Plain Return (The Plain Fame Series Book 4) by Sarah Price Page A

his voice. “Let’s work this a bit more.”
    If the photographer expected her to dance to the music, Amanda’s stiff posture and expressionless face told him otherwise. After three weeks of dance lessons, her body ached, and she didn’t really understand why she was there or what they wanted from her.
     
    Just the previous evening, Alejandro had informed her about the photo shoot.
    His announcement had taken her by surprise. “Whatever is it for?” she had asked, setting down her book. She had been lying in bed, reading a devotional book, when he arrived home around nine o’clock. He hadn’t looked tired, and she’d wondered if he was going out again. But when he changed into a pair of lightweight sweatpants and a sleeveless white undershirt, she realized that he was home for the night.
    He’d crawled over the top of the bedding before throwing himself down beside her. Leaning his head on her shoulder, he peered at the book. “What is that?”
    “A devotional,” she responded. “You didn’t answer my question.”
    He reached out and took the book from her. That was the one thing she never saw him do: read for recreation. Business documents, e-mails, even articles on his tablet, but never books. And certainly not the Bible. Despite his profession of the Catholic faith in which he’d been raised, he showed little signs of living a life of spiritual devotion.
    “You like this?” He handed the book back to her before raising his head and leaning his cheek on his palm, his elbow pressed against the mattress. With his other hand, he traced an imaginary line down her shoulder to her wrist. “I would think you’d prefer a nice romance novel.”
    Amanda had shrugged. She had never been much of a reader. Alejandro had introduced her to that practice, which made his own lack of reading now even more curious. “Mayhaps the classics,” she admitted. “But it’s gut to focus on inspirational books and Scripture, too.”
    He nodded as if thinking about something she’d said. After a few long moments, he had taken a deep breath. “I’m going downstairs to my office for a while,” he said. “Watch some television and relax.” Sliding toward the side of the bed, he’d sat up and stretched as he stood.
    “Maybe there is a fútbol game on.”
    “You still didn’t answer my question,” she’d said.
    “ Qué question?”
    “About the photo shoot.”
    He’d smiled in that mischievous way that was unique to Alejandro. And she’d known that, whatever the photo shoot was for, it was about business. “Because you are so beautiful, Princesa,” he had said as a simple explanation. “I want to share Mrs. Viper with the world . . . but only in photos.”
    She had watched him leave, knowing that he had something planned for the photographs that would come out of this session. Perhaps she would find out the reason one day, but she had quickly realized that that would not happen anytime soon. Only when he wanted her to learn about the photo shoot’s purpose would he tell her, and not a minute sooner.
     
    “Focus, Amanda!” The photographer interrupted her thoughts. “Lift your hair off your shoulder.” He crouched before her, his black camera aimed in her direction. He was constantly telling her things to do, ways to move, where to focus. She hated it. But she complied, placing her hand under her loose hair and sliding it upward so that the one side of her hair lifted away from her face. “Good girl.”
    For hours, she had let them do everything they wanted to do: fix her hair, apply her makeup, and dress her in different outfits. Some of the clothing was familiar to her; she had already tried it on. Jeremy had designed the outfits for her to wear on tour. Other clothing, she did not recognize. But everything was well coordinated: each outfit had matching shoes and accessories.
    Now, however, her patience was at an end, especially since she’d learned that they wanted her to pose for another two hours.