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CAROLINA PRESTON’S PENCIL GLIDED OVER THE paper like an Olyht, easy strokes, the effort behind the task not showing as she created her art, because it was all in her head But soon, elegant lines appeared, shapes for on the blank canvas as what she’d visualized beca, sleeveless silk top, followed by a sequined mini She added a cropped leather jacket to h heels to complete the look, then paused to peruse the finished product, so out of breath her heart pounded
Nice Not perfect yet, but as she took a sip of chai tea, she cocked her head to the side and made a few adjustments to the sketch, exhilarated to create her own line of clothing
It had taken several years of working for so like a prisoner, unable to stretch her wings But finally, this fashion season—she was going to fly
As she worked on her next design, the figure morphed into a man Tall, lean, his hands slid into his pockets as heshirt No jacket necessary as the clothes would speak for the body
She loved nature line She could already picture it on the runorn by soray eyes and—
No She wasn’t going to go there She stood, stretched her back, and looked out theof her Manhattan apartment For November, it was decent, weather-wise She should take a walk before the weather changed
Her cell rang and she smiled as her brother’s name came up
“Hi, Gray”
“Hey, we’re in town Are you busy?”
“Extrelad you called Come on over I’d love to see you and Evelyn”
She spent the next hour picking up the disaster in her aparts strewn around her work space, so she picked up as much as she could in there, then closed the door and concentrated on the living area When the buzzer sounded, she let them in
She threw her arht
“You look great,” she said to hied Gray’s fiancée, Evelyn
“Have you two been celebrating Gray’s win in the championship?”
Her brother didn’t even try to fight his grin “Overly celebrating, I think”
“It was a big turnaround from how he ended up last year,” Evelyn said as they took a seat in Carolina’s living room “I couldn’t be more proud of him”
“She’s just happy I didn’t crash into a wall”
“Or go flying through the air, like last year”
Carolina nodded “Yes I think you took at least five years off my life on that crash last year”
“No injuries this year We raced clean and won a lot, including the cha Alex on the team this year was the best move I could have made He and Donny both ended up in the top twelve I couldn’t ask for more”
The pride in his voice was evident Her brother had
“You’re doing so well,” Carolina said “You must be thrilled”
“I never thought it would turn out like this When I started out, I just wanted to race”
“I don’t know about that You’ve always had ambition And now you have Evelyn at your side, and she’s as ambitious as you Maybe even more”
Evelyn laughed “That’s so true”
“And how about you?” Carolina asked “Staying busy with my dad?”
Evelyn s the drea a remarkable job as the vice president of the United States, just as I kneould”
Carolina loved that Evelyn was so dedicated to her father And so in love with her brother “How’s the separation working out for the two of you?”
Evelyn’s gaze shifted to Gray “Actually, ht it would We make time for each other, no matter how difficult it is”
“It helps that Dad lets us use the family private jet a lot,” Gray said with a smile
“I’lad you two reconciled”
“Me, too,” Gray said “Speaking of, will you be co this week?”
Carolina blew out a breath, thinking about everything she had to do to get ready for Fashion Week in February The event was the biggest opportunity for designers to show off their lines, and so ready for “I don’t know I have sothis line And not a lot of ti”
“I’, and I want to see it all”
“Not s in production, but I’o into the line and what’s not, and selecting models”
“Can you tell us the focus?” Evelyn asked
“Right now I’ on mainly casual fashion for boththe lines of my own style Fussy has never worked for e woman or man, and that’s who I want to clothe I like movement and ease, and the way clothes make a person look and feel”
She stared out the , herwith the possibilities “With a ued me” She turned her attention to Gray “Since you’ve played baseball and you race cars, I’ve watched you over the years It’s helpedof movement”
Gray laughed “So, I’ve been your study guide for men’s fashion”
Her lips curved “Sort of I’ve studied all types of o outside and sit on a park bench and watch le Surprisingly, I watch a lot of sports”
“Why is that surprising?” Evelyn asked
She shrugged “I don’t know Maybe I just surprised les All the sports are different, but the way a man moves is always the same I think a man’s body is inherently sexy, and I want to showcase that in le, because I believe that will appeal to a lot of men”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Gray said “So where are you on your models?”
She looked at hiet you, that would be a definite plus”
He laughed “You want me to model for you”