I GRABBED MY laptop and slid it into my bag as my final class for the day ended. It’d been a long week, and it was only Tuesday, but the best part of my day was still to come—because I was now free to head to Kelly’s place.
Things had finally settled down after our whirlwind of a weekend, and even with the chaotic way it had ended, I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. Not when Kelly’s I love you and the way we’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms still made my heart skip every time I thought of it.
Sunday night had changed everything for me, and when he’d called this morning to ask me over for dinner to talk, it’d been a struggle to make myself go to school. I knew what he wanted to talk about—at least, I thought I did—and having to sit through class all day and think about it had just about driven me insane.
Kelly must’ve come to a decision about Xes, that was all I could think. He’d come to a decision and wanted to tell me, and I wasn’t quite sure I was prepared for his answer.
I’d gone into this past weekend wanting to be open and honest with how I felt about his being with other people for his job, but that was before I realized how much I loved him. Now it was impossible to take, his letting someone else kiss him, touch him, and be with him the way I’d been with him.
I knew it was selfish of me to ask him to quit, but I would get down on my hands and knees and beg him, if it came down it. To hell with pride.
I hurried through Astor’s courtyard to where Scotty was waiting for me. It hadn’t been easy to get him all to myself, but after some heavy bribery—and promises of drinks on me the next night we all went out—my friends had agreed to make their own way home today.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Truitt.”
“Scotty, how many times do I have to tell you, it’s Van.”
“Yes, Mr. Truitt.” The small smirk at the corner of his lips had me clapping him on the shoulder as I climbed inside the Sprinter.
He shut the door behind me, and as I settled in, my phone buzzed in the pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out, hoping it was Kelly, thinking that maybe I could tell by the tone of his voice which way tonight was going to go. But instead, my agent’s name flashed across the screen.
Ugh, Mira was the last person I wanted to speak to right now. I hadn’t heard from her since her brain exploded at my condo on Sunday, and even though Harry had managed to delete all trace of the articles online, I had a feeling Mira wasn’t calling to tell me what a great job I did at Avalon Castle.
I stared at the screen, knowing that if I didn’t deal with Mira now, she’d be blowing up my phone all night. So I hit accept and waited for my ass chewing.
“My office,” she barked. “Thirty minutes.”
“No, I—”
“Bring Kelly.”
What? “We’ve got plans tonight.”
“Then break them. Thirty minutes, Van. Don’t make me wait.”
I didn’t get a chance to say anything else before she ended the call. I leaned forward and tapped Scotty on the shoulder.
“If you could risk a ticket or two, there’s been a slight change of plans.”
He glanced at me in the rearview and nodded. “You got it, Mr. Truitt.”
I opened up Kelly’s thread then and shot off a text.
Hey, I’m on my way but Mira called and wants to see me—us—in thirty minutes. Is that going to ruin everything?
I looked out the window as Scotty weaved in and out of the traffic like he was driving my Jag and not the Sprinter. Good man, he’d have me at Kelly’s in no time at all.
SINful KELLY:
Hey. She wants both of us?
Yeah, she was pretty adamant. Probably wants to yell at us some more. Sorry about that.
SINful KELLY:
No need. And it won’t ruin things food-wise. Was going to order in. Not sure about our moods though, lol.
I had to agree. God knew what Mira wanted to talk to us about, but given her no-nonsense tone, I was dreading it.
Okay. I’m almost there, so see you in five?
SINful KELLY:
I’ll be ready, and Donovan?
Yeah?
SINful KELLY:
I love you.
I love you too.
I was glad I was by myself then, because I knew my smile was probably the sappiest thing any of my friends would ever see. But I couldn’t help it. My heart felt close to bursting, and if that made me a lovesick fool, then that’s what I was.
As the van pulled up to the curb, Kelly strolled out of his building. He had his hair up today, his sunglasses on, and in a pair of boots, jeans, and a casual burgundy button-up, he looked relaxed—and so damn sexy that my breath caught in the back of my throat.
Scotty went to climb out and open the door, but I told him I had it, and pulled it open myself.
“Damn, you look good. You got a hot date tonight or something?”
A smug smile curved Kelly’s mouth as he looked me over, and he nodded. “I sure do.”
I grinned as he stepped up into the van and slid the door shut, then I leaned over and kissed him. “Mmm, I’ve waited all day to do that.”
Kelly hummed and brought a hand up to cup my face. “Me too. I thought you were texting to cancel dinner, and I started coming up with all these ridiculous reasons why you couldn’t.”
