When the makeup artist is satisfied with her touch-up, she walks away and leaves us alone again.
“I’m glad you asked me to come. Even though the food table is a thing of beauty, I think I understand. This isn’t you, Paige,” he tells me, gesturing at all the people rushing around setting things up for the shoot. “You shouldn’t just sit in front of a camera and not have a say in what happens. You’re smart and you’re strong and you should be doing something that makes you happy. Watching you take charge and do what you were trained to do at Fool Me Once—that’s you. That’s who you were meant to be.”
It’s amazing that this man who has only known me for a handful of weeks gets it. He can see the mold I’ve been trying to break out of.
“Thank you, Matt. You have no idea how much that means to me. I’m glad you’re here,” I tell him softly.
Matt looks at me sheepishly. “You might want to take that back when you see who I brought with me. The board meeting ran a little late today, and my dad’s car is in the shop, so I had to give him a ride home.”
“Is it too hard to get a chair in this godforsaken place? I got bad hips.”
Looking over Matt’s shoulder, I see the man who was in the photograph with Matt at his house. Except he’s not smiling and looks a little irritated as he walks up to us.
“Matthew, that man over there has an earring in his nose. Is he a gay?”
Matt closes his eyes and shakes his head. “Dad, I told you to stay in the car.”
His father grunts and walks over to my chair in front of the mirror, taking a seat and crossing his arms in front of him. “I couldn’t figure out that fancy radio of yours.”
Matt walks to my side and puts his arm around my waist. “Dad, this is Paige McCarty. Paige, this is my father, Eric Russo.”
I reach my hand out to him with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Russo.”
He just stares at me and after a few seconds, I drop my hand back to my side.
“Are you going to be taking your clothes off for these pictures, young lady?” Mr. Russo asks.
“DAD!” Matt scolds.
A laugh bubbles out of me. “It’s okay, Matt. No, Mr. Russo, I will not be taking my clothes off for this photo shoot. This is for a well-known magazine, so clothing is required.”
Mr. Russo narrows his eyes at me. “It’s a good thing I came in here. I see a lot of charlatans in this room who could lead you astray. Like that woman over there with the blue hair and pink skirt.”
I turn around and see that he’s staring right at the photographer for this shoot.
“Actually, that’s a man. His name is Simon Viper, and he’s one of the best photographers in the world,” I tell him.
Mr. Russo’s eyes go wide. “This world is going to hell in a handbasket. Matt, get me some ginger ale. I’m feeling parched.”
Matt sighs and gives me an apologetic look as the photographer’s assistant signals to me that it’s time to start the shoot. I kiss Matt on the cheek and hear Mr. Russo mumble as I walk away.
“If she takes her clothes off, you better cover your eyes, Matthew.”
I just laugh, unable to believe there is someone else in this world who reminds me so much of my mother. The two of them should meet and share notes about what a sinner I am.
CHAPTER 17
For the first time in a long while during a photo shoot, I actually enjoyed myself. Anytime I felt a twinge of irritation, all I had to do was look over at Matt. The shouts and orders telling me which way to turn my head and how to hold my arms faded before the warmth in his smile.
When the final shot was taken and the photographer announced it was a wrap, I walked away from the bright lights and the fans strategically placed to blow my hair, and slid right into Matt’s waiting arms.
“You did amazing. I saw some of the pictures as they showed up on the computer and they were beautiful.”
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time, I would finish a photo shoot and Andy would tell me all the ways I could have done better. He would walk me over to the computer that showed all of the digital images and point out the ones where my face didn’t hit the light correctly or I wasn’t using my angles in the best way.
“Great job today, Paige,” Simon says as he walks up to us, handing his camera off to an assistant. “We’ll send the proofs to Penny within a week so you can see them first before they go to print. We got some great shots to work with.”
With my arms still around Matt, I thank Simon as he’s hustled away by an army of assistants and Penny comes over to us.
“Darling, you were amazing. The magazine gave me your advance: fifty percent of the total offer; you’ll get the rest when the photos go to print. I’ll deposit it today for you.”