The Invitation
: Chapter 21

The next morning, I showed up at Stella’s door at seven thirty.

She opened it wrapped in a towel. “Hey. You’re early.”

My eyes dragged up and down a shitload of creamy, exposed skin. I shook my head. “Looks like I came at the perfect time.”

She giggled, and I swear the sound might’ve been even better than the view, and the view was pretty fucking spectacular.

Stella stepped inside. “The hair and makeup people are coming at eight, so I waited to take a shower so my hair would still be damp.”

Being inside her suite felt completely different than it had when I was here just yesterday. For example, now I could do this…

The moment the door shut, I took her in my arms and crushed my lips to hers. Last night I’d fallen asleep thinking about the way she tasted, and this morning I’d awakened starving. The soft moan that almost did me in yesterday made an appearance again—it crossed from her lips to mine and traveled straight down to my cock.

Fuck.

She probably wouldn’t stop me if I slipped the towel from around her, though that would only make things worse. If just a kiss made me feel like a savage, there was no way in hell seeing all of her would be enough. So I wrenched my mouth from hers.

Stella lifted her hand and rubbed two fingers along her bottom lip. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt what was going on in someone’s mind from just kissing them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your kisses. They say so much. Whether it’s a sweet peck on the lips or what just happened, I just know what’s going on in your head when our lips meet.”

“Oh yeah?” I said. “What was going on in my head just now?”

“You wanted to take off my towel, but you knew that wasn’t a good idea because people will be here any minute.”

My brows shot up. “How the hell did you know that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just did.”

“That’s dangerous—for me.”

She smiled and adjusted the tucked-in corner of her towel. “I should go get dressed before people start arriving.”

As much as I hated to see her cover up, there’s no way I wanted to share the way she looked with anyone—especially the asshat photographer. I nodded. “Go.”

Stella walked away, but at the bedroom doorway she yelled back.

“Hudson?”

“Yeah?”

She let the towel drop to the floor.

I groaned. This was going to be one long day.

Before Stella finished getting dressed, the first person arrived. Dig—at least I was pretty sure that’s what he’d grumbled when he introduced himself—was a stylist. He rolled in a trunk on wheels and looked around for where to set up.

A minute later the makeup person knocked, followed by three guys delivering rented furniture, room service, a lighting technician, and some random guy whose accent was so strong I had no idea what the hell he said he did. They all pounced on Stella as soon as she emerged from the bathroom.

After forty-five minutes being surrounded by a team of people primping, she looked a little overwhelmed. So I made a plate with some fruit and a croissant from the breakfast spread and set it down in front of her.

“Did you eat yet?”

Stella shook her head.

I looked at the hairdresser who had just wrapped her entire head in rollers and then at the two guys flanking her on both sides. “Could you give her five minutes, please?”

“Oh…of course.”

I nodded my head toward the trays of food. “Why don’t you help yourselves to something to eat? There’s a table outside on the patio.”

Once she wasn’t being prodded anymore, Stella let out a big exhale. “Thanks. How did you know I needed a break?”

I shrugged. “Same way you knew I was about two seconds from ripping your towel off during that kiss earlier.”

She smiled and picked up the banana I’d put on her plate. As she went to peel it, she caught my scribble and read out loud.

“I can’t wait to show you my banana. Ooh…” She giggled. “I think I’m going to like these notes much better now.”

I smiled, but pointed to her plate. “Eat. They’re going to be back in here painting shit on your face in a few minutes.”

“On second thought, I’m going to save this for later.” Stella set down the banana and picked up a piece of melon. “So what are we going to do tonight for our date? I know I asked you out, but it’s my first time in California.”

“I figured I’d feed you and show you around LA, since you’ve never been.”

“Oh, that sounds awesome.” She bit into the cantaloupe and made an Mmmmm sound. “This is really good melon.”

“I have a call at four this afternoon that I couldn’t postpone, but if we wrap things up here early enough, I can always do that from the road.”

“If you’re too busy to go out later…” She smirked. “I can always ask Phoenix to show me around.”

My eyes narrowed. Stella lifted the piece of cantaloupe toward her lips for another bite, but I caught her wrist and redirected the fruit to my own mouth, nipping at her fingers as I took it.

“Oww…”

“You’re lucky we have a crowd and I can’t put you over my knee and smack your ass for that comment.”

She giggled. “We could go in the other room…”

“Don’t tempt me, sweetheart.” My eyes dropped to her lips. “I’ll absolutely clear this suite if you want to play that game.”

