Model Marine

Twelve military heroes.

Twelve indomitable heroines.

One UNIFORMLY HOT! miniseries.

Don’t miss a story in Harlequin Blaze’s

12-book continuity series, featuring irresistible

soldiers from all branches of the armed forces.

Heat up your holidays with A Few Good Marines…

DEVIL IN DRESS BLUES

by Karen Foley

October 2011

MODEL MARINE

by Candace Havens

November 2011

RED-HOT SANTA

by Tori Carrington

December 2011

Uniformly Hot!—

The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell!

Available wherever Harlequin books are sold.

Dear Reader,

There is something about a man in uniform that gets me going. I know you understand what I’m talking about. But there’s another side to that. Every time I see a man or woman in uniform, I think about the sacrifices they must go through and the fact that they face dangers most of us could never imagine. They put their lives on the line every day to protect us and to preserve democracy around the world.

Captain Will Hughes is a marine who’s been through hell. The scars on the outside of his body are not the only ones that need to heal. When the fun-loving fashion designer Hannah Harrington steps into his life, he begins to wonder if there is more to life than the next mission.

Hannah has made it her mission to lighten Will’s soul and to give him some comfort. What she doesn’t expect are the many surprises that come with dating a marine.

I hope you love this couple as much as I do. I want to say a special thank-you to Kim, who helped me make sure my marine “stuff” was correct. Her husband is on active duty in a faraway land. I hope you’ll email me at candacehavensbooks@gmail.com and tell me what you think of the book. You can also find me on Twitter/Facebook/MySpace through my website, www.candacehavens.com.

Enjoy!

Candace Havens

Model Marine
Candace Havens

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author and columnist Candace “Candy” Havens lives in Texas with her mostly understanding husband, two children and two dogs, Scoobie and Gizmo. Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. She has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood from George Clooney and Orlando Bloom to Nicole Kidman and Kate Beckinsale. You can hear Candy weekly on The Big 96.3 in the Dallas–Fort Worth Area. Her popular online writer’s workshop has more than 1,300 students and provides free classes to professional and aspiring writers.

To all the servicemen and servicewomen, and their

families, around the world. Thanks for all you do.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

1

“THE MALE MODELS are in jail.” Anne Marie whispered the words so Hannah wasn’t sure if she heard her correctly. They were backstage working with the stylists to make sure the hair was correct for each model, and the deafening noise from the chatter made it difficult to converse without screaming. Anne Marie, the assistant director of Hannah Harrington Designs, had to be wrong. The fashion show launched in exactly forty-seven minutes and Hannah had planned everything down to the last stitch in the handbags the models would carry. There was no way something like this could happen.

Though it was freezing backstage, a small bead of sweat dampened her brow. “Did you say they’re in jail?” Hannah tried to keep the panic from rising in her voice, but there was a tiny squeak at the end. “Oh, Anne Marie— You— No—take it back. I mean it. This is some kind of horrible joke. My entire life for the last six years is about to walk down that stage, and it has to be perfect. You know that. You promised me you had the models covered,” she squeaked.

Anne Marie’s lips formed a straight line at Hannah’s harsh tone.

“Sorry.” She’d been on edge the past few weeks and had lost her temper more than once. This was no time to make Annie Marie her whipping girl.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Hannah. I know I screwed up.” Anne Marie’s jaw jutted out and her hands were in fists. “I saw them at Jake’s party last night and they were drinking. I should have sent them home then. This sucks, and I’ve totally failed you. I just don’t know how to fix it in—” Anne Marie glanced at her watch “—forty-three minutes.”

Hannah glanced around the tent, searching for any man who could fill out the jeans she’d designed. It had been a risky venture to do male and female lines in her first collection, but it had paid off. Before tonight’s show she had received great buzz in the fashion world from some of the magazine editors who’d toured her collection early. Without the men, the show wouldn’t work. They were her big reveal.

The only men in a sea of six-foot female models were the ones doing hair, and they were all too short, pasty and waif-thin.

Are there any real men left in Manhattan?

She closed her eyes and lifted her head in a silent prayer.

I’m going to walk out the door, and I’m going to find two of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen in my life who will fit perfectly into my show.

Yeah, right.

Opening her eyes again she headed out.

