Page 34 of More For Me

“Why would you need another agent?” Carla has been handling things for us and the fashion line since we first got started. She’s the one who introduced us to the investors for the store and worked out the contracts for the reality show.

“Because Carla doesn’t have much experience with modeling.”

I blink, totally caught off guard. “Wait. Modeling?”

He nods, still looking manic. “Modeling and film work.”

“Hold on.” Alex raises her hands. “What do you have to do with modeling and film work?”

“Apparently people have been reaching out to Carla about me,” he says, the words all coming out in a big rush. “She’s had some offers for me to do different stuff.”

“Modeling?”

He nods, looking terrified. “And acting. Ethan thinks it would be good for me to get some modeling experience before she starts sending me on auditions.”

My head is spinning. “Ethan?”

“The new agent. That’s who I was meeting with last night.”

Huh. So apparently at least one of my cousins weren’t full of shit when they canceled on us.

“Ethan says people like my look, whatever the hell that means. He could send me on auditions now, but he said modeling would get me some experience in front of the camera and taking directions. And then I could take some acting classes in the meantime while he looks for the right script.”

Alex holds up her hands, sitting forward in her chair. “Hang on. You’re thinking about acting? Fox, where is this coming from?”

He stands and begins pacing, running his hand through his hair over and over. It’s starting to make my scalp ache just looking at him. “I don’t know! I don’t even know if I want to do it. I’ve never considered being an actor. But when Carla told me about it…I got really excited.” He looks at us with wide eyes. “Is that crazy? It’s probably crazy, right? I have no idea what I’m even doing.”

I meet Alex’s gaze, all of my anger about last night firmly on the back burner now. Fox is clearly freaking out, and we’re the ones he came to talk to about it. Not his parents, not his siblings. Us. That means something.

“I don’t think it’s crazy at all,” I tell him. “Unexpected, sure. But crazy?” I shrug. “Crazier things have happened.”

“I can see why they think you have the right look,” Alex adds, smirking. “You’ve always been a pretty boy.”

He shoots her a glare, but we all know she’s right. Like his famous father and his older brother, Fox is tall, lean, and has white blond hair and icy blue eyes. But where River’s stature is a bit broader, his features harder, there’s something a little more defined in Fox. Sharper. I could absolutely see him modeling—hell, we used to photograph him in the menswear for our website all the time before we could afford to hire real models.

At the thought of our line, my heart sinks. The last thing I would ever want to do is hold Fox back from something he really wants to do. But the idea of running FEA Threads without him makes me want to cry. It’s been the three of us from the very beginning, way back before we even told anyone in the family what we were up to. All those hours we put into our secret plan when we were getting things started. It was exciting and scary and I was so glad to be doing it with the two of them.

And what about the reality show? Alex has already taken a huge step back. If Fox is gone too, is anyone really going to want to watch just me?

“Don’t even think about it,” he says suddenly, pointing a finger at me. “I’m not quitting.”

“This is a really big opportunity for you,” Alex says, her voice every bit as emotional as I feel. “If you think it’s something you want to do—”

“Then I’d find a way to make it work around the line and the show. I’mnotquitting. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Fox—”

“The new agent even said he wouldn’t want to see me leave the show. That’s what got casting directors interested in me in the first place.” He gives us an arrogant grin. “Apparently I have great chemistry on screen.”

“Is chemistry a code word for cockiness?” Alex asks. “Because you definitely have that.”

He gestures at himself. “How could I not be cocky when I’m working with all this?”

Alex looks at me. “He’d fit right in as a model. I can’t believe we didn’t see it before.”

He collapses into the lounge chair across from me, resting elbows on his knees as he cradles his forehead, his arrogance disappearing. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I think you should talk to your parents.”