Читать книгу Romancing the Runway - Linda Hudson-Smith - Страница 11

Kennedy’s body had already flown through a flurry of poses. The executions were quick and done with keen precision. Dressed in a black flowing evening gown, long black gloves, her hair pinned up in a beautiful updo with flawless makeup, she was stunning.

Flirting openly with the camera was one of Kennedy’s favorite things to do.

“Run your tongue across your lips, Kennedy,” cameraman Danny George gently instructed the lead model. “That’s good. Now cross your arms up over your head. Hold it. Great!” The shutter went off in rapid succession. “That’s a wrap. We’re all through here. Thanks for always being so easy to work with. I wish all models were like you.”

“Models can be a little temperamental, including me. You’ve just been lucky not to get me on a bad day. For your sake, I hope you never do. Thanks, Danny. I appreciate how professionally you operate. Hope to see you again soon.”

“Take care, Kennedy. You’ll definitely see me again. Count on it.”

Kennedy rushed back into the dressing room to change into her street clothes. She sat down at the dressing table. Using lots of moisturizing cream, she stripped her face of all the heavy makeup. She then dabbed on a lighter base coat, dusting her face with powder and blush, which left her complexion with a more natural glow.

Xavier had invited her to lunch before she’d left his house earlier. She had happily agreed to meet him right after her shoot since she was often hyperactive after completing a job. Energy to burn. After locating her cell phone, she called his mobile to let him know she was through and could meet him within the hour. He had already picked out a restaurant near her home, one that she happened to be familiar with.

Xavier was already waiting in the parking lot of the Gray Whale. When Kennedy spotted his car, she parked right next to it. He immediately got of out of his automobile so he could open the door for her.

As Kennedy stepped out of her car, Xavier slid his hand down her arm and kissed her forehead. “Hello, there. How’d things go for you at work today?”

“Great.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed Xavier’s cheek and put her arm through his. “Have you ever worked with Danny George?”

“Many times. He’s the consummate professional. I like him a lot.”

“Me, too. He complimented me today on not being hard to work with. I hated to tell him he just hadn’t caught me on a bad day. But I decided to enlighten him.” They laughed.

Inside the restaurant Xavier stepped up to the podium and gave his name to the hostess. He hadn’t made reservations because he hadn’t been sure when Kenney would finish up her job. However, the place didn’t look too crowded and only a few people were waiting to be seated. After requesting a window table for two, he joined Kennedy.

Kennedy looked up at Xavier as he drew near. “Think we could sit at the bar until they call your name? I’m thirsty.”

“Sure, let’s go.” Prepared to lead the way, he took her by the hand.

The couple stopped by the podium to tell the hostess their plans before proceeding to the large bar area, which was practically empty. It was well after the lunch-hour rush.

Kennedy ordered raspberry iced tea and Xavier had a taste for lemonade.

He looked right into her eyes. “What was your session like?”

“Mainly formal wear. I modeled several designer evening gowns for a specialty-wear catalogue. It was a pretty easy gig. Getting in and out of clothes and makeup are the most demanding parts for me. I’ve pretty much got all the different poses and faces down pat.”

“I know. I’ve been privileged to see you in action. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m flying high right now. Everything was so fast paced and exhilarating. In about an hour, I’ll start to bomb out.”

“I think that goes for all high-fashion models. Men don’t have to go through as much as you women, but we have our fair share of demanding jobs. Makeup is still a rough part for me to get through. I can’t wait to get it off my face afterward.”

“I can see how that’d be hard for any male, since you guys don’t normally wear the stuff.” Her eyes roved over his face. “You have gorgeous skin. What’s your secret?”

“Using a darn good moisturizer. A healthy diet and drinking plenty of water helps, too. This face has never been introduced to a razor, thank goodness. I shave with a light depilatory. For whatever reason, I don’t grow a lot of facial hair. Now my chest, that’s a different matter altogether,” he said, chuckling.

Kennedy recalled with crystal clarity the thick chest hair that eventually tapered off to run down into his shorts. She reined in her torrid thoughts as they began to get out of control. Xavier’s last name was then called out, which gave her more time to pull it together. This fine brother had a way of making her imagination go wild.

The couple was then seated at a window table and a waitress was sent right over.

Due to the heavy meal Kennedy had consumed the previous night, she chose a light garden salad with low-calorie dressing, along with a dish of seasonal fruit: strawberries, cantaloupe chunks, blackberries and a dollop of whipped cream. Xavier ordered a grilled chicken entrée, accompanied with his favorite veggie, asparagus.

