With that, Ellice disappeared backstage, leaving the audience muttering to themselves about what this could mean. Would the show go on? Had a model pulled a no-show? Was someone injured or sick?
Laila put her hand on my knee. “I think I’m going to go back there and see if there’s something I can do to help.”
I wanted her to stay, and to keep her hand on my knee while she was at it. “I’m sure it’s fine. Let’s just give them a few minutes to iron things out.”
Laila bit her bottom lip and made an uneasy sound in the back of her throat. “No, I think I’ll check. A designer never addresses a crowd like this. She’s nervous. She needed to buy time. Sit tight. I’ll figure out what’s going on.” She rose smoothly to her feet, and the fabric of her dress fell over her thigh.
I stood with her. “We’ll go together. Casey, Lexi, look alive. Don’t let anyone steal our seats.”
Casey promised she would stay on guard while Lexi grumbled about being left behind when she was supposed to be Laila’s all-seeing eyes.
As Laila and I made our way backstage, I muttered in her ear, “I don’t think your personal guard dog likes me very much.”
“She doesn’t.”
Her honesty surprised me. “Ah, I see then.”
Laila giggled. “Does that bother you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course.”
We found ourselves at the entrance to backstage, where Laila showed her ID and was immediately let in. I followed, and the chaos of the fashion show from the other side threatened to swallow me whole. Half-naked women ran all over the place trying to find missing garments for their outfit. Ellice Knight gave orders and spoke on her cell phone at the same time. Her husband rubbed her back, presumably trying to calm her down.
Laila had been right. Something was terribly wrong.
We made a beeline right to Ellice, who turned white as a sheet when she looked up at Laila.
Laila gave her a warm, kind smile. “Hi, Ellice Knight? It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’m—”
“Laila Hunt,” Ellice finished for her. “Yes, I know who you are. Of course I know who you are. I didn’t know you’d be here. Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry. This event is a mess. This isn’t what you came for.”
“Nonsense.” Laila gestured around. “Is there something I can help with?”
Ellice blinked three times in rapid succession. “I’m sorry?”
“I can tell something is very wrong,” Laila said. “You’re short on models, aren’t you? How many?”
“Three.”
“Let me stand in for them. I’m super fast at wardrobe changes.”
“I don’t have enough assistants,” Ellice said.
“I can ask my sister,” Laila said. “She’s a fast learner. I can self-manage, I promise. I just need someone to give me my cues and I can handle the rest. Please, Ellice. I know how hard you’ve worked for this. Your designs deserve their moment of glory on the runway, and I’d be honored to wear them for you. A lot of people out there are here to support you. Let us.”
Ellice’s eyes filled with tears.
Before she had a chance to say no, I clapped my hands together. “Sounds like a plan to me. Laila, I’ll send your sister backstage. Break a leg out there, yeah?”
Laila flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Always, baby.”
I pumped my eyebrows. “Did you just call me baby?”
“Don’t let it go to your head. Tell Casey to bring a bottle of water back here with her. Oh, and Storm?” Laila called after me as I made my way to the exit. I turned back to her and she gave me a wolfish smile. “Tell Lexi I’m sorry for making her come and then forcing her to sit with you for the show.”
As soon as I got back to our seats, I did exactly what Laila said. I sent Casey backstage with an errand to grab water first before settling into my chair and apologizing to Lexi on behalf of Laila.
She crossed her arms and grumbled. “Figures.”
“I don’t think I know anyone who would be this disappointed to sit beside me, to be honest. Maybe I should keep you around. You’re probably a very humbling person for me to hang out with.”
Lexi glared at me out of the corner of her eyes. “No thanks.”
“It was a joke.”
“Uh huh.”
Damn, she really hated my guts. Had I done something to her or someone she knew? Not likely. Maybe she didn’t like my obvious interest in Laila, or she hated my reputation, or both.
Yes, probably both.
After a few minutes passed, Lexi stopped giving me the silent treatment. “It adds up that Laila would offer to help. She was talking for days about how excited she was to get the chance to be in the audience at a show, and now here she is, walking in it like always. She’s always throwing herself into the fray to be the solution no matter how exhausted she is.”
“What does that mean?”
Lexi stared dryly at me.
I shifted in my seat. “Is Laila pushing herself too hard?”
Lexi scoffed. “You don’t know her well enough. She’s always pushing herself too hard.”
Just when I was about to respond, the lights went down, and the end of the runway became lit with bright pink light. Upbeat music pumped through an incredible sound system. Energy rippled through the crowd, and all at once more lights flashed, painting the runway in strobing colors.
Laila came around the corner in a strappy, naughty, criss-cross of black fabric that looked like bondage. My breath caught in my throat. My heart forgot how to beat in my chest. “Holy shit,” I breathed.
Lexi sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’m straight and I fall in love with her every time I see her walk.”
Laila owned the runway. Every step sent ripples up her legs. She stepped like this place was her palace, and she was our queen, and the rest of the world didn’t exist. Gazing up at her, that was exactly how she made me feel. Everything else faded away as I got lost in her every movement—in the cheeky smile she cast down at me when she struck a pose at the end of the runway.
We locked eyes, and my heart remembered to beat.
CHAPTER 22
LAILA
“Hurry! Hurry!”
Everyone backstage scrambled as soon as I finished my first walk. Casey rushed me and pressed the bottle of water into my hands. I drank while she undid clips and unwrapped the criss-crossing black straps from my body. She’d done an excellent job putting the lingerie on, making sure not to do it too tight because I explained that it would leave marks in my skin, which wouldn’t look all that pretty when I wore the next set.
She got the first outfit off of me and we started stepping into the second. It was a more casual piece of sexy sleepwear. The little nightgown in powder pink left little to the imagination.
Casey frowned. “I think you might need nipple covers.”
“No time.”
“But—”
I grabbed Casey’s hand and we moved toward the line of other models getting ready to walk. I found my place in line. “We all have nipples, Casey. Besides, I’ve always thought they make an outfit even sexier.”