He nods slowly as the light turns green, and we cross onto a highway.
“What about yourself?” I ask when it seems uncomfortably tense for no reason at all.
“Not much.” He says this like he’s forcing himself not to care about something. You would have thought I just told him I killed my grandmother or something. After a few minutes of continued silence, Romeo tilts his head to me, and I meet his gaze.
“So…”
“So…” I lean in because I always seem to lean in when we talk. I make a conscious effort to stop myself from moving even closer.
“This weekend, we’re going over lines for a scene we’re doing to open the show.”
“I’m well aware.” I laugh.
“So, we probably should try to be around each other this weekend to run through them and build chemistry.” I raise my brows.
“Build chemistry?” I mouth in an exaggerated manner. He smirks with a parted mouth, pressing his tongue to his cheek in response.
“Yes, is that going to be a problem?”
“Oh, I have no problem with seeing more of you.” I intentionally look at his lips and then back to his eyes, which seem far more awake now that he knows what I’m alluding to. A quiet laugh escapes from my nose, and I bite my bottom lip, turning my head away from him in the next second to look out the window as we drive. I hear his body slump against the seat, and I hope that means I’ve enticed him.
This weekend the plan is to get information. At all costs, I have to have something to deliver to Kias, or else this mission will fail, and I’ll never get another chance at my dreams again. Getting Romeo to talk about his family, the weaknesses they have, or really anything vulnerable will be a challenge. Even though we texted each other throughout the week, most of it was surface-level flirting, and I don’t think he opened up once.
To be fair, it was just texting. Real life will make it harder to think before he speaks.Maybe I can get him drunk or something. I’m plotting this in my head, turning it over and over until the rough edges have weathered down to a smooth idea. The only parameter I have is that I cannot sleep with him.
Entice, entice, pull back.
He will want to be vulnerable, thinking it will draw me in. Then I pull back and continue the cycle until I basically know everything there is to know about him and his family. I think this might take more than the weekend, but surely, I’ll have him wrapped around my finger before the end of the month.
After an hour, we pull through the gold gates at just around 6 a.m. The sun is beginning to rise over the top of the hill we’re heading up, at the very tip of which is a mansion bigger than my entire hand when I close one eye and hold it up to my face.
“Holy shit,” Romeo says under his breath, but I nod in agreeableness because I heard him.
“This is it,” Knox announces like we wouldn’t know by the sheer mass of the house that this castle is Miu Miu’s. We catch up to another car, probably carrying more models for this weekend, and pull up to the square front. It reminds me of a rotunda, but it has sharp edges, around a square fountain in the center with bright blue water. The ground is black cobblestone, and the house is a striking white that looks like it's been covered in pearls. Even at sunrise, it is the brightest thing in sight.
We park in a spot next to a line of cars, and the moment we’re at a complete stop, I jump out. The warm breeze and sound of the ocean make me turn to see what’s on the other side of the hill. Down a long set of black stairs scoring the mountainside is a long stretch of the private beach area. The waves look choppy and golden in the early morning light, and I sigh at them for a moment until I feel Romeo’s hand around my waist.
“Ready?” he asks, and I turn my head to see he’s inches from my face. We’re breathing the same air for a second, and my stomach turns upside down. I try my best not to make myself appear weak by swooning, so I nod affirmatively like a soldier, and his brows rise curiously.
“You good?” He chuckles, and I allow myself to laugh at the stupidity of my aggressive reaction.
“Yes. Sorry. Too much Pilates boot camp.” Not exactly a lie. Pilates was fucking killer this week, and I did feel like I was training to become a navy captain or something like that. But that’s not the reason I responded like a soldier. I responded like one because I am one. I have been since birth, and I don’t think even the best acting skills could smudge that from my personality.
We step inside, smiles on our faces that I think are genuine, or maybe they’re nerves. It feels like stepping into a cafeteria on the first day of school and not knowing where to sit. I had to go to public school once on a mission. Horrible breed of human.
“Welcome!” A man in an all-white suit with a pink pocket-handkerchief and pink-tinted sunglasses welcomes us. There’s already a group gathering around the large staircase taking up the middle section of the house.
The man in the white suit is at the top, watching us walk in with delight written over the wrinkles in his well-weathered skin.
“I hope you all are very excited about your first weekend in the Miu Miu mansion.” His voice is soft, though he’s yelling. Almost airy. Everyone continues to shift their attention to him in between whispering to each other. “We have an entire team here dedicated to ensuring you have a very pleasant stay. The activities for this weekend will be listed by the doors of everyone’s individual rooms. Some of those activities are optional and will be marked as such, while others will be marked as essential. You must attend every essential activity to go to Paris with us. We take this very seriously and are not afraid to cut models for whatever reason. No one here is better than the rest— except maybe Romeo.” Everyone tilts their heads in his direction with a laugh, and he touches the back of his neck sheepishly.
“There will be themes for every weekend. This weekend is about finding your voice. Each model will be responsible for their voice this weekend. Hopefully, by the end of it, you feel invigorated and renewed.” Romeo nudges me for no reason, and I press my brows together with a smirk, not looking in his direction.
“And finally, there will be a strict lights out at 10 p.m. every night. To be the best, you need to get the best sleep.” Everyone nods as Romeo nudges me again, and I don’t laugh. He tilts his head and whispers in my ear.
“Come on, that was a little funny.”
I shake my head rigidly, though chills run down my spine from his nearness, and I feel a smirk rising over my lips.