Breaking Love Full Hearts 2 (6 page)

“I will see you tomorrow, Megan.”

She opened her eyes and let out a puff of air. “Okay, but it won’t do any good. I’m not going to change my mind.”

“You already have.”

With that, he turned and walked out, leaving her standing at the door, feeling dizzy with lust.

“Wow,” she whispered to herself as she shut the door and leaned against it for a moment, not entirely sure her wobbly legs would hold her up. She had completely forgotten what really being kissed felt like.

FIVE

The next morning came far too early for Harper. She woke up to her cellphone alarm buzzing beside her. It was already eight o’clock and she should have been on her way to the photo shoot by now. She sat up, feeling her brain slam against her skull as she did. Turning to the window, she sighed inwardly, seeing rain pour down outside. In an instant, her brilliant vision for October’s feature article had dissolved.

“Oh, son of a bitch,” she groaned, realizing they would need to do the shoot indoors at their alternate location.

Dialing the office, she got through to Eddie, the photo editor, almost immediately. Her voice came out as little more than a croaking sound as she spoke. “Eddie, we’re going to have to save the Musée Rodin grounds for another shoot. Let’s just set up at the
Style
studio and do what we can to make it work.”

“You’re going to hate me, Harper, but I have to give you some bad news. I just found out now that the studio is not an option. It flooded this morning. Some type of storm drain backed up and the entire first floor is under water.”

“What? This better not be a joke, Eddie, because it is
not
funny.”

“Believe me, there is
nothing
funny about any of this.” Eddie’s words spilled quickly out of his mouth, conveying the panic he felt. “Joelle came down here to my desk about twenty minutes ago, absolutely spitting venom. And believe me, when she found out you weren’t here, I thought she was about to snap my neck. I told her you already knew and that you were out trying to find another location. If we can’t get one, it means we’re going to lose Anita. She’s leaving for Peru in two days and won’t be back for five weeks. And Joelle wants Anita on this.”

Harper’s already pounding headache moved from awful to “put the covers over my head, I don’t care if I die” with the weight of the crisis. “Shit. Thank you for covering my ass, Eddie. You bought us some time, but where the hell are we going to come up with an empty, well-lit building in the next hour?”

As she spoke, Harper’s eyes fell on the shoes she had worn the night before. The heels reminded her of her hangover, which reminded her of where the hangover came from. Which gave her the perfect solution to her dilemma.

“Eddie, I just had an idea, and if we’re really lucky, it might be brilliant. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back, okay?”

* * *

One hour later, a cab pulled up in front of Cloud, carrying Harper and a very confused-looking Megan.

“What are we doing here? Please don’t tell me this is where the photo shoot is!” She gave Harper a pleading look.

“Sorry, Megs, but I’m afraid there were no other options. Luc agreed to let us use the club for the day.”

“Oh my God!” Megan hissed. “I
cannot
go in there. What if
he’s
here? I seriously can’t see Luc again, Harper. I’m going to go back to the hotel.”

“He won’t be here, I promise. He’s over at his main office, so don’t worry about it. He sent Simone over to let us in,” she answered, rolling her eyes and opening the back door to get out of the cab.

“You’re positive he won’t show up, right?” Megan asked as she slid across the seat and stepped out into the rain, and the two hurried up the steps.

“Promise. He’s a busy man. What happened between you two, anyway?”

“Nothing, really. He’s just a little bit much for me.”

“I’d say it’s been far too long since you’ve had a ‘bit much’. You might want to give it a try while you’re here.” Harper raised her eyebrows and grinned at her friend.

They reached the door and knocked. It was opened immediately by Eddie, a short young man in tight black jeans and a fitted, black deep V-neck T-shirt. “Harper! This place is perfect! Anita is thrilled
beyond
with the two-storey windows.” His eyes darted to Megan. “Who is this lovely lady?”

“Megan, my best friend. Megan, this is Eddie. He’s the best photo editor I’ve ever worked with.”

“Hi, Eddie. Nice to meet you. I hope it’s okay that I’m tagging along.”

