JADE
My studio has always been my sanctuary, the one place where I could truly be myself. No cameras, except for my own, no expectations, no Jade Sinclair, world-famous model. Just me, anonymous photographer, hidden away from judgment and performance.
But tonight, even these walls can't contain the storm inside me.
I kissed Ethan.
I kissed Mateo.
And somehow, it doesn't feel like I betrayed either of them. That's the part I can't make sense of. I close my eyes, letting the memory of each touch flicker through me.
I abandon any pretense of productivity. The floor-to-ceiling windows reveal the city sprawled below, lights twinkling against the dark canvas of night. Somewhere out there, a man who wanted to hurt me sits in a jail cell. The threat is over, according to Ethan.
My fingers rise unconsciously to my lips, still sensitive from the desperate kiss we'd shared just yesterday. What possessed me? One moment I'd been frantic with worry, the next I was throwing myself at him, crossing every professional boundary with reckless abandon.
And he'd kissed me back.
Until he didn't. Until he pulled away, putting distance between us like the kiss had never happened at all. Like I'd mistaken a moment of connection for a professional lapse. Like it was only adrenaline to him, and something else entirely to me.
"It's over," he'd said.
I hadn't known whether he meant the threat or us, whatever "us" might have been. Before I could ask, he was gone, leaving me alone with the ghost of his touch and the bitter taste of rejection.
And then there's Mateo. Sweet, charming Mateo who held me through the night on that plane, whose kiss had been everything I never knew I wanted. Who looked at me like I was more than my face, more than my body, like he saw the real me and wanted her anyway.
And Declan. Quiet, watchful Declan who guards his emotions as fiercely as he guards my safety. Whose rare smiles feel like unexpected gifts. Whose massive presence makes me feel safer than steel doors and security systems evercould.
How is it possible to feel this tangled up about three different men? Men who work for me. Men who are bound by professional ethics and their own code of brotherhood. Men who probably see me as nothing more than a job, a responsibility, a client to be managed.
Except... that's not true, is it? Not entirely. Not after that desperate kiss with Ethan. Not after that night with Mateo.
A knock at the door interrupts my spiraling thoughts.
"Come in," I call.
Gloria's familiar figure appears, carrying two steaming mugs. "Thought you might need this," she says, offering one to me. "Chamomile with honey."
I accept it gratefully, the warmth seeping into my cold fingers. "How did you know where to find me?"
She gives me a knowing look as she settles onto the worn leather sofa in the corner of the studio. "Where else would you be? You always hide in here when your head's a mess."
Seven years as my manager, confidante, and closest thing to a mother figure has given Gloria an almost preternatural ability to read me. Sometimes it's comforting. Other times, like now, it makes me feel exposed, transparent.
"I'm not hiding," I protest weakly.
"Mmm-hmm." She sips her tea, unconvinced. "So you're not in here avoiding three very handsome, very concernedmen who've been exchanging worried glances all day and driving us all insane with their grumpiness?"
I sigh, abandoning my half-hearted denial. "It's complicated."
"When isn't it?" She pats the space beside her on the sofa. "Come. Sit. Tell Auntie Gloria all about it."
Despite myself, I smile and join her, tucking my feet beneath me as I cradle the warm mug between my palms. For a moment, we sit in comfortable silence, the only sound the rustle of outside trees stirred by the wind.
"They'll be leaving soon," I finally say, voicing the fear that's been gnawing at me all day. "The threat is neutralized. They have no reason to stay."
Gloria considers this. "Is that what's really bothering you? That they're leaving? Or is it something else?"
I stare into my tea, watching the steam rise in delicate curls. "I kissed Ethan yesterday."
