Gemma Halliday - Alibi In High Heels

Once I passed inspection, I hobbled through the tent, toward the backstage area. The newly constructed runway gleamed under the spotlights, three rows of white folding chairs lining either side. Two of Le Croix's assistants were making their way down the aisles, placing programs on the chairs as Ann looked on, talking into her headset to someone about there being too many red hues in the lighting setup.

I passed her with a cursory wave (which she was too busy to return) as I rounded the runway and went through the curtains separating the staging area.

Whereas the runway was in a state of quiet anticipation the backstage area was already bordering on manic chaos. Hair being teased, makeup applied with quick practiced strokes by a team of professional artists, and last minute adjustments being made to sew, pin, and tape the girls into their first outfit.

I spied Dana in a director's chair in front of a mirror, getting bright green eyeshadow swiped along her lids. Huh, what do you know? Maybe Mom and high fashion weren't that far off from each other.

"Hey," I said, coming up behind her.

She opened one eye. "There you are. Hey, Jean Luc's looking for you. He said he heard on TV that you were doing an interview after the show?"

Wow, news traveled fast. On the upside that meant Marcel had kept up his side of the bargain. While I'd fibbed to him about my motives for getting the story out, I sincerely hoped that I did have the exclusive of a lifetime to give him once this was all over. I mentally crossed my fingers that Pierre's cameras were rolling as I filled Dana in on my plan.

By the time I got to the end, her eyes was shadowed in a dramatic sweeping green and Jean Luc was shouting for "the shoe girl". I gave Dana's arm a squeeze and told her to break a leg while I went off to fit my makeshift footwear on the models.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur of clothing, shoes, accessories, and a myriad of last minute crises, each one prompting Jean Luc to pop antacids as if he were growing a garden of ulcers in his gut. By the time I heard the sounds of people filtering into the tent, taking their seats in anticipation of the big show, I was a nervous wreck. Not only due to Jean Luc's infectious anxiety, but even more so, to what lay ahead afterward. And who might, at that very moment, be breaking into my hotel room to steal decoy evidence.

Which is probably why I jumped about a mile into the air when he came up behind me.

"Maddie."

I turned quickly.

Felix stood behind me. Close behind me. Instinctively I took a step back. I hadn't seen him since the incident at the castle and my cheeks instantly flooded with heat at the sight of him now.

He was dressed in his usual khakis paired with a white button down. Though I supposed as a concession to the fashion vibes crackling through the air, he'd slipped a dark brown blazer over the top and traded in his Sketchers for a pair of dress shoes. Overall, the effect was a casual sophistication that, I had to admit, he pulled off well.

"You look a little flushed."

My hands immediately went up to my fire-filled cheeks.

"Me? Oh, uh, well, Jean Luc's had us running around all day."

Felix nodded. Then handed me a bottle of water. "You look like you could use this."

I took it, making a conscious effort not to skim his hand as I did. "What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Jean Luc invited me. A sort of peace offering for the mess with the necklace."

"A mess you started. Did Jean Luc know you were dating Gisella?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Felix looked heavenward. "We're not going to let that one go are we, love?"

"No we're not."

"Look, I told you, we went out a few times. It was nothing serious."

I unscrewed the top from the bottle. "You never did say why you broke it off."

Felix paused. "No, I didn't."

"Well? Come one. For a guy who makes his living prying in other people's private lives, you're nuts if you think I'm gonna let you clam up now."

He gave me a long hard look. Then, "There was someone else."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're quite the ladies man. Another model?"

"No."

"Actress?"

"No."

"Come on, who is she? How long have you been seeing each other?"

Felix's gaze didn't waiver, his entire body suddenly rigid, at attention, focused entirely on me. "Perhaps I worded that incorrectly. I wasn't seeing someone else. There was just… the hope of someone else."

I cocked my head to the side. "The hope?"

"She…" he faltered. Then cleared his throat. "I supposed I'm destined to admire her from afar. But, as long as I am, it's hardly fair to lead anyone else on."

A bad feeling churned in my stomach, one that warned I never should have started this conversation. I looked left and right, searching for any way out of it.

But before I could find one, Felix did a short humorless laugh. "You really don't know, do you?"

I bit my lip. "Felix, I don't think-"

He didn't let me finish, instead taking a step forward, his voice low and laced with emotion. "And here I thought I was being pretty obvious." His eyes finally broke their unnerving contact with my own, lowering, settling on my lips.

I sucked in a breath.

Oh. Hell.

I instinctively licked my lips, my throat suddenly drier than my mother's elbows in January. I tried to take a big breath of much needed oxygen, but my lungs sudden felt two sizes too small. Especially with Felix standing so close. It suddenly felt like he was everywhere, closing in on me, suffocating me. I opened my mouth to speak. But only a little squeaking sound came out, like I'd swallowed a mouse. I wet my lips again.

"Stop doing that," Felix whispered.

"What?" I squeaked again.

"Moving your tongue along your lips."

"I…" I trailed off. I had no response for that.

"A man only has so much self control, Maddie."

The mouse in my throat piped up again.

Felix's eyes went dark and heavy, his breath coming faster. "Maddie, I-"

"Maddie, dahling, there you are!"

I gave myself a mental shake, Jean Luc's voice breaking the way-too-intimate moment Felix and I were having in the middle of a crowded room.

Disappointment welled in Felix's eyes, though he covered it well, taking a step back and casually running a hand through his ever-disheveled hair.

"Maddie, sweets, love, darling, we have got a problem. We are talking show stopper here, honey."

I cleared my throat, willing my cheeks to stop burning. "Yes?" I asked, addressing Jean Luc.

What little hair the man had was standing on end, a sheen of perspiration covering his forehead, his pupils dilated to an unhealthy size. "It's Angelica. She broke a heel. Damned cheap pumps! You've got to do something, now! She goes on in ten minutes, God help us all." He paused, spotting Felix for the first time. "Oh, hello Lord Ackerman, I trust you are enjoying the circus, no?" he said, gesturing around himself.

Felix gave Jean Luc a curt nod, his eyes still on me.

"I'm on it," I promised.

"You are a lifesaver. I swear if I can get through this day without killing myself, I will die a happy man. Now, go, go, go!" he shooed me.

I went, capping my water bottle again as I tried not to meet Felix's penetrating gaze. I wasn't sure what he'd been about to say, but I was certain I didn't know how to respond. He had to be joking, right? I mean, this was one of his sick jokes. He was teasing. He was just playing with me. He was…

I turned around. He was still standing in the same place, his eyes on me, hands shoved in his pockets, a look in his eyes that was surprisingly vulnerable, making his boyish good looks that much more endearing. I'd never seen Tabloid Boy like this. Teasing, yes. Playful, yes. Even infuriatingly selfish, self absorbed, preoccupied. But never laid this bare.