Harper answered for him. “Of course it is. I already told you that, silly!” She turned to Eddie. “Meg’s an up-and-coming photographer and I brought her to watch so she can get some tips. Anita already knows, so it won’t be an issue.”

Eddie looked impressed. “Oh, maybe I’ll be working for you someday!”

Megan shook her head. “She’s exaggerating. I do weddings and family portraits.”

Eddie smiled. “That’s important too, you know. Okay Harper, let’s get this going.”

Harper turned to Megan. “Do you want to make yourself comfortable somewhere while we get set up?”

“I’m going to sit over there. Let me know if you need anything.” Megan wandered over to a couch near the window. She sat, watching the organized chaos. The team was a flurry of movement as the lights were unpacked and assembled, the camera equipment was prepared and a team of stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists worked furiously on the models, who sat in directors’ chairs, looking bored. Caterers set up a craft table with various trays of food, coffee, water and other drinks. Harper had her eye trained on every aspect of what was happening in the room. Megan sat in awe of her friend, who had gone from a hungover mess to an organized, calm leader within seconds of entering the building.

Pulling out her camera, Megan started adjusting the settings to take a few shots of a candle on the table in front of her for practice. The light was very good; Harper clearly knew what she was doing bringing them here.

Two hours later, the photo session was still in progress. Megan was shocked at how long and hard they had to work to get the right look. Harper continued to call out directions as the shots were set up and made final adjustments to accessories and clothing, with only the briefest pause to take a breath. No detail escaped her keen eye. The only sign of the effects of the night before was when Eddie put on some loud dance music and Harper requested something slower and softer.

Megan stood quietly at the back, watching Anita, hoping to learn what she could from one of the fashion world’s most prominent photographers. Finally it seemed as though the entire crew breathed a collective sigh of relief, having reached some milestone in the shoot that Megan was completely unaware of. They all seemed to relax, including Anita, who had appeared quite tense at the beginning. She turned to Megan and called to her in a British accent, “Harper’s friend! Come here!”

Megan walked forward. “Yes?”

“I understand you want to learn some tricks of the trade. Come. I’ll show you everything you need to know to do what I do. It’s really quite easy.”

Megan laughed. “I think you’re being very modest! You’re amazing to watch. You move so quickly.”

“Years of experience. We’re always racing against the sun in this job. Let me see your camera. . . .”

* * *

After an hour of working with Anita, Megan’s head was swirling with everything she was learning. Luc walked quietly through the front door and stood, silently taking in the sight of his nightclub, which now looked like a studio. Immediately, Harper saw him and was about to address him. He put a finger to his lips with a wink and continued to observe Megan. She looked gorgeous in a pair of dark boot-cut jeans, black heels and a fitted, long-sleeved black shirt. Her hair was down and she had tucked one side behind her ear as she worked. She looked very much like a professional as she moved with Anita. She was eager in her attempts to learn and she laughed easily when she made mistakes. Luc loved hearing the sound of her laugh; it was so full and genuine. He wanted to make that happy sound escape her mouth. The day before, he had sensed a sadness in her. As Luc watched Megan, he decided to send her home smiling.

Megan suddenly had a feeling that someone was watching her. She turned to see Luc standing at the back of the room, leaning casually against a pillar, smiling at her. She felt her face heat up as the memory of his kiss flooded her brain. He looked incredible as he ran a hand through his hair. He was dressed casually in jeans, a slim-fitting grey sweater and a fitted black leather jacket with a mandarin collar. Poking out from under the jacket was a silk scarf in grey and burgundy tones.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” he said.

Anita looked at him and snapped a set of photos of him as he gazed at Megan. “I take it that’s your man?” she said quietly from behind the camera.

“No, no. He owns this club. He’s a friend of Harper’s. I barely know him.”

Anita held the camera out to Megan and displayed one of the shots she had taken of him. “Well, that is the look of a man who would like to know you much better.” She grinned as Megan blushed again.

Anita turned back to Harper. “Okay, Harper, I think we’ve got what we need. Should we clear out so this kind man here can have his nightclub back?”

