Lingerie Wars (Invertary 1)

“Should we have music?” Lake asked.

“This isn’t a beauty contest. No one is going to twirl a baton. It’s an audition. Like an interview. Do you have music during your interviews?” she told him.

“I’ve never had an interview,” he said.

“Never?”

He shook his head.

“You are so weird, Lake Benson.”

He smiled like he knew better.

Caroline had set up the tables at one end of the hall. Hers in the middle and the other two at an angle to hers. The three of them together made a semi-circle. It was less intimidating for the models than walking towards a row of desks, but it also meant that Kirsty had a good view of Lake as well as the women auditioning for the show. He wore a grey crewneck sweater over worn jeans and tan leather boots. As he stretched his legs out in front of him and relaxed back into his chair, he made her mouth water. Lake caught her looking at him and winked. Kirsty frowned before studying the list on the desk in front of her.

She knew most of the names on it and could tell without even seeing the women walk that there were some who wouldn’t be any good for the show. There were also a lot of names she didn’t recognise. They’d obviously pulled in some applicants from the surrounding towns and villages too. She bit her lip as she tried to guess who she’d pick to model for her shop. Sure, she wanted to represent “everywoman”—but she also wanted her lingerie to sell, and that meant some of the candidates weren’t up to scratch, as much as it pained her to think like that. Her shop had been built on the belief that every woman could look great in the right underwear. But this wasn’t her shop. It was a runway show, in front of the national press.

“Okay, girls,” Caroline called. “It’s time to start.”

Kirsty looked at her list. It was the Donaldson twins. She smiled and ticked their names even before they appeared. The two blond girls came in together, giggling and holding hands. They wore matching red bikinis. Kirsty glanced over at Lake, half expecting to find him drooling over the twins, which would have been beyond disgusting as they were still in their teens. Instead she found she was the focus of his pale blue eyes. She shifted in her chair as he barely gave the girls a passing glance. Through the next five models, he did the same thing. Instead of looking at the models, he stared at Kirsty. With each passing moment, the heat in that stare intensified. Kirsty tugged at the neck of her mint-green jumper.

“Is it awful hot in here?” she asked Caroline.

“I cranked up the heat,” Caroline said. “It is winter and the women are wearing very little. I didn’t want anyone getting sick.”

“Good idea. So it is hot in here, it isn’t just me,” she said with relief.

Lake smiled knowi

ngly. Kirsty ignored him.

“You’re right,” he said. “It is hot.”

He yanked his jumper up and over his head. Kirsty peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. He had on an old T-shirt with a faded Muddy Waters print. It briefly rode up his belly, along with his jumper. Kirsty’s eyes popped at the sight of a rippling stomach. She’d seen it once before when he’d been clad only in a towel, but then she’d been too angry to fully appreciate it. She hadn’t seen anything like it since her days modelling. And even then, she knew there was a difference. Those men wanted the muscles for pretty; Lake wanted to use them. She licked her lips, then realised she was staring. Her eyes quickly shot to Lake’s, who cocked his head in acknowledgement that he’d caught her gawking at him. She snapped her head away, only to realise someone had walked across the room and was now leaving and she had no idea who it was. She skimmed her list, recognised the name with relief and put a tick beside it.

“I hope you’re paying careful attention,” Lake said with clear amusement. “I hear it’s important to get the right models.”

Kirsty ground her teeth together.

There was a commotion outside the room before Betty burst through the doors. There was an audible gasp from everyone at the sight of her in a bathing suit.

“I want to be in the show,” she said as she stomped towards them.

“It’s not going to happen,” Lake said.

He folded his arms across his chest, making his shoulders bulge, and for a second Kirsty lost her place. Then Betty was in front of them—in a swimsuit—and Kirsty was snapped out of her confusion.

“It better happen, or you’ll regret it,” she told Lake.

“You can’t threaten me. You’re Hobbit sized. Go away, and put some clothes on while you’re at it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this figure, son.” Betty put her hand on her hip and sashayed in front of them.

Kirsty’s jaw fell at the sight. Just as she realised that Betty still wore her hairnet, Caroline cleared her throat.

“You aren’t on the list, Betty. You can’t audition.”

“Piffle. This is age discrimination. I can sue you. I’m going to talk to my nephew. I’ll send him a message on the computer and he’ll be up here in no time.”