Waking Up with a Billionaire (The Overnight Billionaires Book 3) (20 page)

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our posture is horrendous. You look like my great-grandmother who has bad osteoporosis. How many times do I have to tell you to keep your shoulders back and your spine straight? And stop swinging your arms like a monkey.”

Chloe glared at the short man in the bright-green suit and pink shirt. She wanted to demonstrate a swinging arm and punch him right in the face. She had been working on a proper runway walk for the past two hours, and nothing she did seemed to satisfy the man who’d been hired to get her ready for the French Kiss fall fashion show. Rudolph was an annoying little slave driver.

“How can a person stand straight in these torture chambers you’ve strapped on my feet?” She pointed to the bright blue platform shoes with their seven-inch heels. “I feel like a clown on stilts.”

“You better figure out a way to walk in them,” Rudolph snipped as he stood by the outline of the catwalk he’d taped off on the floor. “On the runway you’ll be wearing stilettos.”

Her eyes widened. “Like hell I will. I’m not falling off a three-foot-high runway and breaking my neck. I don’t care how much money I’m getting paid.” She clomped over to a chair and sat down to unbuckle her shoes.

“No, no.” Rudolph rushed over. “What are you doing? You can’t take those off. We’re not finished.”

“Oh, we’re finished.” She took off both shoes and handed them to him. “You can tell Samuel to shove those right up his—” A cough had her glancing at the door of the studio. Samuel stood there with the same unsmiling face he always wore. Although his eyes sparkled with humor.

“I see that your practice is going well,” he said as he walked into the room.

She scowled. “I’m not runway material.”

Samuel nodded dismissively. “That will be all for today, Rudolph.” He took the shoes from Rudolph, then waited for him to leave before he sat down next to Chloe. “You said you weren’t a catalog model either, but your pictures in the holiday catalog have caused quite a stir.”

That was an understatement. Since the catalog had come out, she’d become a celebrity. It wasn’t easy going from being a recluse no one knew to being a French Kiss model everyone seemed to know. The guy at the Starbucks that morning had almost fallen out of the drive-up window when he recognized her. And she didn’t know who had been more embarrassed—she or the barista.

“There’s nothing to letting someone take your picture,” she said. “Grayson could make anyone look good.”

“Grayson is a talented photographer, but it also takes a talented model to be able to communicate their feelings with just one look. You, my dear, are a natural. Although some things need practice.” He handed her the shoes.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, but you’re never going to make me prance like a pony.”

Samuel laughed. “Okay. No pony prancing. Let’s just start with a simple walk.”

With only a few grumbles, Chloe put the shoes back on and wobbled to the other side of the room and back again while Samuel watched her with one finger pressed to his bottom lip.

“Again,” he said. “But this time I don’t want you to worry about your shoulders or your arms. I only want you to think about placing one foot directly in front of the other. Don’t look at your feet. In fact, close your eyes and just feel the walk.”

She closed her eyes and tried to do as he asked, placing her right foot directly in front of her left, then her left in front of her right. She had just started to feel like she’d gotten the hang of it when she misjudged a step and stumbled over her clunky heels. She would’ve landed hard on the tile floor if Samuel hadn’t caught her. At least she thought it was Samuel until she opened her eyes and looked into twin pools of violet. Not Grayson’s twin pools, but a pair that were almost identical.

“I think the key to walking is to do it with your eyes open.” Nash Beaumont gave her a charming smile.

Chloe quickly regained her balance and pulled away. Even after numerous Beaumont family dinners, she still felt awkward around Nash. Or maybe just embarrassed. He had been her one and only client as an escort. Something she would like to forget.

“Tell that to Samuel,” she said. “He’s the one who had me closing my eyes.”

Nash glanced over his shoulder. “Are we now making our models walk the runway with closed eyes, Sam? Isn’t that like walking the plank blindfolded?”

Samuel lifted an eyebrow. “I’m assuming you know a lot about pirates, Nash?”

Nash laughed. “About as much as I know about lingerie. I leave all of that to you. I just deal with the customer service and publicity side of things. Which is why I’m here.”

