The Dating Mr Darcy Trilogy: Prada and Prejudice / Love and Liability / Mansfield Lark

When she emerged, Phillip grabbed her hand and led her to the dressing area. “It’s time to get changed. Jacques has everything ready.”

When she was dressed and done with hair and makeup, Jacques handed her a yellow umbrella. Natalie frowned. “What’s this?”

“It’s your prop for the first few shots. Pretend it’s raining.”

“I feel ridiculous, but OK.” She sighed and, affixing a playful, relaxed expression to her face, took her place in the middle of the backdrop, unfurled the umbrella, and waited.

Wasn’t it bad luck to open an umbrella inside?

“Ready, Natalie?” the photographer asked, camera slung around his neck.

“Ready.” She managed a smile. “Let’s have a go.”

She stepped on her mark and took a deep breath. She twirled the umbrella playfully on one shoulder; she held it over her head and looked pensively up at pretend clouds. She tilted the umbrella down, up, and sideways, until she was bloody sick of the sight of it.

Modelling was nothing like she’d thought. Each shot took time; the photographer adjusted her arms or legs just so, instructing her to turn slightly or tilt her face to the left, all while she kept to her mark. The hair stylist ran out to fluff her hair a few times, and music blared in the background.

“Beautiful, Natalie,” the photographer said hours later, as she threw her head back and her arms out and pretended to laugh. “Perfect. And…that’s a wrap. We’re done!”

There was a smattering of applause.

“Well done, you!” Rhys said. “You were a natural.”

“The pictures look great,” the photographer told Natalie. “Poppy Simone couldn’t have done a better job herself.”

Natalie beamed. “Thanks.” As she turned away to pick up her mobile, her smile faded. Crikey – she’d forgotten to contact Poppy about the re-launch. “I need to make a call.”

“Go ahead. Come and see the shots when you’re done.”

She nodded distractedly and scrolled to Poppy’s number. She’d completely forgotten to ask if her friend could appear at the re-launch. She only hoped it wasn’t too late…

“Hi, Poppy,” Natalie said. “Good, how’re you? How’s Pen? Super. Listen, I’ve a huge favour to ask, it’s for the store—”

Five minutes later, she clicked off, her smile gone and her mind racing. She’d left it too late. Poppy was booked for a shoot in Sri Lanka and wouldn’t return to London until the day of the re-launch. She promised to come if she got back in time.

Natalie closed her eyes. Rhys would be furious. She’d pitched Poppy in the business plan as the re-launch’s biggest draw, second only to Dominic and the Destroyers, of course. Now the famous supermodel wouldn’t be there.

Her heart sank. How would she tell him?

“Natalie, there you are.” As if her thoughts had summoned him, Rhys appeared. “I wanted to talk to you, but we’ve both been so busy I’ve not had a chance.”

“If it’s about Poppy Simone, she can’t do it,” Natalie blurted out in a guilty rush. “She has another commitment.”

He frowned. “Can’t do what — the re-launch? Why?”

Natalie bit her lip. “She’ll be in Sri Lanka.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You said there was no question Poppy Simone would star in the re-launch fashion show. You hung your entire business plan on it.”

“I know. But I…well, I left it a bit too late to ask,” she admitted. “I forgot. I only just called her now.”

“What?” Rhys snapped. “Natalie, we discussed this well over a month ago! You assured me you’d taken care of it!”

“I meant to, but with everything going on, I forgot.”

Anger suffused his face. “We can’t afford a mistake like this. We need a big name to bring people in, and now all we have is Dominic – that’s if Klaus’s lawyers let us use him.”

Natalie blinked back tears. “I really am sorry—”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. Fix it. I don’t know how, and I don’t give a shit. But you’ll get someone else, and straight away. Otherwise,” he finished grimly, “the re-launch will be a failure, and your family can kiss Dashwood and James goodbye. And it’ll be on your arse if it fails. Not mine.”

He turned and strode angrily away, his intention to ask Natalie about her drink at the Connaught with Ian Clarkson completely forgotten.

Chapter 26 (#ulink_e13f5106-3d02-53c2-a4a4-370477a8918a)

The print ad featuring Natalie in Phillip’s exclusive new clothing line appeared simultaneously in Elle, Bazaar, Marie Claire, British Vogue, and Glamour magazines, as well as in the London tube trains and stations.

If the tabloids hadn’t already invaded her privacy enough, now it was impossible to go anywhere without someone shouting her name, or taking her photo, or asking if she’d sign her autograph on a bit of paper.

“It’s insane!” Natalie complained to her sister at week’s end. “I just want to make it stop.”

“Oh, stop whingeing. You’re Britain’s ‘It’ girl, you’re all anyone’s talking about! I wish I had your problems,” Caroline said irritably.

“No, you don’t,” Nat said, and felt the beginnings of a headache. “You have no idea what I’m dealing with.”

Her sister set two cups of tea and a plate of chocolate biscuits on the kitchen table and sat down with a sigh. “All right, then, tell me what’s wrong.”

“I promised Rhys that Poppy Simone would appear at the re-launch. But I left it too late, and she’s booked for a shoot in Sri Lanka, and now we haven’t a single big name, other than –possibly – Dom’s, for the fashion show. Rhys is livid. I’ve never seen him so angry.”

“Oh, Natty,” Caro sighed, “you’ve gone and made a mess of things, haven’t you?”

“Yes, and I don’t know how to fix it. Who can I get to appear at the re-launch on such short notice? I’m not exactly friends with Giselle or Heidi.”

Caro stirred sugar into her cup. “You must know someone. Someone famous, I mean.”

“Not really, not unless you count Phillip.”

“Phillip? Isn’t he the designer who’s doing the clothing line for the store?”

Nat nodded. “His clothes are flying off the shelves.”

“I’m not surprised, they’re great. Everyone loves the ads, too.” Caro set her cup down. “Natalie, I just had a thought.”

“What? Ask Dominic to take me back? Not a bad idea, I suppose, since Rhys is sure to sack me. Maybe Keeley needs another backup singer—”

“No. Besides, you can’t sing.” Caro leaned forward. “There’s a model who’s the muse for a hot new fashion designer. She’s very popular with the British public right now.”

Natalie sniffed. “And who is this wondrous creature? Chloe Sevigny? Katy Perry? Do I know her?”