“Oh yeah?” I moved back to my seat and took his hand in mine, craving that connection. “Like what?”
“Like I accidentally packed your toothbrush and needed to give it back? Or I started making a green juice and I wasn’t sure it was supposed to taste that disgusting?”
I snorted at his ridiculousness as he brought my hand up to his lips.
“Or… I’d been away from you for over twenty-four hours and if I didn’t see you again soon, I just might go crazy.”
I smiled as Scotty pulled away from the curb. “That one doesn’t sound ridiculous at all.”
We sat like that, hand in hand, the entire way to Mira’s. The only time Kelly let me go was when he opened the door to the agency’s building.
“What floor is she on?” he asked as we stepped into the elevator.
“The fifteenth.”
He hit the button, and seconds later we stepped out on my agency’s floor, where Sadie—the receptionist—smiled and gestured to the double doors behind her.
“Hey, Van. You can go right in. She’s waiting for you.”
Kelly’s eyes widened, and I knew what he was thinking. Not only did Sadie know who I was by sight, but there was also no waiting around. That was pretty normal, though, considering I was one of Mira’s top clients.
“Thanks,” I said as I pushed through the double doors and led Kelly down a hallway full of glass offices with marble floors. They kind of reminded me of fishbowls.
“This place isn’t intimidating at all,” Kelly whispered by my ear.
“Don’t be. Right now”—I looked around at each desk we walked by and saw everyone staring at the gorgeous man towering behind me—“everyone in here is trying to work out who you are and how they can be the ones to sign you.”
Kelly scoffed. “Yeah, until they find out what I do for a living.”
“Not necessarily.” Half of these agents wouldn’t care. Unlike Mira, they wouldn’t be so worried about that little factor, and might even use it to their advantage. But before I had a chance to tell him that, Mira stepped out of her fishbowl and eyed the two of us like she was a disappointed mother.
“In here, now.”
She didn’t bother waiting for us, merely turned and headed back to her desk. I pulled open the door for Kelly and followed after him.
We sat in the chairs facing her and the iconic view of the Empire State Building, and seemed to come to the unanimous decision that she should speak first.
Mira looked between us, a frown pulling between her perfectly shaped brows, as she took in a deep breath and let it out.
“I see you’ve both managed to keep your clothes on today, and for that, I thank you.”
“Really, Mira?”
She cut her eyes in my direction, and my mouth clicked shut. “You can give me that one.”
I supposed I had put her through the wringer the past few days, but what she said next would determine whether I owed her even more of an apology.
“However, I didn’t bring you down here to bust your balls.”
“Thank God for that. They’re still recovering from Sunday.”
Kelly snorted and held up a hand. “Sorry. But he’s not wrong.”
“No?” She arched a brow. “You’re saying that with all the extracurricular activities you two have engaged in that I’m the one who broke you?” Her red lips curved. “I’m rather proud of that.”
My eyes narrowed as a spark of mischief twinkled in Mira’s eyes.
“Okay, what’s going on?” I finally asked, and that serious expression she’d been wearing since Sunday reappeared. “Why’d you call us down here?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“No, but I figured you wouldn’t want to see my face again until you had a reason to.”
“And you would be right,” she said and sat forward in her chair, clasping her hands on the desk.
Oh shit, here it comes. She was about to tell me I’d been fired from one, or maybe all, of my current bookings. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she dropped me from the agency altogether. But like I’d told her the other night, I didn’t feel ashamed for what I’d done with Kelly. Or the fact that I’d fallen for him. I’d gone in knowing full well people would be watching, and that didn’t bother me. But the idea that I’d let her and my clients down definitely didn’t sit right.
“As much as it pains me to admit it, it seems that your prediction came true.”
“Excuse me?”
Mira looked between me and Kelly, shaking her head. “The one where any press is good press.”
I still wasn’t following, and neither was Kelly, judging by the confused expression on his face.
“It would appear that your little sideline gig as Kelly’s co-star came at the exact right time. Euphoria is looking for a new face for their upcoming underwear campaign and are looking for something sexy and a little scandalous.”
Ho-ly shit. She wasn’t dropping me. She wasn’t breaking the news that I’d been let go from any of my current contracts. She was presenting a job offer. As my brain tried to catch up, Kelly turned in his seat and reached for my hand.
“Donovan, that’s amazing.”
“Not only Van,” Mira said, and when we looked across the desk at her, she sat back in her seat, a wide smile now playing on her lips. “They want you too, Kelly.”
That got my brain cells firing again. “For the same campaign?”
