“Don’t worry about her. You have enough to do. Between Evelyn and everyone else fawning over her, she’s in heaven. She gets to meet big designers and magazine people today. And watch her daughter’s big debut.”
Just the thought of who would be out in the audience today made her stomach do somersaults. Other designers, along with the editors of some major fashion magazines.
She grabbed Gray’s arm. “I think I need to go lie down.”
He laughed. “You’re going to kill it. Now, where do you need me?”
“See that cute brunette over there? Just tell her who you are and she’ll tell you what to do and where to go.”
“Okay.” He kissed her cheek and wandered off.
Carolina took a moment to center herself before dashing off to see to the rack of clothes currently being guarded by one of her staffers. She and a few of her staff removed the clothes from the bags and began steaming any wrinkles while the models were busy in makeup and hair.
“All the models are checked in,” Jessica said. “Except for Drew Hogan.”
Carolina squeezed her eyes closed and counted to ten. She tossed Jessica her phone. “His number’s in there. Call him and ask him where the hell he is.”
This fashion show would be a nightmare without Drew. He was supposed to wear three of her menswear outfits. He’d promised her he’d be here. He’d already bailed on the print ad—surely he wouldn’t drop the ball on this, too, would he?
“No answer,” Jessica said, handing her phone back. “I called twice.”
Dammit. “Okay. Thanks, Jessica.”
Dread dropped a lead ball into the pit of her stomach. What was she going to do if he didn’t show up? She looked at the time on her phone. An hour until the show started. There was hair and makeup and coordinating the models into the lineups.
She wanted to tear her hair out from the roots, but her panicking wasn’t going to solve the problem. She had backup models ready to go in case of illness or no-shows.
She found Tierra. “Get Gerard into hair and makeup and prep him for Drew’s outfits.”
Tierra nodded and ran off.
Though Carolina had a million things to do, her thoughts drifted to Drew.
He’d let her down.
Again.
But there was nothing she could do about that. She checked on her models, who were mostly prepped and getting into their outfits. The stage manager gave her instructions, and she sidestepped security to finish up last-minute details. With her mother in the audience, security was extra tight today, Secret Service being doubled because of the expected crowd. Even she and Gray had Secret Service protection today, though she mostly ignored them. It was enough to know they were there, extra bodies in an already tight space.
When there was a rush of crowd noise, she turned around to see Drew running toward her. Sweat poured down his red face.
“I’m so sorry.”
“What happened?”
“Goddamned taxi rear-ended the car in front of us three blocks away. Traffic is a fucking nightmare. I finally got out and just ran the whole way.”
“Oh, Drew. I’m sorry. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Sure I did. I promised I’d be here, didn’t I?” He looked around at the models getting dressed around him. “Am I too late?”
He was sweaty, his hair wet from his run. Actually, he looked perfect. “No.” She grabbed his arm and took him into hair and makeup. “Gel his hair, give him a rough edge. He doesn’t need much in the way of makeup other than to tone down the redness from running. Otherwise, he’s good to go.”
“Probably a little deodorant would help, too,” he said with a smile.
She laughed. “Whatever. I’ll see you on the runway.”
He’d made it. He hadn’t blown this off. Her heart swelled with joy. One less thing to worry about.
In short order the models were lined up, Drew was in that fantastic outfit, and everyone was ready.
Carolina took in a deep cleansing breath, let it out, and when given her cue, stepped onto the runway.
“Good evening. My name is Carolina Preston, and I’m so thrilled to be here today to showcase Carolina Designs. This has been a long-held dream of mine, and I’m happy to set it free today. I hope you enjoy the show.”
She turned and headed back behind the curtains, listening to the polite applause. She knew it wouldn’t be wild clapping. She hadn’t earned that yet. But she hoped her fashions would show that she was a capable designer.
The music queued up, and she sent her first model down the runway. As she watched them on the monitor, it felt a lot like giving birth.