Chapter 1

      “What do you mean, he said no?” Naomi “Nomi” Adams stared at her assistant, Ella Thompson.

      Ella shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve tried everything. His agent, Ron. His Facebook. Hell, I even hired someone and they can’t find him. The guy is a ghost. The only thing I’ve been able to dig up is that he lives in some place called Faith, Virginia.”

      Nomi’s heart stuttered. Oh hell.

      Belinda Foster, her managing editor, sat forward. “Didn’t you grow up in Faith, Virginia, Nomi?”

      Nomi swallowed hard and locked her jaw. Just thinking about her hometown was enough to make her ill. “Yeah, but I haven’t been back in a long time.”

      Belinda sat back. “What do you suggest we do? This twentieth-anniversary special edition is supposed to be epic. You turned us on to this guy and he’s perfect for the theme of beauty around the world. We have to find this guy.”

      The whole table looked at her for guidance. Four years ago Nolan Polk had burst onto the photography scene and become a media darling with an anti-bullying campaign he’d done with Rolling Stone magazine. They’d done a photo call, looking for up-and-coming photographers. After that he’d been extremely prolific. Everyone had wanted him. And then two years ago, he’d mysteriously stopped producing, only donating the occasional photograph for charity. It made him a hot commodity.

      Unfortunately, he was also notoriously reclusive. Sassy magazine had been angling to get him to do a spread since he popped onto the scene. A photo from him would be the perfect addition to their twentieth-anniversary lineup. Though, that was only if they could get him. And that meant finding him first.

      Nomi twirled her pen and tried to steer the direction of the conversation. “We don’t have much time. If his rep won’t get back to us, then we either need to find another photographer or get someone down there. I might know someone who can look into it for us.”

      Ella shifted in her chair. “I mean, I’ve tried everything. I even had our people in New York go down to his agent’s apartment. No luck. Maybe his representation is out of town.”

      Or maybe Nolan Polk didn’t want to be found. But it wasn’t in Nomi’s nature to back down from a challenge. Okay, not exactly true. She’d once run away from home and hadn’t looked back on what she’d left behind, ever. But she was a whole new person now. The kind of person who got things done. “I’ll get someone to Faith.”

      Belinda shook her head. “I think for something this important, you need to go yourself. I mean, you are from there, after all.”

      Wait, what? No way, no how. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

      Belinda pursed her lips as she always did when she was about to school someone. “You’re from there. You know the locals. How hard will it be to ferret out one guy? You can do that in your sleep.”

      Nomi’s skin went cold. She could do this. No. No you can’t. You can’t go home to Faith. “Well, I mean, it’s the holiday and everything so I’m thinking there is a good chance even if I can track down where he lives, he won’t be there.” Not to mention that Faith was one of those towns that exploded Christmas holidays. And she, well, she hated everything about Christmas.

      “Nomi, this is what we need right now. Can you commit to getting the job done?” Belinda asked.

      Amber Divine leaned forward, perfectly curled red hair bouncing. “I can go if Nomi doesn’t want to. I’m more than happy to be a team player.”

      Nomi gnashed her teeth together. She and Amber had been in the running for a senior editor position for months. If she let Amber go back to Faith and her competition got the Nolan Polk picture, there would go Nomi’s promotion.

      Her boss tapped her pen against her lips. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Having more boots hit the ground will help.”

      Ella leaned forward. “We still have a week until Christmas. I can have you guys on the first plane out in the morning and scheduled to come back before the holiday. I know how you feel about Christmas—you’ll be in and out.”

      “I really think it would be better to hire someone. Like a professional. Amber doesn’t know the area and we’d be looking for a needle in a haystack,” Nomi squeaked. She hated the idea of Amber doing what she couldn’t.

      Belinda frowned. “Why do I get the impression you don’t want to do this?”

      Because I don’t. “Of course I do. I’m just worried we won’t find him there during the holiday.”

      “Then let’s hope you find a lead quick, because you’re both heading to Faith.”

      Nomi slumped in her chair. If she was going home, then she’d need