Every once in a while, he’d drift a look Viv’s way and send her heart skittering out of beat. Once, he even called out to her from the cliff before jumping.“This one’s for you, Vivi!”
Her reaction to the gesture put her right back in time. A swooning schoolgirl who couldn’t help but blush at his attention.
“See you guys later,” Zee called as he carried his equipment away. His assistant followed behind, tripods and collapsible stands in hand.
“See you tomorrow,” Viv called out.
Rico Shimwah had left just moments ago. Viv hoped he’d take the women he brought to the sitting with him, but no such luck.
At least she knew Duke would be all hers after this. Viv would ask him a few lingering interview questions during lunch, and then the two planned to hit the zip-lines Duke had told her about yesterday.
Tomorrow, after the photo shoot in the vineyard, they’d have more of the same.
A delicious thrill chased through her body at the idea of spending so much time with Duke. She wanted more of him. More fascinating conversation. More spontaneous laughter. More hypnotic kisses that put kisses by any other man to shame.
A trill of laughter lifted over the breeze as Viv packed up her things. She glanced up in time to see Duke, accompanied by the two models, heading her way.
“She won’t mind,” one said under her breath. It was the redhead who’d taken a liking to running a hand through Duke’s hair during the shoot. The woman caught eyes with Viv. “You don’t mind if we catch lunch with you, do you?”
“Yeah,” the blonde chimed in. “Tell Duke that it’s fine if we join you. We need to eat too.”
Viv shifted her gaze to Duke in time to catch the subtle shake of his head. The two women casing him at either side like trophies looked back to Viv as well.
A hot knot of jealousy rolled through her gut.Shewas supposed to be the bad guy in all this? Tell the ladies sorry, but they weren’t invited? She didn’t think so.
“Of course it’s fine,” she said, reaching her hand to the redhead first. “Hi, I’m Veritå.”
“Sasha,” the woman said.
“And I’m Pom,” the blonde said, reaching for a handshake next. “So you’re the one interviewing Duke?”
“Yes. Where are you two from?” Viv started walking in the direction of the group as the two women came on either side of her. The new position left Duke slightly out of the equation but it wouldn’t last for long.
Viv listened to stories of how each of the girls started their modeling career as they made their way to the restaurant. At lunch, Duke pulled out a chair for each lady, saving Viv for last, where he sat down beside her.
Viv had been careful to not give anything away while Zee and Rico were at the shoot. She assumed it wouldn’t matter much if they started dating publicly shortly after the article, but before it came out was another story.
That very thought ran through her mind when Duke reached out and trailed a hand along the back of her arm. The table had been cleared, and the group was just waiting for the check, something Duke offered to cover.
“So what’s next?” Pom asked. “Wearein Costa Rica for somepura vida.”
Viv looked to Duke. “Actually,” he said, “this is where Vivi and I have to say goodbye. We’ve got a prior commitment.”
A wave of warmth settled over her. Thank heavens he hadn’t invited them to go zip-lining. If he had, Viv might have bowed out of the activity altogether.
“Did you just call her Vivi?” Sasha asked.
“It’s just a nickname,” Viv said with a shrug, turning her gaze to Pom next. “It was a pleasure meeting you two and hearing about your journey into modeling. It’s always inspiring to see the way talent and persistence pays off.”
And she’d meant it too. According to their story, each woman had overcome their fair share of rejection and failures before making it big.
But the truth was, Viv wouldn’t be sad to see them go off and find their own adventure. Without Duke.
“You werewaytoo nice to those guys,” Duke mumbled once they said their goodbyes.
She and Duke were headed along the walkway outside the restaurant. According to Duke, the tram leading to the zip-line booths were within walking distance.
“Just because they’re two beautiful women, I’m supposed to be…notnice?” she challenged.
