Chapter 6
“This is the most prettiest dress I’ve ever seen,” Logan declared as she reached her hand up to touch the violet sequined material.
“Don’t do that!” I belted out harshly, instantly regretting my tone. “Sorry… just… don’t touch the dress, please. This doesn’t belong to Mommy, Logan.”
“Whose dress is it?” she questioned, her eyes still lost in the shimmer and sparkle. I pulled her tiny hand away just before she tried to pick at a shiny sequin.
“It’s the designer’s dress. Her name is Jenny.”
“When’s it going to be yours?”
“I don’t know, Logan. I don’t think it’ll ever be mine. It’s one-of-a-kind and far too beautiful for me to own.” I’d begun making a name for myself and with that, more money, but I hadn’t had my big break yet – so I wouldn’t be affording a dress of this caliber anytime soon.
“You’re too beautiful for that dress, Mom.”
My heart skipped several beats as a smile beamed across my face. She was so innocent.
“You. Are. Stunning, Michelle!” Jenny offered, barging into the dressing room. “Are you ready to walk?”
“Always.”
“I’ll be behind you on the runway, so we will cross in the middle. When we get there, let’s take a bow together. You and this dress deserve more time in front of the cameras.”
“Oh my… are you… I’d be honored!” I squealed.
“Perfect! Then I’ll see you out there,” Jenny yelled as her assistant pulled her toward a developing disaster on the other side of the room.
“Logan?” my voice immediately escalated in octaves when I turned around and didn’t see her.
“Right here,” she sang, just a few feet away. Her lips were covered in bright red lipstick, cheeks caked with far too much bronzer and hair pulled up into high ponytail atop her head.
“Logan Leigh Keller!”
“Mom!” she giggled, embarrassed by her full name.
“Don’t play with that expensive makeup, it’s not yours. Mommy needs to walk the runway in just a few minutes, so I need you to be good while I’m gone, okay? Can you do that for me, please?”
“Fine,” she moaned.
“One-minute, Michelle!” my manager yelled.
“Okay, Logan, Mom’s gotta go now. I’ll be back shortly, alright? I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I took my first step onto the runway and was immediately swept into the scene. The music momentarily transported me out of motherhood and into modeling. I recognized everyone along the front row as I glanced at them with my peripheral vision, maintaining my stoic gaze. Blinded at the end of the catwalk by all the flashbulbs, I struck a pose and elegantly pivoted. Jenny was walking toward me for the show stopping bow.
As we stood there waving, it was like I’d gone deaf; I couldn’t hear a thing. I saw their hands, as they stood in ovation, building what appeared to be a thunderous applause, but the only thing I could hear was the wild pounding of my heart. My vision started to go blurry but I kept waving. I started to feel dizzy. Panic began to take over my body as the energy in the air shifted. I felt my inner wolf bristling, on guard. Just as my smile began to fall from my face, there he was… There. He. Was.
Xavier rose to his feet from the front row at the end of the catwalk, the best seat in the house. His dangerous green eyes, fixated on mine, sent a hard chill racing down my spine. He slowly raised his hands to clap and the moment they connected, the trance broke and I could hear again. A hot sensation shot through me as I froze mid wave.
Beside him, stood Logan.
Andrea L Wells – The Midnight Hour