“Where are you going?” Anne Marie cried.

“To find the men of my dreams,” Hannah said determinedly. “Check and make sure the girls have their belts right-side up, and that Clara wears the pink cowboy boots. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Hannah had almost convinced herself she would find the men she needed just outside the tent, or in the crowd waiting to get in. No such luck.

The good news was there was a crowd.

The bad news was that ninety-nine percent of it was women.

Any men she saw were either way too short, or a little thick around the middle. She never cared about anyone’s size, but she needed a perfect fit for the jeans. Worried she might be recognized, Hannah pulled her cowboy hat down low on her eyes, and made her way around the crowd and out onto Columbus.

Shivering against the cold, she pulled her leather jacket tighter, which did nothing for her legs, which were in tights and a miniskirt.

As usual on Friday afternoon, the area was packed with people. There were some teens in baggy jeans and shirts, but they were all either too skinny or too short to fit in the clothes.

She didn’t want to think about the worst-case scenario, but she had to.

Please. I haven’t come this far to fail.

Everything she had was tied up in this show. If the editors hadn’t had a sneak peak she could get away with losing the final two, but that was what most of the buzz had been about.

Glancing down at her watch she grimaced. Only thirty-two minutes till go-time. Tears brimmed her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but one errant drop of water slid down her cheek. She shoved it away with the heel of her hand.

This is no time to cave. Get it together.

“Whoever he is, he isn’t worth that tear,” a deep, whiskey-toned voice said from beside her.

Hannah lifted her head and met a pair of the most beautiful green eyes she’d ever seen on a man. Then she stepped back—stunned—to find the perfect male specimen attached to those eyes. His blond hair was cut short, his shoulders broad, and, dressed in his blues, he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen.

She had to remind herself to breathe.

“Hello, Marine.”

“Ma’am.” He tipped his hat.

This couldn’t be happening. She glanced down to his hips and then up to his face. He was absolutely beautiful. But there was also something about him. A presence, something that symbolized a strength that had nothing to do with the uniform he wore.

He smiled, seemingly amused by her appraisal.

“Hmm.” She tapped her finger against her chin and then grinned. “How do you feel about helping a damsel in distress?”

“It’s what I do, ma’am. Did he hurt you? I can’t stand a man beating on a woman. That’s one of the things that sends my temper over the edge, and I have to warn you I do have one.”

Charmed by his slight Southern accent, she’d lost what he was saying. “You have one what?”

“A temper.”

“Oh, no. This isn’t about a man. But I need you like no woman has ever needed you. In fact, my life depends on you coming with me right now. And you would make me the happiest woman in the world if you had a friend who is just as hot as you.”

The marine put two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

Hannah jumped slightly at the piercing volume.

There was a thud of running footsteps, and another man, this one with dark hair and light caramel skin, joined them. He stopped in front of the other marine, his hand flying up to a salute.

“You whistled, Captain, sir.” His voice was clipped, but respectful. Hannah didn’t know her marine ranks very well, but she knew that a captain was up there. She was crazy to ask these men to help her, but she didn’t have much of a choice.

“Lieutenant, seems we have a damsel in distress.”

The marine glanced down at Hannah, his dark eyes checking her face for injuries. “Are you hurt?”

She smiled brightly. “No, but I need your help. Can you gentlemen follow me? I promise, if you give me the next hour of your life, you’ll save mine. And I’ll throw in the best meal you’ve ever had.”

She reached out her hands and wriggled her fingers, begging them to follow.

Both men shrugged.

“Captain, sir, if there’s food involved, I’m in.”

“Then let’s get to it.” The captain took Hannah’s hand. “Fair damsel, lead the way,” he said.

Hannah didn’t have time to question her good fortune, or the fact that the marine warmed her with his touch. She had a show to put on and a career to save. With these two, she had a feeling she was going to kill Lincoln Center in a way that had never been done before.

CAPTAIN WILL HUGHES had done dumb things in his life, especially when it came to women, but this would go to the top of his crazy list. In the past fifteen minutes he’d been asked to strip, put on a pair of great-fitting jeans and a shirt that forced him to keep his arms by his sides, and while one woman messed with the shirt, another held out a pair of cowboy boots for him to slip on.

