Style Read online

  Praise for USA Today Bestselling Author Jan Moran

  Love California, Summer Beach, and Coral Cottage series

  * * *

  “Jan Moran is the queen of the epic romance.” —Rebecca Forster, USA Today Bestselling Author

  “A fun read that grabs you at the start.” – Tina Sloan, Author and Award-Winning Actress

  * * *

  “A novel that gives fans of romantic sagas a compelling voice to follow.” – Booklist

  * * *

  “Seabreeze Inn is a wonderful story… Will make you feel like the sea breeze is streaming through your hair.” – Laura Bradbury, Bestselling Author

  * * *

  “An entertaining beach read with multi-generational context and humor.” – InD’Tale Magazine

  “Wonderful characters and a sweet story.” – Kellie Coates Gilbert, Bestselling Author

  * * *

  Hepburn’s Necklace

  “An ode to the magic of Lake Como past and present, Hepburn’s Necklace sails from the set of Roman Holiday in 1952. As sparkling as a Bellini, this novel will…leave you enchanted.” — Kristin Harmel, New York Times Bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names

  * * *

  The Chocolatier

  * * *

  “A delicious novel, makes you long for chocolate.” – Ciao Tutti

  * * *

  “Smoothly written…full of intrigue, love, secrets, and romance.” – Lekker Lezen

  * * *

  The Winemakers

  “Readers will devour this page-turner as the mystery and passions spin out.” – Library Journal

  * * *

  “As she did in Scent of Triumph, Moran weaves knowledge of wine and winemaking into this intense family drama.” – Booklist

  * * *

  The Perfumer: Scent of Triumph

  * * *

  “Heartbreaking, evocative, and inspiring, this book is a powerful journey.” – Allison Pataki, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Accidental Empress

  * * *

  “A sweeping saga of one woman’s journey through World War II and her unwillingness to give up even when faced with the toughest challenges.” — Anita Abriel, Author of The Light After the War

  * * *

  “A stylish, compelling story of a family. What sets this apart is the backdrop of perfumery that suffuses the story with the delicious aromas – a remarkable feat!” — Liz Trenow, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Forgotten Seamstress

  * * *

  “Courageous heroine, star-crossed lovers, splendid sense of time and place capturing the unease and turmoil of the 1940s; HEA.” — Heroes and Heartbreakers

  Books by Jan Moran

  Love California Series

  Flawless

  Beauty Mark

  Runway

  Essence

  Style

  Sparkle

  Summer Beach Series

  Seabreeze Inn

  Seabreeze Summer

  Seabreeze Sunset

  Seabreeze Christmas

  Seabreeze Wedding

  Seabreeze Book Club

  Coral Cottage

  Coral Cafe

  Coral Holiday

  20th-Century Historical

  Hepburn’s Necklace

  The Chocolatier

  The Winemakers: A Novel of Wine and Secrets

  The Perfumer: Scent of Triumph

  Life is a Cabernet

  Style

  Copyright © 2017 Jan Moran

  All Rights Reserved.

  * * *

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Moran, Jan.

  / by Jan Moran

  * * *

  ISBN 978-1-942073-90-1 (paperbacks)

  978-1-64778-087-6

  ISBN 978-1-942073-88-8 (ebooks)

  978-1-64778-086-9

  ISBN 978-1-64778-074-6 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-64778-075-3 (large print)

  Published by Sunny Palms Press. Cover design by T.M. Franklin. Cover images copyright Deposit Photos.

  * * *

  Sunny Palms Press

  9663 Santa Monica Blvd. #1158

  Beverly Hills, CA 90210 USA

  www.JanMoran.com

  STYLE

  A Love California Novel, Book 5

  Jan Moran

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  About the Author

  The Love California Series

  * * *

  For all my friends and readers,

  stories of

  friendship and family,

  mishaps and mistakes,

  and the

  courage to

  seize second chances.

  1

  New York City, New York

  * * *

  “THIS WAY, PENELOPE, to your right.”

  Penelope stepped from the limousine and paused on the red carpet. With natural, fluid motions, she swirled her translucent violet cape and tossed her lavender-streaked tresses to strike a nonchalant pose that was second nature to her. Mentally calculating light sources and intensity—and how those combined with the angles and planes of her face—she glanced in the photographer’s direction long enough for the woman’s digital camera to whir through frames in split seconds.

  She pouted, then relaxed into a smile, to give the editor a choice. Make the photographer’s job easy; that was her theory, and she credited this approach to her success.

  Another voice rang out, raspy and gruff. “Hey Penny, who are you wearing?”

