Halfway Perfect Read Free Page A

eye, I see Finley nod toward Elana. “That’s when the agency decided the foreign exchange student would be ‘assimilated’ enough to ditch her personal assistant, which leaves an open bed in her room for me.”
    For the first time today, I notice the older woman watching Elana from the sidelines. With her round body and practical, comfortable clothing choices, she doesn’t look like someone in the fashion industry—a babysitter working under the assistant label most likely. And seriously? After less than two months in New York City, a fourteen-year-old girl from a foreign country is expected to take care of herself? Is she going to turn eighteen between now and December? I guess according to Wes that’s possible.
    I turn back to Finley. “You don’t seem too excited about that.”
    â€œI’m not really thrilled,” she admits. “I like being at home with my family.”
    I laugh out loud. “Okay, I totally can’t relate to that.” My parents are cool and all. And my two brothers have been known to stand up for me a time or two, but they aren’t exactly accepting of their younger brother—to quote them—“prancing around in underwear with a bunch of other dudes.” So my time with my family includes my dad’s brooding silence, my mom pushing food, and Jared and Bradley’s relentless teasing. Hanging out with Katie is all right, not that I’ve seen my sister lately. I haven’t been home in months.
    â€œMy dad’s making me move out.” Finley rolls her eyes. “He says he wants me to have fun. I don’t think he has any clue what he’s talking about, but whatever. It makes him happy.”
    I grin at her. “You mean this isn’t fun?”
    She glances down at her dress. “The clothes are fun. But the five hundred pins stuck in this outfit are digging into my back and ruining this game of dress-up.”
    I tug at the collar of the very uncomfortable and similarly prickly shirt that I’m wearing. “Good point.”
    Janessa calls Elana and me back for more shots in our new outfits. That’s when I notice the girl Wes had been talking to in the lobby. She really does look familiar. She’s standing next to Janessa, watching her work and carting around a professional-grade camera of her own. I catch her staring at me. It’s the kind of stare that makes me want to spend a few minutes flirting with her. When we break for a minute so Hugo can fix my makeup, I decide to take advantage of his gossip obsession.
    â€œHey, do you know who that girl is? The one beside Janessa?” I whisper so she doesn’t hear me.
    Hugo jabs me in the side with an elbow. “I thought you were taken.”
    I’m not even dignifying that with a response. “Seriously, do you know her? She looks familiar.”
    He shrugs, coming at me with a makeup brush and powder. “She’s some college student writing a paper on Janessa or something. Eve, I think. Frankie introduced us before you got here.”
    â€œOh. She probably just looks like someone else.”
    Okay, so maybe I’m a little intimidated by the idea of flirting with a college girl. Not that I couldn’t have gone that route myself. I still can. I’m only eighteen. Some people don’t go to college until they’re, like, forty.
    â€œThese shots are going to be so fabulous,” Hugo says. “I hope it works out with the two of you because you look gorgeous on camera together. Her dark skin and your light features— it’s stunning.”
    I work hard not to roll my eyes. Whatever . Let Hugo tell everyone that I’m hooking up with the new “next big thing.” Although, wouldn’t that technically be illegal if she’s only fourteen? No wonder Wes and the agency didn’t want to share her age yet. If she ends up booking a big campaign with some teenybopper guy who’s not