Page 84 of Hate To Be Mine

I glanced around the tent, disappointed to see my Little Bee had buzzed away while I wasn’t paying attention.

“Ready,” Elizabeth declared.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She crinkled her nose. “Maybe I’ll just take a couple granola bars for the road.”

“Good plan.”

We set off to find Bernadette. I had a feeling she was already working on her safety measures. I was a little disappointed she hadn’t come to say hi, but I understood. She was convinced we were keeping this thing between us on the down low.

I walked slowly even though I wanted to jog.

I couldn’t afford to have Elizabeth tripping and potentially falling.

Bernadette was down at the beach location, setting up safety markers with a couple of crew members. She looked professional and put together in her linen pants and sleeveless blouse. Her hair was up and she was wearing dark sunglasses.

Damn. Just seeing her made my cock jerk. I couldn’t believe more people didn’t see how gorgeous she was.

“Bernadette,” I called out. “Got a minute?”

She turned, and for a second, I thought she was going to ignore me. She had that look. The way she set her jaw. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I just knew they’d be full of irritation.

“What do you need?” she asked, confirming my suspicion.

I walked over, Elizabeth trailing behind me. “I want to talk to you about today’s shoot.”

“If this is about safety protocols, I’ve already⁠—”

“It’s not about safety. It’s about you.”

If I was going to get her to listen to me, I needed to get her away from the crew. She wouldn’t want them to see her as anything other than the boss bitch she was.

I gently took her elbow and led her to a shady spot with Elizabeth following behind.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did something happen? Did someone get hurt?”

“No. Nothing like that.” I pulled out my phone and showed her the photos from yesterday. “Look at the test shots.”

She stared at the photos, her expression unreadable. “Okay. What about them?”

“They’re perfect. Better than perfect. You’re perfect.”

“Thank you.” She had pushed up her sunglasses and now I could see the suspicion in her eyes. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Before you say no, just hear me out. This is my vision. My artistic choice. And you’re exactly what I need for this shot. Please.”

“What?”

“We want you to be our Venus,” Elizabeth said.

Bernadette laughed but when she saw we weren’t laughing, she stopped. “No. Nope. Uh-uh. I’m not a model. I’m the insurance rep. This is completely inappropriate.”

“It’s a few photos. You’ll be fully clothed. We’ll put you in one of Elizabeth’s dresses. Something gorgeous but not revealing. You won’t even have to do much. Just stand there and look like you did yesterday.”

“Which was awkward and uncomfortable,” she said, but I could see her wavering.

Elizabeth stepped forward. “Bernadette, I design these clothes for real women. You’re exactly the kind of person I want representing my brand. Please consider it.”