Model Marine. Candace Havens

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