Mandy Makes Her Mark

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Book: Mandy Makes Her Mark by Ruby Laska Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ruby Laska
care.
    All those months, pretending that she wasn’t interested in finding a relationship. The evenings in front of the television, convincing herself that reality TV was better than an internet date. The days when Tad stopped by the office, when she couldn’t focus on a single task.
    The exquisite pain of being invited to the apartment he shared with Luna, where the two of them avoided looking at each other. She thought he disliked her, but all this time, he’d felt it too—the pain of longing, the guilt of wanting someone he couldn’t have. But all it took was one look at her gorgeous sister for Tad to realize what a mistake he’d nearly made.
    Mandy took her second shower in twelve hours, taking care not to scrub as hard. The makeup artist would not be pleased to find her skin raw and ruddy.
    She dressed in the jeans and black sweater so many models favored—after her years in the business she could adopt their uniform with ease–and headed to the beach. This time, however, she stopped in the lobby and filled her bag with fruit from the bowl on the registration desk. She wasn’t about to starve to death on the same day that she perished of heartbreak and embarrassment.
    They were shooting on the dock today, against a backdrop of bleached wood and the riot of flowers spilling from planters lining the path. Deirdre was already directing her crew as they set up their equipment. And in the middle of the dock, on a stool someone had dragged down from the manor, Sylvie sat flipping through a magazine, a pair of black-framed glasses perched on her nose.
    â€œHey, Mandy,” she said, without looking up.
    â€œAh, Mandy,” Deirdre said briskly. “Change of plans. Lark was absolutely delighted with the test sheets. He wants to shoot a couple of the bridal gowns this morning.”
    â€œOf course,” Mandy said efficiently, relieved to have the distraction of work. “I’ll help Sylvie get started now.”
    â€œNo, no. He wants the gowns on you. He loved the contrast of your hair against the ivory shantung.”
    â€œMe? But I’m not even a real model. And I’m, well, not going to fit into the samples.”
    Deirdre smiled indulgently. “Which is even more perfect. Lark has decided to reverse the shoot. The plus gown on you, the sample bridesmaid gown on Sylvie. He says sales of the larger gowns have eclipsed the regular sales in the last quarter. He had the gowns driven down from Miami overnight.” Deirdre leaned in close. “You’ve captivated him, my dear. He tried to call you last night—he refused to believe there’s no cell service on this island.”
    â€œBut…Sylvie? Are you okay with this?”
    â€œMore than okay,” Sylvia said, turning a page. “Those things weigh, like, a hundred pounds each. And it’s supposed to get up to eighty-five degrees today. Better you than me.”
    Mandy nodded dumbly. The idea of her as the feature model in the shoot was absurd, but the important thing was that the shoot hadn’t been a disaster. The client was happy. The catalog was a go. And if there would soon be a hundred thousand copies of a photograph in circulation of her as a blushing bride – something that seemed unlikelier than ever after her latest love-life debacle—well, it was just how the job got done.
    So what if she had to spend another grueling day being stitched and shoved and pinched into the gowns, twirling and posing and smiling for all she was worth, when all she really wanted to do was cry? She could do this—for the company, for the future…for Luna.
    Her sister was bound to wander down with Tad at some point to see how the shoot was going. And Mandy was going to do her best to pretend it was all just business as usual. Mandy working her heart out and the two of them just being their glamorous selves, gliding through life being the envy of all who encountered them. Now Mandy

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