischest would be on display.Only a few days before the men had been replacingone of the barn doors and Beth had brought out lemonade and cookies.The kidshad played, and she and Beth and Hope had sipped lemonade and watched all thosepretty men.
When Bay realized she was drooling over Shane’s abs, he’dtossed his own shirt off, and she swore that man figured out a way to make hisjeans hang super low on his hips.Trev had even commented on it.
Beth told him to stop messing with her show, and that waswhen Brooke found herself watching some kids while Beth got to go to theplayroom.
Hope had sighed and wished someone would spank her, too.
She never got to do that in New York, much less watch twogorgeous men who claimed to want her.Or sit around and boldly talk aboutspankings and which flogger was the best, and no one blinked when shecomplained about the plug her men made her wear.
She felt Mark put a hand on her wrist.“Good, then youunderstand that I’m offering you something real.Brooke, I went about this allwrong.I should have asked you to dinner and discussed how we could moveforward.I should never have said what I said to you, but I was jealous.Youseemed to be flirting with everyone but the one man who really wanted you.”
“I don’t flirt.”Much.She wasn’t some outrageous flirt,drawing men into her web.What had he said about someone wanting her?“Who areyou talking about?Please tell me it isn’t Ronnie from reception because youknow he’s teasing, right?If he doesn’t know he’s into men, someone should tellhim.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and laid a kiss on it.“Iwas talking about me, Brooke.I think we can build something beautifultogether.”
She was horrified when he started leaning toward her.
“Hey, you two stay calm,” Trev was saying.