The couple spoke on a variety of stimulating subjects as they waited for their meals to be delivered. Travel was a favorite pastime for both. Their profession gave them ample opportunity to journey to places they may’ve never otherwise gotten to. Kennedy and Xavier had already been to many exotic locations.

“How do you feel about us getting away together for a quiet mini-vacation?”

Kennedy couldn’t hide her surprise at the question. “I don’t know. It all depends on what you have in mind.”

“Just some time away from this bustling city. Separate rooms, of course. I thought it’d be nice if we could take a short vacation down to Mexico or possibly up north to the wine country.”

Kennedy looked Xavier dead in the eye, as if to test his resolve. When he didn’t so much as flinch, she felt relieved, actually liking the idea of getting away for a couple of days and doing absolutely nothing. The idea of being away with him had her heart jumping around. “Separate rooms are a must. Thanks for the invite. I’ll have to check my schedule to see what time frames are free. Weekdays are normally best for me.”

“I agree. Most of my weekends are crazy. But I’m willing to do whichever I can. Whatever days you come up with, I’ll try and match up our calendars.”

“We can see if we can work out something. I’ll check it out when I get home.”

“You’ll have no regrets, Kennedy. I promise.”

“I trust you to keep your promise. Here comes our food.” She had already made a promise to herself to finish all of her meal this time. For a mere second, she thought of offering to pick up the check. Something told her it wasn’t a good idea, at least not this soon. Xavier was a man with a lot of pride. She shouldn’t risk injuring it.

Xavier eagerly accepted Kennedy’s invitation to come into her home. She had said she’d like to show him around if he had time. She had also mentioned they could check her calendar to try and come up with a match, suggesting that he could write down the information to later compare it to his own busy schedule.

The blinding white decor of Kennedy’s three-bedroom ranch house took Xavier by surprise. Everything covered in fabric was fashioned in an array of white tones, both softer shades and the more dazzling ones. The dark wood accents relieved the stark whiteness to a small degree, but the rooms still had a white wonderland appearance.

Despite all the flashy whiteness, there wasn’t a sterile feel to the place. Kennedy was not the least bit neurotic about her space, either. She made sure her visitors always felt welcome and comfortable in her home. There were no specific rules about where people could eat and drink. Like most folks, she only wanted people to respect her home and not indulge in practices they wouldn’t perform inside their own residences. In many ways, both she and Xavier had the same goal in mind for their visitors’ total comfort.

It took Kennedy all of ten minutes to give Xavier a full tour since she hadn’t spent a lot of time in each room. The master bedroom was as white as the rest of the place, but at least she had pink and lavender designer pillows on her bed. The white comforter was also fringed in a soft shade of pink and a deep violet, with the master bath also done in the same shades. White wood shutters covered all the windows in the house.

Once the couple got into the office, she offered Xavier a seat on an overstuffed chair. Then she rifled through her desk, looking for her calendar, which wasn’t where it was normally kept. Kennedy finally spotted it on her computer table.

“Ah, here we go,” she said, picking up the large black calendar and an ink pen and writing pad. Walking over to where Xavier was seated, she sat down at his feet and held up the calendar for him to view. “It looks like this month is all filled. Maybe we should look at the next one.” She rapidly flipped over the page.

Xavier took the calendar from her hand and flipped it back to the page she’d turned away from. “Take a closer look at what you have written down in the blocks. Maybe there are a few dispensable items.”

“If I’ve already given my word on something, I couldn’t back out.”

“Just take a look at everything. You’d be surprised at what you can hack away. I thought you’d promised to start prioritizing your time.”

Kennedy closely studied the entries, giving each one her undivided attention. She pointed at the second Wednesday of the month. “This event has been canceled. Looks like I forgot to mark it off. Interesting, but the following two days are also free. You could look at your calendar to see how they work for you.”

Taking the pen and pad from her hand, he wrote down the dates. “Keep on looking. Maybe you’ll spot something else you forgot to cancel.”

After more scrutinizing, she didn’t see anything else she could hack off, causing her to flip over to the following month. “There are a couple of days in the first week of July. Wow, the Fourth of July is free. It’s in the middle of the week, but places are probably going to be pretty crowded then.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m sure we can find a resort hotel close by to book into.” He wrote those dates down, too, before spotting a couple of empty spaces at the end of July. After pointing the dates out to her, he jotted them down also. “Now we have a few things to work with. When I get back home, I’ll do the comparisons.”

Kennedy smiled brightly. “Assignment completed. Let’s go down to the family room and chat awhile. That is, if you have some time to hang out with me.”

“I’d like nothing more.” As he got to his feet, he handed her back the calendar.

