Page 190 of Sinful Desires
Just raised a finger and traced it down the center of my chest, then folded herself around me like she couldn’t stand the space between us.
“Because nothing back there feels real. This is the first time in forever I’ve actually felt happy.” Her hands moved across the ink on my skin.
“If you could do anything right now?…?anything in the world, what would it be, Scarlett?”
She let out a bitter little breath. “I’d take a hiatus. Strip it all away. The fame, the pressure, the paparazzi. I’d figure out who the hell I am when no one’s demanding pieces of me.” She hesitated. “Do you think I’m weak for wanting to run?”
I grabbed her chin gently, making her look at me.
“No. I think it makes you strong.”
Her lips parted but no sound came out.
“It takes guts to walk away from everything the world says you should want. To choose yourself? That’s not weakness, baby. That’s survival.”
My thumb brushed her jaw.
“You’re not running. You’re reclaiming what they took from you.”
Her hand stopped over my heart. She blinked hard. Swallowed.
“And you? What would you do, Théo?”
My eyes drifted to the shining sky.
“I’d follow your heartbeat until my body gives out. Stand behind you when the world turns. Beside you when it burns. Beneath you when words fall short.”
I looked at her. Her eyes burned brighter than every star trying to outlive the night.
“That’s what I was made for, Scarlett. To serve you until the day I die.”
Chapter
Forty-Six
“I don’t do fashion, I AM fashion.”
? Coco Chanel
Scarlett
“I think the emerald one suits your hair better. Plus, it’ll make everyone else green with envy,” Victoria said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
Nicholas dropped onto the bed and threw a popcorn kernel into the air, catching it in his mouth. “I agree with Victoria. Definitely the emerald. I’ll wear a matching pocket square with my white suit. We’ll look like a power couple.”
She clapped her hands excitedly. “I’msoexcited to be working with Oscar De La Renta on this one. Girl, don’t you dare even think of firing me. I’ll sew myself to your skin.Permanently. Like emotional couture.”
I laughed as she unzipped the dress. I wrapped my robe around myself again, kicked off the custom YSL heels I’d been balancing on for hours, and collapsed onto the bed.
Nicholas moved over with a grunt to give me more space.
“When are we flying to LA again?” I yawned, already half asleep.
He lobbed a piece of popcorn at my face.
I didn’t dodge it fast enough.
“Tomorrow morning. Then the white party at your dad’s. Then the actual Oscars the day after,” he said, glancing at me sideways. “You’ve been yawning all week since we got back from France. What’s going on with you? Insomnia? Secrets?”
