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In that et, Mary had let hertemper--push her all the way out the door and away froe

But Mary had never believed her

As Mary opened her eyes, she was glad of the chance to focus on the lights and exciteiving in to the gnawing pain in her heart that had grown bigger and bigger over the years that she’d been estranged froh she dearly wished she and her mother could have seen eye to eye over her career opportunities, Mary couldn’t i up the experiences she’d had all over the world or having had the chance to ith so many talented and passionate people The past thirteen years had been exciting, lucrative and challenging Despite the long hours and working in conditions like today, when the winter wind blew straight through the thin velvet of her dress and chilled her from the inside out, she would never coraphers,at the side of the set with an apologetic smile on his face "Sorry for the delay, Mary I know it’s cold out here Are you ready to get started again so we can finish up and then go get warhts of the past, she s up where they’d left off, he put his hand on her aret to photograph you Please tell ed your mind"

Mary would have hugged hi all of the stylists into a panic and losing another fifteen minutes to more touch-ups to her hair andcareer and was still in high dens and runway shows, but after seeing what happened topast their prime, and how bitter they becaer women, she’d made the decision to step into the next phase of her life

"I’ve loved working with you, Gerry Hopefully, we’ll work together again in a different way in the future"

"Have you decided what you’re going to do next?"

As soon as she’d announced her retire, Mary had been offered plenty of opportunities to consider: fashion editor for aon an advisory role for aa fashion ht choice Now, after thirteen nonstop years, she knew she needed to take as h her next steps And she would start by settling into the beautiful attached house she had rented last month on Nob Hill, just a few blocks from Union Square

"As soon as I decide," she promised her friend, "you’ll be one of the first to hear"

As she aze to the side and saw an extre a suit, but his dark hair was a little too long and his five-o’clock shadow looked as if it hadn’t been touched for half a week, at least His eyes were interested, like those of soat her was slightly different…as if he was looking deeper than men usually did

Ohmen in the world, but none of them had ever made her feel this shock of attraction Especially not with just one look

The suit, frankly, looked all wrong on him And not just because it needed better quality fabric in the hands of a top-notch tailor So-sleeved shirt would have accented the ed sensuality much better

"That’s perfect, Mary," Gerry called out to her "Your look of longing is exactly right Hold steady with it while I get some shots from the other side"

She’d been so lost in the beautiful stranger’s eyes that she hadn’t realized Gerry had started shooting again

It wasn’t like her to be caught off guard while working She was known for her focus and sta disrespectful to her or the crew on a shoot, her Italian teave her best, she didn’t think it was tooThat’s what Gerry called this feeling inside her chest And perhaps he was right

Mary had been a virgin when she left Italy at nineteen and, with herloudly in the back of her head, she’d been careful not to let anyone take advantage of her innocence, either personally or professionally At twenty-one, she’d truly believed she was in love with her first lover and that he felt the same about her Too late, she’d realized he was sione before thebreath Then, when she’d been hit with an awful flu and he wouldn’t come anywhere near her, she’d had to finally accept the truth that he only appreciated her when she was the "perfect" version of Mary Ferrer

She’d been more careful with her next boyfriend, and the one after that She’d made certain they had plenty of occasions to see the real her And yet, as each relationship progressed and then eventually fizzled, she couldn’t help but feel that they had all expected so much more from her than from other women She wondered if she would ever be able to live up to the idealized iazine and newspaper photos