Chloe was relieved that she had an excuse to stop her runway lessons…and to get away from Nash. “I’ll just let you two talk,” she said as she headed for the door. But Nash stopped her.

“Actually, I came to see you, Chloe.”

She turned. “Me?”

“I would like to talk with you about getting on social media.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not very good at dealing with the public.”

“I’m sure Madison won’t mind helping you out. She’s become quite the expert on tweeting, Facebooking, and blogging. And your presence on social media will help promote the fashion show—not to mention the art charity event on Thursday night.” He glanced at Samuel. “I assume you’re going to be there.”

Samuel nodded as he got to his feet. “I don’t have much choice. It’s all Deirdre has talked about for the last two weeks. She thinks it’s going to be quite the success.” He glanced at Chloe. “Mostly because of your painting.”

Chloe had mixed feelings about her naked painting being put on display. She was happy about helping cancer research, but it was still embarrassing to think that people were going to be bidding on her naked body. Even if Deirdre had promised that her name wasn’t going to be released.

Her name.

After visiting Casa Selena, she had finally taken the steps to legally change her name. She had kept Selena as a tribute to her grandmother, and because her family would never call her anything else, but she’d added Chloe. Chloe Selena Cameron sounded right. It also sounded like a name a woman should be proud of.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll do some social networking and promote the fashion show. Although I don’t know why anyone would want to see me clomp down the catwalk.”

“You won’t be clomping,” Samuel said. “We have plenty of time to get you looking like a pro.” He winked at her. “Or a show pony.” He moved toward the door. “Now if you two will excuse me, I have a luncheon date with a very domineering woman.”

Chloe started to follow him, but Nash blocked her way. He was no longer all smiles. In fact his expression was as somber as Samuel’s.

“I think we need to talk.”

There was little doubt what he wanted to talk about. “So you really didn’t want to talk to me about tweets and Instagram. Let me guess. This is where you try to get rid of the big, bad escort by offering me money to leave town.”

Nash studied her, his eyes intense. “Would you blame me? He’s my little brother, Chloe. And I’ve been responsible for him since our mother passed away. I taught him to bait a hook, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and zip his coat.”

“Where was his father?”

“Donny John didn’t have much time for his kids after his wife died. So Deacon and I took on the job of raising Grayson—which wasn’t that difficult. Grayson has always been unassuming and easygoing.”

Chloe had to disagree. On the outside Grayson seemed unassuming and easygoing. But beneath his reserved persona was a complex, passionate man. All you had to do was look at one of his paintings to see his deep emotions…or spend a night in his arms. While Grayson had trouble communicating verbally, he had no trouble communicating physically.

“I’m not sure you know Grayson as well as you think you do,” she said.

Nash tipped his head. “And you think you know him better?”

“Maybe not as a kid. But Grayson isn’t a child anymore. He doesn’t need you to bait his hook, make his sandwiches, or zip his coat.”

Nash paused for a second. “And what about saving him from broken hearts?”

“Is that what you think? You think I want to break Grayson’s heart?”

“That’s why I’m here. I don’t know what you want.” He walked over to the small window and looked out. “All I know is your history. And we both know that it’s not exactly stellar.”

“And from what I’ve heard, neither is yours,” she snapped.

Nash released his breath and ran a hand through his hair before turning. “Okay, I deserved that. I’ve made more than my share of mistakes in the past. And whether you believe me or not, I’m not trying to judge you for yours. I’m just trying to protect Grayson from getting hurt. So I’m asking you…how do you feel about my brother?”

A few weeks ago, Chloe would’ve told him that it was none of his damned business. But since reuniting with her family, she realized how much her leaving had hurt them. How much they’d worried about her. How much money they’d spent to find her. And wasn’t Nash doing the same thing? He wanted to protect his brother from pain and hurt just like her family had wanted to find and protect her. Chloe couldn’t go back and ease their fears, but she could ease Nash’s. It surprised her how easily the words came out.

“I love Grayson,” she said. “And the last thing I want to do is hurt him.”

Nash studied her long and hard before a smile stretched his lips. “Well, why in the hell didn’t you say that in the first place?” He strode over and lifted her into his arms, giving her a bear hug.

