“I was.” She pushed up to sit. “Did you sleep?”
“Yeah. A little.”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“You know where it is. Come on out when you’re ready.” He rose and left the room and she pushed back the covers to slide out of bed. God, she wanted to stay in that bed forever. Especially if Duncan was there with her.
What was she doing? This was mind-boggling.
She again admired the gorgeous bathroom as she used the facilities, then followed Duncan to his kitchen.
“Have a seat.” He slid a plate toward her. “Denver sandwich. Hope you don’t mind that.”
“It looks good.” She sat and stared at it for a moment. He’d made her a sandwich.
“I’m not much of a cook. I have a few specialties and this is one of them.”
She smiled and picked up one half of the sandwich. “What are the others?”
“Nachos. I make killer nachos. And grilled cheese sandwiches.”
He took a big bite of his own sandwich.
“This is good,” she said after finishing half the sandwich. “I was hungry.”
“I think you’re always hungry. I like that about you.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Being so nice to me. It’s freaking me out.”
“Nobody’s ever been nice to you?” His eyebrows rose.
“Well…” She thought about that. “Easton. He’s helped me a lot. But he’s busy with his own life. He doesn’t do…this.”
“I’m not doing anything.” Duncan frowned. “You were tired. You need to eat before you go to work. Whatever.” He shrugged.
She tucked her hair behind one ear, then picked up the other half of her sandwich. It was freaking her out and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
—
“We’re not dating.”
Amber was doing a photo shoot Wednesday afternoon at Easton’s studio, and it was the first time she’d seen him since she’d stayed out all night Monday night. He changed out a lens on his camera while a stylist pinned the dress, where it was too loose on her at the back. The pointy-toed shoes she was wearing pinched her feet, which was usual since she had such freakin’ huge feet. They never had size ten shoes for her to wear.
“Just hooking up,” Easton said.
“Well. Yeah. He wants to hang out together more.”
“Friends, then.”
The stylist finished and said, “Friends with benefits?”
“Do we have to put a label on it?” Amber asked. “I don’t even know what it is. Anyway, he’s out of town until Sunday.”
The stylist stepped away.
“Smile, boo. Chin up.” The flash popped. “Turn to your right. Not that much.”
She smiled and posed, the big fan gently blowing her hair back from her face. The photos were for a sale flyer for Fortney’s, a big department store headquartered in Chicago.
“Okay, good. Who’s next?”
Beth stepped forward in a pair of skinny red pants, a pair of red stilettos that probably actually fit her, and a floaty spring top. Amber toed off the uncomfortable pumps and headed to the dressing room. Up next…lingerie.
She donned the lacy bra and panties set, while the makeup girl brushed highlighting and contouring powder on her cleavage and abs. “Let’s change the side of your part.” The hairstylist reached for her with a comb and Amber stood there as they both worked on her. Then she went back out to Easton’s studio and waited her turn.
One of the male models joined her and she recognized Jamie, who Easton had been seeing, wearing nothing but a pair of snug boxer-briefs. “Hey. How’s it going?”
She smiled at him, “Good, you?”
He was well built, lean enough to show the six-pack abs required for modeling underwear, his torso smooth, tanned, and completely hairless. She couldn’t help compare him to Duncan’s strong muscled body and the masculine hair on his chest and arms and…well.
They made small talk as they waited to be photographed, standing side by side in underwear.
“Okay, Jamie, it’s nearly time,” Easton called. “Go do your thing.”
Amber lifted an eyebrow at Jamie.
He grinned. “Gotta go chub up a bit.” He held up a small strap. “This’ll keep me up. Anti-gravity device.”
Amber’s eyes widened and she started to laugh as Jamie walked away.
“Need any help, angel?” Easton called to him.
“I’m good!” Jamie yelled back.
Amber met Easton’s laughing eyes. “Oh my God. Is he…?”
“Getting erect,” Easton finished. “Yes. Well, semi-erect. It’s very important to have a good package in the underwear.”
“A sock doesn’t work?”
“Not with underwear. It can work with jeans, but with thin underwear you need to see a little more definition.”
“But not too much definition,” the stylist put in. “Depends on the client. Fortney’s wants you to look at the underwear, not the model’s junk. But I’ve worked for some designers who aren’t really going for…discreet.”