Up front in the family room, Xavier sat as close to Kennedy on the sofa as he thought appropriate. The scent of her perfume drove him wild. The urge to run his fingers through her hair was unbearable. Kissing her thoroughly was his next tingling thought.

Kennedy felt the same kind of vibes as Xavier did. She couldn’t count how many times she’d wondered what his kiss might do to her. She had a good idea his mouth would set her entire body on fire. Everything about him turned on her inner flames.

The phone suddenly rang, pulling Kennedy away from her heated thoughts. “Excuse me.” Normally she didn’t answer calls when she had company, but she was expecting to hear from her best girlfriend, Martina Sellers.

“Hey, Marty, what’s up?”

“Everything is cool. A few of us are going out tonight to this new club called Caliente. Knowing how much you like the Latin scene, I thought I’d call to see if you wanted to join Mitchel and me. Bianca is also stopping by for a bit.”

“Sounds like fun. What time and where is the club?”

“Around eight-thirty or so, at Redondo Beach. You know nothing really pops off before eight or nine. Get a pen and I’ll give you the address.”

Using one of the pens and pads she kept next to the phone, Kennedy told Martina she was ready to copy. The beach cities pretty much ran one right after the other. Redondo was on the other side of Manhattan Beach, but it didn’t take long to get there. “Okay, Martina, I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got something interesting to tell you.”

“Any hints?”

“Not right now. Talk to you when I see you.”

Kennedy wasted no time in filling Xavier in on her conversation with Martina, telling him about the new Latin club and how much she loved the music. “Are you busy this evening? I’d love for you to come meet my friends.” She cringed, thinking she may’ve been a tad too forward. Well, I couldn’t possibly know if I didn’t ask him.

“I’m all yours, but I’d better get going. I have a couple of things I should take care of if I’ll be hanging out with you and your friends the entire evening.” He got to his feet. The desire to kiss her hit him full force again. Instead of giving in to his craving, he took her by the hand. “Walk me out?”

Loving the feel of her hand in his, Kennedy smiled softly. “No problem.”

At the front door, Xavier found the nerve to brush his lips against hers. The minor contact shot through him like a major lightning bolt, heating up every part of his body. This was ridiculous, he thought. How was it possible to feel so much from so little?

Kennedy was happy Xavier had kissed her, but she was a bit disappointed he hadn’t deepened the contact. Still, hope arose in her, causing her heart to float.

“What time should I pick you up?”

“Eight o’clock is good. I promise not to keep you out too late. However, if you prefer, I can always meet you there. Whatever works best for you.”

Xavier scowled. “Nonsense! I prefer picking you up. Okay with you?”

“Just fine. See you around eight.”

Xavier opened the door and stepped outside. Before Kennedy could close the door behind him, he was back inside, gently pulling her into his arms. This time he kissed her the way he’d dreamed of since the first day he’d met her. He kissed her thoroughly, making her moan with sheer pleasure. The intimate contact felt explosive.

Xavier didn’t give Kennedy a chance to respond to his spontaneous affection nor stay in range long enough for her to slap his face. He was out the door in a flash, leaving her bewildered and utterly bewitched. As she stared after him, he blew her a kiss.

Sighing deeply, running her fingers across her lips, she wished she could preserve his kiss forever. Maybe she wouldn’t have to. Perhaps he wanted more of the same, as she did. She couldn’t wait to feel his mouth on hers again.

Xavier hung up the phone after listening to his messages. He could hardly believe the content of the long running commentary his agent had left for him. He had just been offered a guest appearance spot on one of the most popular soap operas on television, Love, Laughter & Life. This news was great but totally unexpected.

He’d auditioned a while ago and had been told by Kirsten that the studio planned to use several other professional models for judges in a modeling segment. With that in mind, he thought Kennedy just might be called upon. That’d really be nice, since he definitely wanted to work with her again.

This particular segment of L,L&L was featuring a story line about a modeling contest. The producer had thought Xavier would make an excellent celebrity judge. Besides being very easy on the eyes and having a beautiful body, Xavier’s warm personality and his popularity among both the older and younger generations had earned him the producer’s nod.

He couldn’t wait to share his news with Kennedy. The thought of phoning her crossed his mind, but he decided to wait until he picked her up later on. Her facial expression was what he wanted to see most, sure that she’d be overly thrilled for him.

After Xavier washed his hands at the bathroom sink, he went out to the kitchen to get something cold to drink.

Soda in hand, his strides long and deliberate, he made his way into his office, where he pulled from his pocket the paper with the possible vacation dates. After grabbing his calendar, he sat in the leather swivel chair at the desk to compare their schedules. It didn’t take him long to find that his agenda was even tighter than hers. Nothing in June worked. July showed that he had the same time frame as she had open at the end of the month. He circled the dates, though he hated that they were so far away.