  “Fianna Fitzgerald.” Penelope turned toward a grungy photographer and repeated her process.

  His camera snapped intermittently as he tried to focus shots for whatever publication he was shooting for—though many paparazzi were independent, selling celebrity shots to the highest bidder. In her years of modeling, Penelope knew a lot of them, at least by sight, but she’d never seen this bungling, lanky man in faded black clothes. Still, New York’s Fashion Week drew a wide variety of crowds. She remained patient, feeling sorry for this obvious newcomer. The man fumbled with his camera; he’d never be Richard Avedon, but then, few fashion photographers were such legends.

  “Fitzgerald. Name is kind of familiar,” he said, fidgeting with his camera while other photographers stepped beside him and took his shot. “Is she someone?”

  Besides his naiveté, Penelope sensed something unsettling about him, but she continued. “She’s a new fashion designer from Ireland, living in America.” She’d met Fianna a few years ago through Fianna’s aunt, Davina, a supermodel who had encouraged her to enter modeling as a profession. Now, Fianna was one of her closest friends.

  “Oh yeah, the Fitzgerald Flop.” He smirked. “She sure played that one to the hilt.”

  What a jerk. Strolling beside the bank of me
dia lining the entry, Penelope spied photographers from Vogue and The New York Times. She angled a hand on her hip and stretched her leg through a slit in her flowing skirt, though she didn’t let her expression reveal that the gruff man’s comments annoyed her.

  Her friend’s debut runway show in Dublin had been sabotaged, and a model had been seriously injured. The media splashed the incident across the tabloid pages, and Fianna nearly lost everything she’d worked so hard for. If not for a stroke of brilliance in embracing the moniker and creating an edgy street line around it, her friend would have been bankrupt. Penelope and other friends had pitched in to help Fianna salvage her career and see her dreams come to fruition.

  “Hey, Penny—”

  “Sorry, have to run.” She was giving a speech and didn’t want to be late, but there was also something about that man that was disturbing. Penelope swirled around, her iridescent train rippling in her wake. Dangling amethyst earrings brushed her long neck as she ascended the steps.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw the grungy photographer turn to leave, though a bevy of other models and celebrities strode behind her. That struck her as odd; there were still many good shots to be had. She had developed a talent for looking beneath the glossy veneer.

  Once inside, Penelope paused to take in the glittering scene. Dance music thumped, ruby and indigo lights sparkled, and a mélange of perfume wafted above it all.

  “Penelope, over here.” A tall woman with wild red hair waved to her. She wondered if the photographers had stopped Fianna on her way in.

  As Penelope cut through the celebrity-studded fashion crowd, Fashion News Daily editor Aimee Winterhaus said hello, Tom Ford kissed her cheek, and André Leon Talley, a legendary contributing editor to Vogue, caught her eye and gestured his approval of her ensemble.

  Just past André, a highly competitive new model slid a narrowed look her way, and next to her was Monica Graber, a model she’d known for years who’d betrayed her. Her ex-best friend. Monica usually adopted a haughty air around her, but today Monica’s eyes darted away and her leg shook, nervous tics Penelope recognized.

  Penelope swiveled with studied nonchalance, avoiding the distasteful pair. As a fresh young model from Copenhagen, she’d matured in this mercurial world of friends and frenemies, where fashion was cutthroat business and burned through weak models like dry twigs.

  “You were magnificent today,” Fianna said, flinging her arms open in greeting.

  Earlier in the day, Penelope had walked for a top designer at Skylight at Moynihan Station on 33rd Street in a historic post office venue. The beautiful Beaux-Arts exterior opened to an enormous, light-filled postal sorting room that was a perfect venue for fashion shows.

  As Penelope hugged Fianna, she could feel her friend quivering with enthusiasm. The last thing she wanted was to dampen her friend’s mood with a remark about the dreadful photographer out front. Judging from Fianna’s mood, she probably hadn’t seen him. “So, what do you think of this madness?”

  Fianna was so excited, her freckled face seemed lit from within. “Davina used to let me tag along when I was a kid, but Fashion Week is much crazier now. What an incredible experience this is. So many stars from Hollywood are here, too.”

  Penelope laughed. “Come on, you must be used to that in L.A. by now. Don’t celebs shop at your boutique?”

  “New York has a different vibe. It’s the Big Apple. The concrete jungle.” Fianna started humming the Alicia Keys song about New York.

  “I’m glad you got to come.” Penelope added with a wink, “There’s a good chance your design I’m wearing might be published in Vogue magazine. Wouldn’t be surprised if you get business from it.”