“His chest is too damn big,” the woman said through the pins in her mouth. “I’ve never seen so many muscles in my life. Hannah, what do you want me to do?”

Hannah stood there appraising him for a few seconds. The desire in her eyes made his crotch uncomfortable. It had been too damn long for him, and she was his idea of the perfect woman. From that honey-blond hair piled on top of her head in a mass of curls, to her pert breasts, down to long legs ending in red cowboy boots she was nothing short of gorgeous. Surrounded by models, none compared to her beauty.

“Leave the shirt open. Though, they probably won’t be looking at the clothes when he walks out.” Hannah laughed, and something tugged at Will’s heart.

“One minute. Line up, people!” someone screeched.

The tension in the room was palpable and the noisy din died down.

“What’s wrong?” Will glanced around the tent to see what was happening.

“Nothing. Show’s about to begin and we need it quiet back here so everyone can hear their cues.” Hannah waved over Rafael. As the models walked by, it looked as if his friend was watching a tennis match. Rafe always had a way with women. “All I need you guys to do is walk at a steady pace to the end of the stage, pause about fifteen seconds and walk back. You need to be prepared for the photographers’ flashes when you pause. It can be blinding at times.

“Just give them your best marine glare. You can watch what the girls do on that screen right there.” She pointed to a flat-screen television. “Kayleigh is the stage manager and she’ll tell you when to go on. You’ll enter here, and exit the stage on the other side. I can’t thank you guys enough. And I’ll owe you big if we can just get through the next twenty minutes.”

He was a marine, and would have helped her no matter what, but Will liked the fact she felt she owed him. He could think of at least thirty different ways she could pay him back.

Mind out of the gutter, Marine.

“We’ve got it covered,” Will told her.

“That’s right,” Rafe said. “If there’s one thing marines can do, it’s follow orders.”

“You guys really are the best.” She squeezed Will’s arm. Then she left to take her position near the other side of the stage.

“Sir, we’ve been in some tough situations, but I never thought I’d have to be a male model,” Rafe whispered. “Promise me none of the guys will ever hear about this. Otherwise we’ll never live it down. Though, I got to admit, I love these damn jeans.”

Will chuckled. “Mine could be a size bigger, but I like them, too. And trust me, no one will ever hear a word out of me. I appreciate you helping out.”

Rafael shrugged. “It’s what we do.”

“Showtime!” The stage manager waved her hand.

“Sir?”

“Yeah, Rafe?”

“Are you nervous?”

“We’re marines. We don’t have nerves.” He winked at the man. “But if I did, I’d tell you I’d rather be in the desert fighting hostiles than walking out on that stage.”

“Me, too, sir. Me, too.”

Poor guy. They’d been looking forward to doing some sightseeing before they had to report to the UN the next day as part of a defense attaché force. It would be Will’s job to coordinate the teams assigned to protect foreign dignitaries for a global conference in town. Most of the preliminary work had been done, so he and Rafe had been kicking around the past twenty-four hours as tourists.

“You’re up!” A woman touched his arm and gently shoved him forward. Will hadn’t even noticed he’d advanced to the stage. He swallowed and walked up the few steps. He saw Rafe exit the other side, and the stage manager told him to go.

The lights blinded him as he stepped out onto the white-carpeted floor and walked to what he hoped was the end. He couldn’t really see until he damn near fell off the thing. He stood there for a moment while the cameras flashed, but couldn’t figure out why everyone was screaming. People were up on their feet clapping. He turned and walked back, forcing himself not to run.

“Holy crap! They’ve gone ape out there.” Hannah was there to guide him off the stage. “You two were amazing.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Will full on the mouth. He wanted it to last longer, but then she moved on to Rafe. The other man received a hug, but not a kiss. That sat just fine with Will.

She took them both by the hands. “Okay, you two, one more time down and back and we are done.”

“Again?” he and Rafe said at the same time.

Laughing, she pulled them up the steps and onto the stage.

The lights were different this time and he could see more of the audience. They were giving Hannah a standing ovation. He had no right to be proud of her, but he was. He held up her hand as if she’d won a prizefight. They walked that way to the end of the stage and back.

He helped her down the steps and then she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Marine, I have to do some press for a bit, and then we can do anything you want. You name it!” She gave him another quick peck and she was off.