Stella’s eyes sparkled, daring me to make good on my threat. But a knock at the door interrupted our little chat.

It was an effort not to scowl, replaceing Phoenix on the other side. Yet I welcomed him with a curt nod. “Morning.”

The fucker walked right to Stella without even acknowledging me.

Shutting the door behind him, I grumbled, “Good to see you, too.”

Deciding it probably wasn’t good to act like a jealous boyfriend before the first date, I thought I’d go see what was going on outside. The furniture and prop people had been working on the patio since they arrived.

The small outdoor area had been transformed into a scene from Bill Nye: The Science Guy, with the addition of some estrogen. There was a lab table set up with beakers and equipment, but also jars of bright red rose petals, sand, and various colorful flowers. The front of the table had been outfitted with the Signature Scent logo, and a mirrored tray displayed all the different bottles the perfume came in.

Dig walked over and wiped sweat from his forehead. “What do you think?”

“It looks great.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure what the hell it was going to look like from the list of stuff we were instructed to pull together. Seemed like a strange combination. But I get it now, especially once the model is in the shot.”

I knew my sister would be awake and appreciate seeing everything set up, so I snapped a few shots and texted them to her.

Olivia: It looks awesome! I’m a genius.

I chuckled and texted back.

Hudson: A modest one.

Olivia: Where’s Stella? I want to see how she looks.

I glanced back inside and saw the hair person taking out the rollers while a woman painted more shit on her face.

Hudson: They’re still working on her.

Olivia: Send me some pics once they start! I bet she slays it.

Of course she will. I looked back into the suite again, and my eyes met Stella’s. The corners of her lips curled with the sweetest smile, one she was trying to hold back but couldn’t. I knew, because my face had felt the exact same way most days since I’d met her.

The rest of the morning was chaotic and flew by. Stella looked amazing in the shoot. Just ask good ol’ Phoenix—he’d told her enough times. I understood that photographers needed to encourage their subjects with compliments, coax them out of their shell for the shoot, but there’s a difference between telling someone they’re doing great and look beautiful, and cooing at the model how sexy she looks—while calling her love and baby. Every time he repositioned Stella’s hair or fixed her collar, I watched the fucker like a hawk.

When we broke for lunch, the stylist suggested Stella change so she didn’t get anything on her outfit. She went into the bathroom and came out wearing shorts and a tank top.

“How did I do? It’s not easy to smile for that long. I started to feel like I might look like Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker.”

“Nah. You did great. Maybe Heath Ledger, but not as bad as Joaquin.”

Stella play-smacked my abs. Her back was facing me, so she didn’t notice that Phoenix had taken a seat at a folding table outside on the patio, right on the other side of the sliding glass doors. But I definitely did. Catching her hand, I pulled Stella to me and stroked a piece of hair from her face.

“You’re doing amazing. You look beautiful, and the ads are going to be perfect.”

“You’re just saying that because you want in my pants.”

I slipped two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up. “I’m saying it because it’s the truth. Though I do want in your pants. Kiss me.”

She smiled and pushed up on her tippy toes, pressing her soft lips to mine. I would have preferred to kiss the shit out of her, but I’d do that without a full crew in the next room and out on the patio. When I looked up, my eyes found Phoenix, who had just watched the entire thing. That takes care of that…

The afternoon session went as smoothly as the morning, except the photographer was a hell of a lot more professional. I snapped a few pics of Stella set up with all the props and sent them to my sister. Though the one I took of her leaning over to smell a cluster of purple flowers hanging over the fence when she thought no one was looking? That one was for me.

At three o’clock, the photographer finally called it a day. Everyone started to clean up, and Stella went into the bathroom to get changed again.

Phoenix was disassembling his camera and putting the pieces into a case when he lifted his chin to me. “I got a lot of good stuff. I’ll go through everything and do a touch-up on the ones I think are the best. But I’ll also send you the unedited proofs to go through in case a shot I didn’t pick catches your eye. I know you need it ASAP, so I’ll have everything to you by Monday.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

He snapped his camera case closed. “And…I owe you an apology. I didn’t realize you and Stella…”

I could’ve said it was new or that last night at dinner she hadn’t even agreed to go out with me yet—I could’ve let him off the hook. But instead, I simply said, “Not a problem.”

“Thanks.” He held out his hand. “She seems like a great girl.”

I shook his hand, giving it a squeeze that was firmer than socially acceptable. “Woman. She’s a great woman.”

He held up both hands. “Got it.”

By the time everyone left, it was almost four, and I had a call to make. I needed my laptop for it, which was back in my room.

