See?
Now she was questioning his feelings for her when she hadn’t been given a reason to. She was her own worst enemy
Max’s phone rang and he shoved to his feet.
“Go for Max.” He stepped out of the control room.
That left Sabine and Mandy and Nikki alone. But Nikki was wearing headphones so she was basically not there.
Sabine pressed her lips together and tried to casually look at the time on the clock. The clock being on the wall just above Mandy’s head.
They made eye contact and Sabine tried a small, non-threatening smile.
Mandy’s lips tugged up on one side and she slid her gaze up and down Sabine’s person like she was just now seeing her.
Sabine folded her hands in her lap and leaned her elbows on her knees.
Dave caught her eye through the control window. A huge smile lit his face and he gave her two thumbs up.
God, he was cute.
She sniffed a laugh and shook her head.
Mandy made a noise that sounded like a snort and a groan at once.
Sabine didn’t want to know the model’s opinion so she pretended like she heard nothing.
“So you and Sunshine, huh?” Mandy asked after a minute, still paging through the magazine.
Sabine took a careful breath and swallowed, neither confirming nor denying.
Was it hot in here?
“It must be pretty new. He’s still happy to see you,” Mandy mused out loud. Not caring that Sabine hadn’t said anything.
Mandy set the magazine down and lifted her eyebrows at Sabine. “That changes. He gets distracted easily.”
Sabine rolled her lips inward and contemplated how best to proceed. Because Mandy’s tone didn’t sound snotty or condescending. It was factual. Like she really thought she was doing Sabine a favor.
Mandy picked up the magazine again and reclined on the couch. “And when it’s all over, two years later, you still won’t know why you couldn’t keep his attention.”
Her words twisted around Sabine’s heart.
“I’m sorry,” Sabine said softly. “That sounds like it really hurts.”
Mandy’s eyes flicked up to her.
“Not as much as it used to.” Mandy started, then stopped. She sat forward again. “I just want to warn you. No one warned me.”
Sabine nodded, that made sense in a weird way. Women looking out for women and all. And maybe she would do the same if the positions were reversed.
“Don’t lie, Mandy.”
Sabine looked up to see Max had returned and was standing in the doorway, his expression dark.
“I warned you several times.” His jaw flexed under his skin. Sabine had never seen him look so serious. Or so perturbed. “I told you he had his own work, and he didn’t have time to chase you all over every runway. Didn’t see you in Milan, by the way. Are you still on probation?”
Mandy’s mouth flattened. “Maybe if you didn’t baby him, he’d finally be forced to act like an adult.” Her eyes flashed and darted back to Sabine. “Is he still making chore lists for him? Cleaning up his messes?” She went back to Max. “He hates how you try to parent him you know. He told me so.”