Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 680(@200wpm)___ 544(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
The way they’re both infatuated with her is insane. She’s the apple of their eye, and from what I’ve heard from Knight, the boys fighting over a girl is a common occurrence. Only problem is, it usually disappears faster than it started, but this one seems to be sticking around.
Every seat around the runway is filled with A-list celebrities, other big-name designers, and stylists. I don’t doubt that this show is about to turn Izzy from a well-known local boutique into a universal name, her designs splashed across the front of every major fashion magazine.
The music pumps as the models strut down the runway, one by one, highlighting the incredible winter line Izzy worked her ass off to put together. Every hour she spent agonizing over her designs paid off the moment the very first model walked out onto the stage with the spotlight shining down on her, and I’ve never been so proud of Izzy.
This is her moment, and I hope like fuck that she’s standing backstage, soaking in every damn second of this. Runway shows are nothing new to her. She’s put one on nearly every season for the past few years, but it’s never drawn this type of A-list crowd. It’s the best type of insanity.
“Whoa,” Ace says from my other side. “She created all of these?”
“From scratch,” I tell him, watching as his eyes widen, more than impressed, and honestly, I fucking love it. I’ve always been proud of her, but seeing that same pride and adoration reflected in his eyes is amazing. But it’s Diesel’s stare that really gets me.
He watches each model strut down the walkway with his jaw literally hanging open. I’m sure he’s attended his fair share of events like this as protection detail for models, designers, or celebrity guests, but I can guarantee he’s never sat front row at a show like this. His eyes occasionally dart across the runway to the Chiefs’ star football player, who is here with his wife, and I can tell he’s utterly starstruck.
All three of the guys are gaping. While I’m sure they had an idea of what they were about to walk into tonight, there’s no doubt that their minds have been blown.
The show doesn’t take long, twenty minutes tops, before each model strides out in a single-file line for the grand finale. Izzy steps out last to a standing ovation, and obviously Ace and Diesel are cheering the loudest.
We wait for her backstage after the show, and I watch in awe as bigwigs approach her, putting in countless orders to stock her line, and damn it, the grin on my face is starting to hurt my cheeks. Tonight is exactly what I’ve been needing.
Every day has been a struggle for me, dealing with the guilt of everything that’s gone down. We had Dr. McKullan’s funeral this morning , and Anders was laid to rest just yesterday, and they were the hardest things I’ve ever sat through. And while I’m sure I’m overthinking this, I couldn’t help but feel as though every time somebody looked my way, they were blaming me, accusing me of taking away their friend, and it gutted me. I’ve spent days sitting in the shower, crying my eyes out, but no amount of time can take away the pain.
But tonight, watching Izzy shine is going a long way to heal something that’s very broken inside me.
We wait for Izzy for almost an hour, watching as the hair and makeup artists rush around, cleaning up their stations, and Izzy’s team racks all the designs and stuffs them back into their garment bags.
It’s a beautiful chaos back here, and while it’s not my kind of chaos, it’s right up Izzy’s alley.
Once everything is done, Izzy finally sets her sights on us, and as she makes her way over with a beaming smile, both Ace and Diesel try to beat one another to her, but they aren’t as fast as me. I slip right past them before throwing my arms around my best friend. “Holy fucking shit,” I tell her. “That was incredible.”
“Thanks,” she says. “You really think so? I wasn’t expecting such an amazing turnout. The editor of Vogue was here.”
My eyes widen in surprise. “No way! Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Holy shit, Iz. That’s huge.”
“Yeah, she requested a meeting with me next week,” she tells me. “This could mean huge things for my brand.”
“Huge?” I scoff. “It’s enormous. Massive. Gigantic. No, it’s colossal!”
Izzy laughs and shoves my shoulder before Ace barrels past me, physically stealing Izzy out of my arms. He scoops her up and pulls her against his chest before spinning her around and planting a kiss on her cheek. “That was fucking amazing.” He beams at her like the perfect golden retriever. “We’re taking you out. We need to celebrate.”
“Yeah?” she says as he settles her back on her feet.