I took one of Stella’s hands. “You still feel up to going out tonight?”

“Definitely. But I’d like to take a quick shower, if you don’t mind. I feel like I have a mud mask on with all this makeup, and my hair has ten pounds of hairspray.”

“I have that four o’clock call to take. So why don’t you come down to my room whenever you’re ready.”

“Okay.”

Stella walked me to the door. “Where are we going tonight, so I know what to wear?”

“Wear something sexy.”

“Oh, okay. So it’s fancy then?”

“Not really. I just want you to wear something sexy.”

She laughed. “I’ll try my best.”

I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You don’t even have to try.”

“Wow. This is gorgeous.” Stella settled into her seat, staring off at the ocean. I’d taken her to Geoffrey’s in Malibu because it was a beautiful night, and dining on their back deck meant an unbeatable panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Scratch that—what she was looking at didn’t hold a candle to what I was currently looking at.

“You look gorgeous.”

Stella blushed. “Thank you.”

I loved that she was so humble. The woman truly had no clue that she’d made every head turn when we’d walked through the restaurant.

“Have you eaten here before?”

“I have. A client took me here a few years ago. With most places, you get the view or the food. This is one of the rare places you get both.”

She lifted the cloth napkin from the table and draped it across her lap. “I’m actually starving.”

My eyes dropped to her lips, which were painted with the same bold red lipstick she’d worn at the shoot today. I guess I should be grateful she normally wore something more understated, because otherwise I wouldn’t get any work done around the office.

I lifted my water glass, never taking my eyes from her. “I’m starving too.”

Stella caught the suggestive tone of my voice, and her eyes met mine with a sparkle. “Is that so? Tell me, Mr. Rothschild, what’s your idea of a satisfying meal?”

I could feel myself starting to harden under the table. Being around her made me feel like a horny, fifteen-year-old virgin. And her calling me Mr. Rothschild? I’d never been into role-playing before, but I saw a boss-employee scene in our near future.

I cleared my throat. “We better change the subject.”

She looked at me with a truly innocent face. “Why?”

I glanced around us. The tables were close, so I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Because I’m hard thinking about what I really want to eat.”

She blushed. “Oh.”

The waitress came to take our drink order. Stella perused the wine menu while I was relieved to get a minute to get myself under control. I seemed to have a one-track mind tonight, and I didn’t want her to get the impression that sex was the only thing that interested me—though it had certainly felt like that lately. It was only our first date, so I probably should refrain from telling her that every time she blushed, I couldn’t stop wondering what color her creamy skin turned when she came.

When the waitress disappeared to get our wine, I steered the conversation to safer territory.

“So, what are you going to conquer next now that Signature Scent is almost ready to go?”

Stella sat back in her chair. “You know, Robyn asked me the same thing during one of the breaks on set a couple of weeks ago. She wondered if I had plans to come out with complementing products, such as men’s signature cologne or anything else beauty-related.”

“Is that what you’d like to do?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m not in any rush. I’d like to make sure everything goes smoothly with Signature Scent for a while. I worked on it while working full-time for so long, and then after I left my job, I threw myself into it even deeper.” Stella paused and looked out to the ocean. Smiling, she said, “I think I’d like to conquer happiness next.”

The waitress brought over our wine. Stella dipped her nose into the glass for a sniff and smiled, so I knew it would be good. After, the waitress filled both our glasses and said she’d be back in a few minutes to take our order.

“Are you saying your happiness system isn’t working?” I teased.

“No, not at all. I just…working fourteen hours a day might bring financial satisfaction, but that’s not the only thing that matters.”

My eyes roamed her face. “Yeah, I’m starting to realize that myself.”

She smiled and tilted her head. “Are you happy?”

“At the moment, very much so.”

She laughed. “I’m glad. But I meant in general, in your life.”

I sipped my wine and gave it some thought. “That’s a pretty big question. I guess there are things in my life I’m very happy with—my work, having financial stability, my friends, my family, my current dating situation.” I winked. “But then there are things I’m not happy with, like not seeing my daughter every night when I get home, coming home to an empty house…”

Stella nodded. “I think a lot of the reason I’ve struggled to be happy over the last year or two has been that my life turned out a lot different than I’d envisioned it. I needed to let go of what I thought my life was supposed to look like in order to write a new story.”

And to think when I first met this woman, I’d thought she was flaky. A few months later, I’m realizing she’s the one with the firm grip on life, and it’s me who has a lot to learn. Even crazier than that, I’m hoping that when she writes that new story, I get to be part of it.