“That’s right. They saw the article this weekend, checked out your, um…body of work together, then called me to find out if I knew Kelly.” She held her hands out, like, surprise. “Fate? Isn’t that what you called it, Van?”
Fate, luck—I wasn’t sure what to call it, but it had just come knocking on my door for the second time in a matter of weeks.
I turned to see Kelly with his jaw on the floor as he stared at Mira.
“You okay?” I asked, reaching for his hand.
“Yeah,” he said, his eyes never leaving the woman who had just offered him something I knew he wanted more than anything in this world. Well, maybe except for me. “I just… I’m still trying to process what just happened.”
“You got offered a job,” Mira said, getting to her feet. “A really damn good one.”
Kelly looked at me, a mixture of hope and excitement swirling in his eyes as Mira came around the desk.
“I’m not going to lie, Kelly. When Donovan first introduced us, I knew I wanted to sign you. With your face, that body, and your charisma, designers and brands would jump at the chance to work with you. But when I found out what you did for a living, I was furious. I thought, there goes a wasted opportunity because I didn’t get to you in time.”
Kelly nodded, and I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand, hoping it helped with his nerves.
“Turns out I was wrong.” Mira shook her head. “And those videos of you, and the ones with Van, had the team over at Euphoria drooling at the idea of working with you together.”
“Together?” I asked, my heart thumping at the thought of—
“Yes. The Sinful Allure campaign would feature you and Kelly in the shots together, modeling their latest underwear line.”
“Shut the hell up.”
Mira chuckled and braced her hands on the desk. “Oh, I don’t think you want me to do that. Not yet. Don’t you want to know the ballpark offer they threw out? You know, to see if you’re interested.”
“Yes, we do,” I said without a second thought.
“Van, half a mil. Kelly? They want to offer you a quarter.”
Damn. I hadn’t been thinking anything close to that number. One look at the bewildered expression on Kelly’s face and I knew he was still trying to make sense of what he’d just heard.
“I’m sorry.” He blinked a couple of times, and Mira puffed up her chest like a proud peacock. She knew she’d just knocked him on his ass. “Did you just say—”
“That Euphoria wants to pay you two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pose with your boyfriend in their underwear? Yes, that’s exactly what I said. So, you interested?”
A shocked kind of laugh rose up out of Kelly as he looked at me, then a bright smile full of joy and wonder crossed his lips as we both turned back to Mira and said, “Where do we sign?”
A LITTLE WHILE later, Kelly and I walked out of the agency in a blissful haze, and for once it had nothing to do with taking our clothes off. Well, not yet, anyway.
“Did that really just happen?” Kelly said as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me right there on the bustling New York sidewalk.
“It did. You, Kelly Sinclair, are about to be a working model for Euphoria. How does that feel?”
He tipped his head back, laughing into the late afternoon sun. “Un-fucking-believable. That’s how it feels.”
I kissed along his jaw until he looked back down at me, his eyes shining with pleasure as he recaptured my mouth and took a nice long taste of my lips.
“Seriously. I feel like I’ve won the damn lottery. I have ever since the moment you walked into my life.”
I swallowed, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me, not when Kelly was looking at me like I’d hung the moon.
“Donovan,” he whispered, and traced my lower lip with his thumb. “I don’t want to be with anyone else anymore.”
The words were so unexpected that I almost forgot I’d been waiting to hear them. But as he stared into my eyes, I realized they were the final words I needed to make this moment perfect.
“I was going to tell you tonight. That’s why I invited you over for dinner. But then this happened, and I…I couldn’t go another minute with you thinking I was conflicted over leaving my job with Xes.”
“Are you sure?”
He brushed his nose against mine. “I’ve never been more sure about anything.”
I threw my arms around his neck and pressed smacking kisses up his cheek to his ear. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
“Oh? And how you gonna to do that?
“Well, how about I promise that we can make a video for ourselves…once a month?”
Kelly let out a booming laugh as he took my hand and guided me over to where Scotty had just pulled up in the van.
“I think I could get on board with that. I’ll go see Rafferty tomorrow and let him know he’s going to have to find a new hot couple to take our place.”
“Aw, poor Rafferty. I almost feel sorry for him. But maybe we could offer our assistance if he ever needs help in coming up with story ideas.”
“I’ll be sure to mention it.”
“You do that.”
“I will, but later. Right now, all I want to do is take you out and celebrate.”
“Out? I thought we were eating at your place?”
“Haven’t you heard? I’m rich, baby.” Kelly winked at me and slid the door of the van shut. “Now, where do you want to go?”
