Page 95 of Insatiable Park Avenue Prince

Damn, this was gonna go quick.Just enjoy it. It may never happen again.

One by one, the others in front of me made their turns as someone from the designer’s team did a final fit check and brushed my hair back over my shoulders.

This was it. It was time.

The show director nodded and gave me the go-ahead, and I took in a deep breath and walked out. Instantly I noticed the blazing heat from the lights overhead as I came to stand at the center for a moment like Donovan had shown me. It was almost blinding, the combination of daylight, the strobes, and the flashes of cameras going off as I waited briefly for a model to come off the catwalk before heading down the left side of the fork.

The change I felt was immediate. Something about stepping out in front of a crowd erased any anxiety I’d felt, and in its place was the confident attitude I usually possessed.

My shoulders relaxed as I kept my eyes on a fixed point ahead, kept my expression neutral, and let my body do the talking. At leastthatI felt good about. I was proud of the way I looked, that I spent so much time working it as close to peak physical perfection as I could get.

I stopped at the end of the catwalk to let the photographers get their shots, and just before I walked off, I looked directly at one of the cameras and winked.

I wasn’t sure what made me do it other than I was starting to feel good with all the eyes of the crowd on me. I wanted to give them a show, even in subtle ways.

It wasn’t like I had anything to lose. If this was going to be my only show, I may as well have fun doing it and leave an impression.

As soon as I set foot backstage, I was rushed off, and someone tore the jacket off me from behind while I unbuttoned my pants. I didn’t see Donovan anywhere, but things were moving so fast that I probably would’ve missed him even if he’d been beside me.

I’d barely gotten into the next outfit—another short jacket, with some kind of a kilt—before I was thrust back out onto the catwalk for round two. It felt even easier this time, and maybe there was a little more swagger to my walk as I loosened up and got into it. By the time I was back out for the third and final look, I wasn’t ready for the show to end. It was an adrenaline rush in the best way, and I could only hope it wouldn’t be the last time I got to do something like this.

“Wait, where you going?” An assistant grabbed me as I made my way backstage and thrust me back in line.

Oh, right.The finale walkout. I knew that.

Everyone in the crowd was on their feet and clapping as we walked out in a line, with Donovan and the female model leading the way. I could see him out of the corner of my eye and was dying to look, but I restrained myself. Barely. It wasn’t something I did often, so someone needed to give me a damn medal for it.

The designer came out, waved at everyone, then quickly disappeared backstage, and all of us single-filed it after him.

“Incredible collection…”

“Absolutely exquisite work…”

The reviews were already coming in as I passed the flurry of people gathering to speak to the designer. The same team that had helped me quick-change helped me out of the final outfit, and it wasn’t until I was standing there in just a pair of tight boxer briefs that I remembered where my own clothes were.

Hell, I could’ve been naked and I probably would’ve felt even more comfortable in that moment, now that the stress over tripping and falling on my face was done. But it would’ve been awkward when I reached the station I’d gotten ready at and a small woman came flying in my direction.

“You are a lifesaver,” Mira said, not fazed in the least by how much skin I was showing. Her face was more animated than it had been before the show, like she’d seen something she liked and was excited about it.

“No problem. It was a lot of fun. If you ever need me to fill in again—”

“Oh, darling, no,” she said, chuckling, and I couldn’t stop my face from falling.

I hadn’t done that terribly, had I? To the point she waslaughing?

She gave my arm a reassuring squeeze. “I mean, I would never use you as just a fill-in. You’re a natural.”

“Really?” Wow, that was damn nice to hear.

She reached into the small clutch she carried and pulled out a business card. “Call me when you get back to the city. I’d love to set up a meeting with you if you’re interested.”

IfI was interested? Fuck yeah I was interested.

But my mouth wouldn’t move the way I wanted it to, so I found myself nodding and finally forcing out, “Sure.”

If Mira minded, she didn’t show it, giving me a pat on the arm before turning around and almost running smack into Donovan. I hadn’t even seen him standing there, but the massive grin on his face told me he’d heard the entire thing.

“Van, brilliant as always,” she told him, giving him air kisses before hurrying off. Over her shoulder she called out, “Tell your boyfriend to call me.”

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