Sinner and Saint

Chapter Twenty Five

Paris Fashion Week, on the glossy, glitzy and glamorous surface, is a dream—the stunning creations, the high-profile celebrity names, the never-ending round of after-parties.

But for everyone working it—from the designers and models to editors and lowly interns running errands—it can be exhausting, ulcer-inducing chaos.

Had I been a typical model trying to walk several shows a day throughout the week, I'd probably be a starving, sleep-deprived zombie. The sometimes soulless look on a runway model isn't an attitude thing—they could literally be running on air and nothing else.

But I was just doing Vivienne's show, walking five pieces from her mini-collection that was part of her entire launch.

That allowed me to stay in the background and spend what time I could with Stellan. We barely had any time together before leaving for Paris since I was at least two days late coming home from Darby thanks to some alignment issues we had with the glass roof of the conservatory. It hadn't completely wasted Stellan's time since he'd been helping Max with some damage control after the harrowing events at the Hope Project fundraiser Saturday night.

The only full day I had in town, I had to squeeze in a meeting with the bank and spend the rest of time getting runway-ready from body care to nails and hair. Paris would undoubtedly have something fancy to offer me beauty-wise but my hair needed a lot of love after three months of practically living out in the wild and not every stylist knew what to do with natural hair like mine.

So after a day that was too short it felt more like torture rather than self-care, Stellan and I boarded his jet to Paris along with Oliver and baby Noelle. Vivienne had gone ahead of us a few days. She legit owned a grand chateau just an hour outside of the city but for convenience's sake on her frequent trips to Paris, she mostly stayed at the private family quarters in Ma Belle—a boutique hotel just off the Champs-Elysees that was part of Oliver's worldwide hospitality chain. Stellan and I were staying in one of the suites with its own separate elevator and private garden—a unit usually restricted to visiting family and friends and the occasional reclusive celebrity.

After attending my final fittings, I pretty much had the next few days to relax. Stellan and I did a little shopping and sight-seeing, staying as low-profile as possible even though this was Europe and we weren't as recognizable here. In the late afternoons and evenings, we babysat Noelle so that Oliver could at least escort his wife to some events.

The night before the show, a small intimate party was hosted in the hotel's opulent library to celebrate the soft launch of Vienne's first luxury handbag line. I usually opted out of parties but I wanted to support Vivienne who'd put so much of her heart into her work. Once Noelle was asleep, Stellan and I handed her back to her nanny and changed into some semi-formal evening wear.

Stellan was in a sharp, midnight blue suit, his hair slicked back, his jaw sporting a day-old beard, his glasses a simple, tortoise-shell pair. I wore a one-shouldered draped dress in oxblood with a tulip-style skirt that skimmed just above my knees—one of the three custom pieces Vivienne had designed for me to wear to some events this week. My hair was loosely gathered on the nape of my neck, a few locks softly framing my face. I kept my make-up natural and my only accessories were my small black clutch, my engagement ring and a stunning pair of old-fashioned diamond studs that Stellan had bought me when we'd swung by Vivienne's favorite jeweller to check out wedding rings.

We'd quietly slipped into the library after the event had started and went to stand with Oliver near the bar while a dozen models took their place up on the small stage. Each one wore a classy yet nondescript black dress while carrying a handbag ethically crafted by three sisters who'd inherited their family's small leatherworks shop in the community where Vivienne's chateau was located. She was going to source very similar skills in the US when she expands the line there and I already knew someone from Passage who had experience that might be worth considering.