“Why do I have the feeling you’re going to tell me to get lost?” Rafe chuckled behind him.

“As soon as I find my pants you’re getting a hundred bucks, and I’m giving you the night off to see the city,” Will told him.

“That’s all right, sir. I think I might be kind of busy, too.” Rafe winked at a model with short pixie hair and blue eyes. She blew him a kiss with her fingers.

“Guess this modeling thing isn’t so bad after all.” Will chuckled.

And the woman of his dreams had promised him anything.

Luckily he knew exactly what he wanted.

2

A DREAMLIKE TRANCE enveloped Hannah in a shroud of happiness.

Success.

The thrill of it pulsed through her veins. For more than an hour and a half one reporter after another interviewed her, and she’d been air-kissed and hugged by hundreds of people she didn’t know.

“I’m sorry, we have appointments to keep this evening. Thank you for coming,” Anne Marie said as she pulled her from the media frenzy.

“That was—”

“Freakin’ stellar.” Anne Marie hugged her.

“We did it.” Hannah squeezed her friend tight.

Kayleigh squealed behind them. “Who knew we would be the hottest thing at Fashion Week? And hello! I just checked the machine at the office, and we have tons o’ calls from buyers and editors.” Kayleigh was a terrific publicist and stage manager. She helped Anne Marie hire the models, and even designed the look of the show within the parameters Hannah had given her.

They gathered hands and did a happy dance they’d made up when they discovered Hannah’s designs had been chosen for this special New Stars of Fashion event.

“Why is it you leave me out of everything?” Jesse, her fabric guru, mumbled. They opened their arms to him.

“Group hug,” Anne Marie ordered. Hannah and the others complied.

“Tonight wouldn’t have happened without you guys,” Hannah stated matter-of-factly.

“Phfft,” Jesse said. “You have more talent than the majority of designers at Fashion Week combined. You would have succeeded no matter what.”

She kissed his cheek. “No, I wouldn’t have. You guys kept me sane. Each of you is so important I can’t even—” Emotion clogged her throat so she cleared it.

“If you cry, I will hit you,” Anne Marie warned. She was a tough one. Dressed in her requisite fishnets, black mini and vintage rocker T-shirt, she knew her friend would follow through with the threat.

“No tears. Just gratitude for some really great friends.”

Someone moved just outside the circle and she saw the handsome marine who had saved her show.

“Hey!” She waved to Will.

He nodded.

“I promised to take him to dinner so I’ll see you guys later. Thank you again.”

“Wait,” Anne Marie yelled. “Don’t forget you have Leland’s party at seven. He’s throwing it for you, so you have to be there. We’ll get everything packed and meet at Leland’s.”

Hannah had forgotten. She glanced at Will and then at Anne Marie. She didn’t want to disappoint Will, but she owed Leland so much. It would be selfish to bail on a party in her honor. “I’ll be there.”

Will waited for her near the entrance.

“I thought you would have given up on me, but I’m glad you didn’t.” She suddenly felt shy. After seeing him without a shirt, she’d wanted him in the most carnal of ways. But she also had an enormous respect for him. What he had done for her couldn’t have been easy for him or his friend.

And they had saved her show. Will and Rafe were two of the biggest reasons people were excited about her clothes.

Who could blame them?

Captain Will Hughes was walking sex. That seriously hot uniform he wore hid the rippling muscles, but she’d seen the goods and she couldn’t stop thinking about them. Hannah clasped her hands behind her back so she wouldn’t touch him again.

“You asked me to wait, and I’m good at taking orders.”

She smiled at that. “I would have thought a captain was used to giving them.”

“I do my fair share of that, too, but I’m a marine and there is always someone barking orders somewhere higher up.”

Feeling lucky that she didn’t have to deal with anyone, except an occasionally cranky Anne Marie, she patted his arm. She hoped the contact would calm her nerves. No dice.

“Congratulations. From what I understand you had a great night. I don’t know much about fashion, but those reporters seemed to like what you did.”

Uncomfortable with the praise from him, Hannah bent her head and stared at her toes. “They liked you and your friend, Rafe. You guys sold the show. Where is he?” She glanced around.

Will motioned with his thumb toward the entrance. “He left about fifteen minutes ago with one of the models.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. All the girls were talking about you guys. I really can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s not a big deal. So are you ready to go?”