All eyes were on Harper as she made her decision. One quick nod of her head had the entire crew whipping into action again. Luc sauntered over to Megan as she busied herself putting her camera and lenses into her bag.

She gave him a brief smile, trying to look nonchalant. “Hi, Luc.”

“Bonjour, Megan,” he answered, taking her by the elbow with one hand and kissing her on both cheeks. There was that smell again, and the way he said her name made her toes curl up. She felt completely flustered around him now that she was sober. Megan wished Harper had done her makeup again; she was suddenly feeling very plain with only her own amateur attempt at making herself up that morning.

“How is your day going?” she asked, looking back down at her camera bag so she could avoid eye contact with him. She felt he could see right through her, and she couldn’t stand that he probably knew exactly what she wanted to do to him with that silk scarf of his. An image flashed through her brain, making her squirm.

“It’s better now that I’m here. Did you learn a lot? You looked like you were having fun.”

“Oh yes, Anita is a wonderful teacher. Surprisingly patient and full of amazing ideas. She could turn anyone into a pro if they had enough time with her.”

“What a great opportunity for you, then,” Luc said. He paused for a moment, then asked, “What are you doing now?”

“Um, I don’t know, actually. I’m sure Harper has something in mind,” Megan answered, picking up her bag and putting it over
her arm.

“I’m sure she does. What do
you
want to do? You have such a short time in Paris,” Luc replied, leaning over to her and taking her bag from her. He slung it over his shoulder as though it, and she, belonged to him.

Megan wasn’t sure what to say. Should she just let him claim her like that? It seemed so forward to her. He was nothing like the men she knew back home. She found herself wishing Harper would come out already.

“I haven’t really thought about what I want to do, actually. I’m just happy to be here and go along with Harper.”

“Well, is she going to take you to see the sights while you’re here? The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower?”

Just then Harper made her way across the room to them.

Megan smiled at her friend. “Harper, you were amazing! Seriously, I don’t know how you do that for so many hours. You manage to just stay on the whole time. I’m a little bit in awe of you, especially because you must not be feeling well.”

Harper grinned at Megan. “It’s not that hard, really. I would never complain about doing what I love for a living when there are millions of people out of work right now.”

Luc spoke up. “That is a most admirable perspective. Are you two hungry? I know a great place near here to grab a late lunch.”

“Starving! Thank you, Luc,” Harper answered quickly before Megan had a chance to turn him down.

Nervous knots twisted inside Megan’s stomach. She didn’t want to go for lunch with Luc. She was completely in over her head, and she just wanted to put a safe distance between them.

“I’m a bit of a mess for going out,” Megan interjected. “I hardly even had time to put makeup on before we left.”

“You look wonderful, Megan. Believe me. You will still be the most beautiful woman in the restaurant, even without makeup.” The look on Luc’s face was so sincere, it was hard not to believe him.

“Oh please,” Megan replied sarcastically. “I won’t even be the most beautiful woman at our table.”

Luc looked from Harper to Megan as though considering her comment. “I think Harper will agree with me that you have a very rare and elegant beauty.”

Harper grinned. “That I would.”

* * *

A few minutes later, the three were seated at a round table in a small bistro, looking over menus. Harper was pleased to see that her strategy was working.

“So, Harper, what are your plans for Megan while she’s here?”

“I don’t know, really. I have a meeting tomorrow morning at
Style
, but otherwise I thought she might like to see the sights and eat delicious cuisine and drink really good wine.”

Megan smiled at her. “That sounds terrific. Let’s do that.”

The waiter brought their soup and the trio began to eat. After a few minutes, Harper looked down at her phone, pretending to have received an urgent text.

“Oh Megan, I’m so sorry. I’ve been called back to the office. I’m going to have to leave right now. I’m afraid our afternoon is ruined!”

Megan saw right through her friend’s obvious lie. “Well, maybe you can drop me off at a museum or a department store near your office? I’m sure I’ll find lots to do on my own while you’re busy.”

Harper smiled sweetly. “Oh no, Megan, it won’t work. From the sounds of this text, I’m probably going to be tied up for the rest of the day. I’m so sorry. You stay and finish your lunch. We can’t both run out on Luc.”