Still, there’d be plenty for them to do before then. Southern California was a hotbed of all sorts of activities. If nothing else, they could swim and then laze around his pool or the beach. A vacation away wouldn’t necessarily bring them closer. If that’s what they wanted, they could make it happen by continuing to spend quality time together.

As Xavier thought about their evening, he wondered if Kennedy would mind if he invited Janine and Jonathan along. Janine also had a huge thing for Latin music. But if he wanted to be alone with Kennedy, why was he inviting others to come along?

Well, for one thing, he could hardly consider a club setting as alone. Her friends would be there, too. Maybe they were the same people they were going to cook for next week. If that was the case, breaking the ice before then would be a good thing. Without giving it any more thought, he picked up the phone and dialed his friends.

Out of respect and habit, Xavier stood until Kennedy was seated on the sofa. Now was as good a time as any to share his thrilling news with her. He then thought about waiting until they were at the club, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He wanted it to be a private moment. The timing was perfect right now.

Smiling from ear to ear, Xavier took hold of Kennedy’s hand. “I got some great news earlier.” He then spilled the beans, giving her all the details his agent had left on his answering machine. He still hadn’t talked to Kirsten.

Several seconds passed by and Xavier began to get nervous. Kennedy hadn’t said a word and he couldn’t read her thoughts because her expression was blank. He opened his mouth to ask her why she was mum, but he thought better of it. While he didn’t quite know what to make of the uncomfortable silence, Xavier didn’t want to speculate, either. God forbid he should come to all the wrong conclusions.

All of a sudden, Kennedy laughed and threw her willowy arms around Xavier’s neck, nearly toppling him off the sofa. “Congrats,” she cried out. “How exciting for you! Oh my gosh, you could end up becoming a soap star. You are going to be on L,L&L. That is so cool,” she gushed. “Think I can visit the set?”

Xavier laughed at how all of Kennedy’s words were tumbling out in rapid succession. “Come up for air, sweetie. Breathe,” he joked. “It’s okay to inhale and exhale.” His laughter continued to ring out, loud and lusty.

Beyond excited for Xavier, Kennedy fell out laughing, too, hugging his neck all the while. “You are the man!”

Her reaction made him feel like he’d just been crowned prom king. The expressions he’d barely been able to wait to see on her face were priceless. She hadn’t let him down, not in the least. He was just plain relieved, glad the awkward moments between them had passed.

Kennedy stood. “I guess we’d better get going if we’re to get to the club on time.” Feeling slightly bold, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the mouth. “I’m very proud of you. Congratulations!”

Suddenly looking downtrodden, Kennedy turned to face Xavier. “I wasn’t going to say anything to you about auditioning for a part on L,L&L, but it’s deceptive not to. Unlike you, I haven’t gotten a nod. My manager, Chase Hudson, hasn’t heard anything yet. Since you’ve been offered a part, I can’t help wondering where I stand. The producer seemed to like me. To be quite honest, I’m very disappointed there’s been no word.”

Xavier’s expression was apologetic. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings by coming off so enthusiastic.”

“My feelings are hurt, but I don’t fault you. It would’ve been nice to have heard something from the producer by now. It’s possible they haven’t called everyone. Who knows? I’m still happy for you. Please don’t think otherwise.”

Desperately wanting to taste more of her, Xavier pulled her into him and held her snugly in his arms. His mouth then covered hers in a riveting kiss, one that made her body turn into a mass of jelly. She prayed he couldn’t feel the quivering, but she couldn’t imagine how he couldn’t since it felt like an earthquake was exploding inside her.

As Xavier lifted his head, Kennedy pulled it back down. He wasn’t the only one who wanted more of this bursting passion. He had singed her lips with fire and desire and she wanted it to go on and on. Their eyes clashed with fiery heat as they kissed again.

Just as they were about to go out the door, Kennedy told him to go ahead outside. She had forgotten something and promised to be right along. Then she ran into the kitchen and punched in a code on the phone. After giving instructions to the person she’d phoned, she hung up and ran back to the front, where she set the alarm and stepped out.

How Kennedy had managed to have the crystal vase of long-stemmed red roses delivered to the club so quickly had Xavier astounded. It seemed like they’d just left her home, but a glance at his watch had confirmed for him it had been a while. Coupled with the fact that she’d suddenly gone back into the house, he was sure she’d phoned in the florist order then. It was the only time it could’ve happened. She hadn’t been out of his sight before then. He knew of several area florists who did late-evening deliveries.