Is this a bad idea or the best idea I’ve ever had? I guess Daria’s reaction when she gets here will let me know.
When I unloaded my thought process to Micah two days ago, I expected him to talk me off the proverbial ledge. Instead, he pushed me off of it, and now here we are, standing at the ranch thirty minutes away from Daria’s house, waiting for her to arrive.
Micah exits the lodge looking like a cowboy straight out of my dreams in dark brown pants with a dark denim shirt tucked in. He’s even chewing on a toothpick. “You’re gonna put a hole in the ground with all that pacing,” he chastises.
“What are you, tryna get into character?” I question, yanking the toothpick out of his mouth. Before I realize what I’m doing, I wrap my lips around it, ignoring the chills that rack my body when his eyes bulge.
“You didn’t know I was a method actor?”
“Oh, really? And what else does this method acting entail? Will I see you riding a horse later?”
“No, but if you want, I can show you a few rope tricks.”
I’d forgotten how easy it is to lose myself in Micah, to get sucked into his charm and hang on to his every word.
“Oh, Micah.” I shake my head. “You know, it actually makes sense that you’d be a method actor.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You have this quiet intensity about you.” It’s unnerving and intoxicating at the same time.
“Quiet intensity, huh?”
Like right now. And I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it. “It’s not a bad thing.” I guess.
“Nah, it’s not. And besides, I like knowing what you think about me.”
Before I can respond to that, Daria’s car pulls up to the ranch entrance.
“Showtime,” he says as he plucks the toothpick from my mouth and walks off with it back between his teeth.
Sam opens Daria’s door, and she steps out looking like a ray of sunshine in a yellow jumpsuit with her hair falling in soft waves around her maple-hued skin.
“Dani, what is happening?”
“Well, I know you’re feeling unmotivated to design, so I wanted to remind you of who you are. We’re doing a little photoshoot with your work.”
“You mean Tanya’s designs?”
“Consider it a collaborative effort. Tanya had a vision, but you brought it to life in a way only you can.” She still looks a bit skeptical, so I continue. “Come onnnn, Magnolia x T. Holden. You know Tanya would’ve paid a small fortune to see that.”
She breaks at that. “Yeah, she would’ve.” She takes my hand and lets me lead her to the action.
She gets a kick out of seeing Micah in his cowboy gear. Since Tanya’s designs only included women’s clothes, we had to improvise his outfits. We thought this look would pair well with the black lace tulle dress I’m currently wearing.
“Y’all look amazing,” Daria says.
We cycle through most of her designs, following her direction, while Sabrina, the photographer I hired, snaps away. She’s a local photographer I’ve worked with before and who happened to owe me a favor. I saved it for the perfect occasion.
Daria is in her element among all Tanya’s fashion, bringing her own flair. During one of the indoor shots, we use the dressing room area. I’m looking at myself in the mirror wearing a cute sparkly dress, but my makeup is sprawled out all around me and my legs are thrown up on top of the vanity in defiance.
In another shot, Micah kneels in front of me as if he’s hemming my skin-tight mid-length leather dress, but the shot is taken from the mirrorangle so you can’t see his face and you can’t tell what he’s doing on his knees in front of me. I’m looking back at the mirror with a wink to sell the potential scandal as well.
Daria claps excitedly when she looks at the last set of shots Sabrina took. “These are perfection! You are the moment. Oh wow, Tanya would’ve loved your smolder in this one.”
She thanks Sabrina and prepares to start breaking everything down, but I stop her.
“Actually, there’s one more shot I’d love to get.”