Hannah scrunched her face. “I am, but there’s one thing I have to do. I forgot my friend Leland is throwing a big party in my honor. We don’t have to stay long, but I must make an appearance. He’s invited a lot of industry peeps and—”

Will grinned. “I get it. Do you want to take a rain check on the dinner?”

“No. That is, if you don’t. I’d really like you to be my, uh…” She couldn’t get the words out.

“Date?” His face was a mask and she had no idea what he was thinking.

She nodded.

“I’d be honored. But won’t your friend—” he pointed toward Jesse “—mind? You guys seem close.”

“Jesse?” She coughed back the laughter. “Uh, no. He works for me. We call him the intern, but as you can see he’s not very internish looking. He’s been helping me with fabrics and pattern-making. Genius, that guy. But not interested in me in the least. And I have nothing but sisterly feelings for him. I think he might have something for my friend Anne Marie, but they’re both so busy neither of them have noticed yet. Look at me, Miss Gossip. Sorry. The answer is no. I am thoroughly unattached.”

He smiled the warmest smile she’d ever seen.

Without thinking she threw herself at him and kissed his cheek. “Oh, sorry. It’s just you look so sweet. I’m, uh, overexcited tonight.”

“Don’t apologize. Trust me.” His husky voice deepened.

The heat of his words spread through her like a match to tinder.

“In casual circumstances I’d rather not wear my uniform. Do I have time to go back to my hotel and change?”

Her first instinct was to offer him something from her collection but she remembered how tight the shirts were. If he went to Leland’s party with his chest bared the females and males would maul him before he could get through the door. Her heart did double-time as she remembered how he looked strutting down the runway with his tough-guy ’tude.

“Sure.”

“Let’s get out of here and grab a taxi.”

IN GREENWICH VILLAGE, the festivities were in full swing. When they entered Leland’s penthouse everyone yelled, “We love you, Hannah.”

Her hand flew to her chest and her eyes burned with tears. But she refused to let them fall because she was so happy so many of her friends were there. She grabbed Will’s hand and pulled him into the throng.

“Darling girl, you were fabulous tonight. And your Adonis was the perfect touch,” Leland said as he air-kissed both of her cheeks.

“Thank you for this.”

“Who would have thought that frizzy-haired girl who begged to work as a seamstress would turn out to be the It Girl of the fashion world?”

She smiled. “You did. From that first day you seemed to see something in me that even I didn’t know I had.”

He chucked her under the chin. “Talent, love. It was oozing out of every pore. Now introduce me to the Adonis.”

Will stuck out his hand. “I’m Will. It’s nice to meet you. So you gave Hannah her first big break?”

“I did indeed. And how did you two meet?” Leland was a lot of things, but he was never subtle.

“Uh…” Hannah stammered. Her first instinct was to lie because she didn’t want to embarrass Will. But her brain stalled.

“She kidnapped me off the street and made me do her bidding,” Will interjected.

Leland guffawed. “That sounds like my Hannah. When she finds what she wants, she’s like a little terrier. She never lets go. It’s nice to meet you, Will. I hope you enjoy the party, you two. Simply everyone is here.”

They spent the next half hour greeting the guests—a delicious selection of Manhattan’s weird and wonderful. Will hadn’t even flinched when Brandy, who was really cross-dressing Randy, fingered the collar of his button-down shirt. She couldn’t blame Randy. More than once she found herself brushing up against Will just to feel those hard muscles underneath.

They finally made it over to Anne Marie and the gang. “I wanted to officially introduce you to the people who are really responsible for the great show tonight. This is Anne Marie, our assistant director of design. She keeps me on track and pretty much runs the business side of things.”

“Pretty much?” Anne Marie snorted.

“True. She runs the business.”

Hannah pointed to her other favorite person in the world. “Kayleigh handles all the press, along with Anne Marie. She’s a publicist who does a million other things, as well. She was the stage manager giving the orders tonight.”

“My bark is worse than my bite.” Kayleigh winked.

“Ha! Don’t scare poor Will away,” Hannah playfully admonished.

“The captain doesn’t look like he scares easily,” Kayleigh said suggestively.

Will shook his head.

Hannah chose to ignore the flirting. She knew Kayleigh was just giving her a hard time.