  When Penelope told her that André Leon Talley had shown his approval, Fianna’s mismatched eyes widened with delight. Fashion Week was the longstanding event where everyone in fashion met for business.

  “Hope you’re right. I’d love to pay off my student loans for FIDM.”

  Penelope glanced over her shoulder. “Some of the instructors from the New York branch of the Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising are usually here. I’ll let you know if I see them.” Penelope admired the way Fianna had handled the early trials in her fledging career with unflagging determination and creativity.

  “Where’s Davina?” Penelope asked, looking around. “I haven’t much time before I have to give my speech.”

  “Behind us,” Fianna said, turning to a crowd gathered behind them.

  An elegant woman in a liquid silver sheath emerged from the group. She wore a sapphire-and-hammered-silver collar encircling her long neck. Her azure eyes shimmered, and her thick platinum mane flowed around her shoulders.

  “Right here, darling,” Davina said, her voice laced with an Irish lilt. She touched her gleaming collar. “I’m talking with Elena and her friends about this stunning piece she designed for me.”

  Originally from Australia, Elena Eaton designed fine jewelry and had a shop next to Fianna’s studio on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles. An athletic brunette clad in a sleek, ebony gown that showcased her exquisite jewelry, Elena waved at her and called out, “How’re you doing?”

  Penelope smiled and waved back. She knew several of the young stars were wearing Elena’s pieces today, and she couldn’t be happier for her friend. She’d recommended her jewelry to several designers who’d chosen bold pieces to accent their designs. Designers often had their own lines, or didn’t accessorize at all, so this was quite a coup for a young jewelry designer.

  Davina stepped back to admire Penelope’s ensemble. “Hej smukke,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

  “Well, hello beautiful yourself,” Penelope said, kissing Davina on each cheek. “Are you learning Danish?”

  Davina laughed. “I learned some phrases from a Danish prince at a dinner party in London a few weeks ago. You really are stunning tonight. Ready to give your talk?”

  “I am.”

  “Garbo speaks,” Davina said, sweeping her hand to mimic a headline. “I was at a silent film festival last night. You’re too young to remember those days.”

  “So are you. Are you doing any work in New York?”

  “Print gigs only. Not as crazy as catwalk life.” Davina gestured across the crowded room. “Everything about this business is so different now.”

  “Has it really changed that much?” Penelope loved hearing about when Davina was at the pinnacle of her success. Even at the age of fifty, Davina was still a stunning woman, proving that beauty needn’t diminish with age. Her famous cheekbones were still well-defined, but more than that, it was Davina’s empathy, laughter, and professionalism that endeared her to so many in the industry. Penelope counted herself lucky to have had Davina as a mentor.

  “Models are thinner than ever before, and there are many more temptations.” Davina indicated a rail-thin model with sharp cheekbones and sunken cheeks who languished near a bar. “Or maybe I see it more clearly now from a distance.”

  “That’s exactly my point tonight.” A petite woman with horn-rimmed glasses caught Penelope’s eye. “Excuse me, I think it’s showtime.”

  The woman clasped a clipboard to her chest. “Miss Plessen, we’d like to begin. Come with me now.”

  Davina winked at her. “Held og lykke.”

  “It’s not luck I need,” Penelope replied. “It’s everyone’s support.”

  Penelope accompanied the woman to the stage, as Fianna, Davina, and Elena followed.

  The area in front of the raised stage area was crowded. “Pardon me,” Penelope said, brushing past a well-built man in a tuxedo. He wore mirrored glasses and had longish chestnut hair. Very L.A. Something about him seemed familiar, though she pushed the thought aside. She had to gather her thoughts for her presentation.

  The lights went up, and the designer she’d walked for earlier today, Ruben Lars Eriksen, a fellow Dane who also lived in Los Angeles, stepped under the floodlights to introduce her.

  “Penelope Plessen is
a chameleon,” Ruben began. “She’s the model so many of us turn to when we’re creating a new look because of her unique ability to morph into what we’ve imagined in our mind. She translates our vision, bringing it to life on the stage and page. Last year, she also brought her vision and style to cosmetics with the launch of Penelope of Denmark for High Gloss Cosmetics.”

  Penelope nodded toward Olga Kaminsky, the CEO of High Gloss, with whom she had worked in Los Angeles on the makeup line. Due to fierce competition and an industry preference for youth, runway models often had short careers, so Penelope was eager to create a business that could live on beyond her modeling career.

  Ruben held out a hand to Penelope. “Besides beauty and fashion, Penelope has an important initiative for our industry that she’d like to share with you tonight.”