Uh.
Smile back,moron!
But I was powerless. My face, meanwhile, decided to combust.Get yourself together. I looked away, desperate for a reset.
Instead, I found myself staring at a very generous chest… that belonged to…
Nessa Blackwell?
What was she doing here?
She grinned, slow and deliberate, her tongue tracing her bottom lip.Don’t squirm. Don’t squirm! But it was hard not to when she was giving me that look again—the one that always felt like a slow strip search.
I swore in my head. Seriously? Juliette Serrant was friends with Nessa? Disappointment twisted in my stomach. Anyone who chose to keep Nessa Blackwell around was waving a red flag the size of Texas. Nessa was beautiful, yes, but she’d knife someone emotionally—or otherwise—if it got her what she wanted. And I was supposed to meet my dream woman for the first time in front of that serpent?
Oh, heck no.
I started to turn, but Declan was suddenly there, tugging on my elbow. “Griff, what’s wrong?”
“You didn’t tell me my runway partner was Juliette Serrant,” I hissed, hands flying out in frustration.
“I’m sure I did.” He tilted his head, thinking. “I know I did.”
“No. You said her name was Julie.”
“Julie. Juliette. What’s the big deal? She’s famous. You’re famous.” He threw his hands out. “Everybody’s famous.”
“I’m not famous,” I power-whispered, trying to get him to lower his voice. “Some people in my family are, but I’m not.”
His right eyebrow climbed into his hairline. “I think you’re in denial.”
“I’mnot.”
He planted his hands on his hips. “What difference does it make?”
“Wh-what difference does it make?” I stuttered.It makes all the difference, I wanted to say. I could walk the runway with anyone and not care one way or the other. It was just a job. Cash in my pocket. But walking it with Juliette Smoke Show Serrant? It would take five seconds for everyone to spot the knockoff.
Okay. I couldn’t walk the runway with Nessa either. That woman was vile.
Proving my point, she curled a finger, beckoning me over, gaze ravenous. I winced, worried that even that tiny action might dislodge one of her breasts. I turned away just in case, my fingers locking behind my neck.
“Seriously, man,” Declan said behind me. “It’s not a big deal. Julie’s super down-to-earth. You’ll see if you’ll just…” His words died, and I was grateful. I needed quiet. Needed to think through what to do.
But then someone cleared their throat behind me. A female. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could disappear. Whoever it was tapped me on the shoulder. I didn’t want to—really, really didn’t want to—but I turned…
To see my dream woman… sans Declan… who’d abandoned me to flirt with the other ladies while I hovered on the verge of collapse.
Juliette Serrant stared at me with her big blue eyes, giving me a second, as if she eased everyone in this way. I knew she was five-eleven, but I was unprepared for how tall that really was. It wasn’t imposing, though. It was… perfect.
Seriously, she had to be the prettiest woman on the planet. No, pretty didn’t begin to describe her. She was breathtaking in a way that rearranged my sense of scale. Like every other woman I’d seen up to that point had been a rough draft and she was the final masterpiece.
Fantastic. I was ruined forever.
“Hi,” she said, smile soft, like she was reining it back because she knew I was already at max capacity.
Say something, noob. But my lungs had tapped out. They’d taken one look at her and decided their work here was done.
“I’m Juliette Serrant.” Her voice—warm and soft—wrapped around my heart and stole it straight from my chest. She held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you…?”