“And this guy is Jesse.” Her friend stuck out his hand to shake Will’s. “He answered the ad for an intern eight months ago, and none of us are sure how we lived without him before that. He has forgotten more about fabrics and textiles than I will ever know. And he’s a mean pattern maker. I’ve never met anyone better.”

“She likes to make us sound good,” Jesse countered. “And the reason we’re all here is because she’s got an imagination bar none, and she is a design genius.”

Hannah made an unladylike noise. “That is so not true. Now who’s being over the top? Trust me, none of this would work without the whole gang. I can be a tyrant at times, but they put up with me.”

She noticed no one came to her defense about the tyrant remark. They obviously hadn’t forgotten her numerous breakdowns over the past few weeks. She tried not to let the pressure get to her, but she didn’t always succeed.

“It’s great to meet you,” Will said to her team. “I don’t know much about this world. In truth, I don’t know anything, but I’ve been listening in on conversations all night. Everyone seems excited about the show.”

“Thanks,” the three said in unison.

“You better get back out there and circulate. Your fans await,” Anne Marie encouraged her.

“Hannnaaah.” Larisa Malone always elongated her name. The shrill voice sent a painful sting through Hannah’s chest. Dressed in leather from head to toe, false eyelashes and garish red lipstick, the other woman looked more like a drag queen than Randy did. “You are quite the surprise, aren’t you? How does it feel?” The words might sound like a compliment but the tone was vicious.

Hannah poked Anne Marie when she noticed a sneer on the woman’s face.

“Oh, Larisa, tomorrow morning they’ll be on to someone else. Are you ready for your show on Thursday?”

“Of course. I have quite a few surprises up my sleeves.”

She glanced over Hannah’s shoulder and waved. “Oh, my, that’s Justin T. I was so surprised to see him at your little show. He usually only makes an appearance for the great designers. I must tell him how delicious he was in that last movie he made.”

“That one is a piece of work.” Will scratched his head as Larisa left. “She reminds me of the women who play bridge with my mother. None of them ever has a kind word about another person and they also have sticks up their— Oh, sorry.”

Hannah smiled. “Oh, don’t be. You have her pegged. And as a result, you’re my new hero.”

Before Will could answer, Christopher Kline appeared. “Doll, great show.” He was Leland’s lover and one of the most influential chefs in New York City. Every restaurant he owned turned to gold.

She hugged him. “Thank you.”

He glanced up at Will and gave him a once-over. “Leland didn’t lie. You did find yourself a real man.”

She teased him back. “Behave.”

He waggled his eyebrows. “That is not how I roll, Hannah, love. Oh, and did you hear the gossip from the Hags in the corner? Such jealousy about you, the hate spews like a river of lies. That means you are on top, my sweet. Leland says you killed, so watch out for the claws.”

Hannah peered over his shoulder. The Hags, as everyone called them, were three women who had tried to design their own lines, only to fall flat on their faces. So instead of going back to the drawing board, they became online fashion critics. Their site didn’t have a single nice review but they had a huge following. Unfortunately, people seemed to eat up their wickedness. They wore too much makeup and their clothes were meant for women twenty years their junior. Hence, their name.

“I guess it would be too much to hope they’d give me a pass.”

“My darling Hannah, sometimes your naïveté brings such a lightness to my cold, dead heart. Don’t worry. You know how it works. The more they hate you, the more everyone else will love you.”

“I suppose,” she grumbled.

“Now you two run off and get some food. Leave those sorry wannabes to me. I have a bit of juicy gossip that might just lead them off your scent.”

Before he left, he blew her a kiss and nodded to Will.

Will guided her to the dining area that had been set up banquet style. “I didn’t realize the fashion business was so cutthroat,” he said.

“It’s the worst, really. I’m lucky Leland invited a lot of my friends, too, who are really sweet. But he has to include some of the others because to snub them is a big faux pas.”

“I always feel sorry for people like those women and the one who came up to you before. They obviously have no self-esteem if they have to beat up on others to make themselves feel better. They are no better than the bullies on the playground.”

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek again. “You really are my hero.”

“Let’s go eat,” he said, changing the subject. He seemed to be uncomfortable whenever she tried to compliment him. “I don’t know about you, but that modeling is hard work.”