Page 54 of Ruthless Vengeance
"Well, now you do, so you better get to work."
Her smile instantly fades as panic flashes in her eyes.
“Oh god. I-I don’t think I can do this. I don’t have a professional portfolio, let alone anything to present and the interview is in less than twenty-four hours. It’s not enough tim?—”
“Clara.” I reach for her hand again. “It’s all right, you can do this.”
“How, Marco? That is literally hours’ worth of work, and it’s already two in the afternoon. There’s no way I can get this all done.”
I can practically hear the gears in her head turning, already running through designs and fabrics, as she tries to plan.
"Relax, you can do this.”
She exhales slowly as she tucks her blonde hair behind her ear. "Marco, two complete looks isa lot."
"Well, if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you don’t half-ass anything. You’ll pull it off."
Clara chews her bottom lip as she stares straight ahead, lost in thought.
I only hope that she realizes that I mean every word I say. I have no doubt that she is going to walk into that interview tomorrow and smash it out of the park.
"Come on. Let’s get you home."
When we pullinto the driveway of the Westchester house an hour later, Clara lets out a long breath, rubbing her hands over her thighs like she’s trying to settle herself.
I switch off the engine and unbuckle my seatbelt before shifting to face her head on.
“Talk to me, Clara. Did I make the wrong call with this interview? Because if I did, you can tell me, and I’ll call Max back and cancel it?—”
“Thank you.” Her eyes are on mine.
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“Not just for the interview. But for believing in me.”
The look on her face is enough to make my chest feel like it’s being cracked open.
I reach out to cup her cheek, stroking my thumb back and forth across her soft skin. "You should know by now I’d do anything to make you happy.”
“I know.” She leans into my touch.
My eyes flick to her lips, and I can’t help but lean in and brush my own against hers.
She lets out a contented sigh as I flick my tongue against her lips as I move my free hand to her bare thigh.
"You’re welcome to return the favor later?—"
"Oh, no," Clara wraps her delicate fingers around my wrist and forces my hand off of her. She shakes her head. "I need two complete looks ready by tomorrow. I can promise you there will be no sex tonight."
I raise a brow, fighting back a laugh at the look of determination on her face.
She reaches for the door handle. "In fact,youare on baby duty, because I’m pretty sure I’ll be up all night."
I chuckle as I sit back in my seat. "That’s fine by me.”
Clara narrows her eyes at me, as if she’s waiting for me to push back. But she should know by now that I am more than happy to spend some one-on-one time with my daughter, and if that helps Clara in the process, then it's a win-win for me.
I quickly climb out of the car and round on Clara’s side.