“Okay, okay,” she said as she pushed back, “you don’t have to crack a rib.”

He was still grinning when he set her on her feet. “So why hasn’t that brother of mine mentioned you guys were in love?”

Chloe felt her face heat and looked down at her painful high heels. “Because maybe he doesn’t feel the same way. And I wouldn’t blame him. As you said, my past isn’t exactly stellar. Grayson deserves better.”

“Bullshit!” Nash said. “Grayson deserves to be with the woman he loves. By the sappy smile that’s been on his face the last couple weeks, I’d say that he loves you. He’s just having a hard time saying it. Have you told him?”

“No.”

He tossed up his hands. “Well, there you have it. Guys have extremely fragile egos, Chloe. He’s probably just waiting for you to say it first.” He took her arm. “Come on, let’s go find him.”

“Now? I’m not telling him now.”

“Why not?” He pulled her toward the door. “There’s no time like the present.”

She tried to dig in her heels, but it was hard with platforms. So she had to slug him hard in the arm to get him to stop.

He released her and rubbed the spot. “Damn, you’ve got quite a punch for a skinny girl.” He grinned. “No wonder my brother loves you. You remind him of me.”

She rolled her eyes. “There’s more where that came from if you don’t keep your mouth shut. I’ll tell Grayson in my own time.”

He held up his hands. “Fine, but I think the sooner the better. Now come on, I’ll take you to lunch and teach you how to use Twitter.”

Twitter with all its hashtags and following was almost as difficult to figure out as runway walking. But Nash wasn’t as much of a taskmaster as Rudolph. Once he’d helped her set up an account and explained the basics, they moved on to another subject.

“Have you talked to Grayson about my dad getting married?” Nash asked.

“He mentioned it.”

“So I guess you got that he’s not real happy about it. Being the youngest, Grayson was extremely close to my mom. He didn’t talk for a week after she passed away.” He studied her. “I understand that your mother died of cancer as well. So you understand what Grayson went through…what he still seems to be going through.”

Chloe nodded. “But I was older than Grayson so I have more memories to hold on to. Grayson doesn’t even have those. Which is probably why he’s having such a hard time with your father remarrying.”

“I agree. But if I’ve learned anything from life, it’s that you need to let go of the past and move on. From the phone conversations I’ve had with Dad’s fiancée, I like her. I think Grayson would too if he gave her a chance.” He motioned to the waitress. “Could you bring us a slice of that chocolate cake in the front display window?” Once the waitress was gone, he glanced at Chloe and smiled. “I saw you eyeballing it when we walked in.”

Chloe understood why the man had gotten the nickname of the Dark Seducer. He seemed to be able to read women’s minds and give them exactly what they wanted.

“Anyway,” he continued. “I was hoping you could talk him into going to Louisiana for the wedding on Saturday.”

“So the chocolate cake is really bribery.”

“Of course.” He flashed her a megawatt smile. “We Beaumonts are willing to do whatever it takes to get our way.”

It was pretty good bribery. The cake came with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Since Nash didn’t like chocolate, she ate every last crumb herself. After she finished they headed back to the office.

Chloe should’ve continued her runway lessons. Instead she went in search of Grayson. She found him in his office studio painting. He had removed his tie, and smudges of paint stained his dress shirt and suit pants. He worked with such total concentration that he didn’t even look up when Chloe walked in. Which had her quickly glancing at the divan. If there was a naked female model stretched out on it, she wasn’t quite sure what she would do. Grayson was an artist. She couldn’t expect him never to paint another nude woman. And yet she heaved a sigh of relief when she saw who was curled up naked on the divan.

Michael Paris Beaumont was sound asleep with his chubby cheek pressed against the fuzzy material of his blanket and his sweet butt cheeks sticking up in the air like two small loaves of undercooked bread. Chloe didn’t know why tears came to her eyes. She just couldn’t keep them in. Nor could she keep in the tiny sob that escaped. A sob that had Grayson’s hand stopping in mid-stroke and his gaze traveling to her.

“Chloe?”

With emotions clogging her throat, all she could do was nod. Setting down his brush, he got off his stool and had her in his arms only seconds later.