“No one can actually see anything, and the pictures will photoshopped to show the ‘real us’.”
She turned so that her next breath highlighted his ear. “Please, I’ve never been nude in front of anyone. I mean, my doctor, my momma, Melanie and Eva have seen me, but that doesn’t count.”
He froze. “What about the guy who broke your heart.”
“Not exactly.”
How did she not exactly get nude to have sex—wait, there were tons of ways to do that. “What about your ex?”
Silky hair tickled his nose. “No.”
Her ex had never seen her sans clothing? “Why not?”
“Gabriel wanted to wait until after we were married, and I agreed with him.”
He waited for her to elaborate, then decided it wasn’t really any of his business. She hadn’t asked him to name all the women he’d slept with, and he was being a dick for doing it to her. But asking for a specific period of time wasn’t the same. At least that’s what he told himself before asking, “How long has it been?”
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
Laughing was nowhere near any of the reactions he was having at the moment. “You have my word.”
“Over four years,” came her answer, flooring him. Staring at the top of her head, he tried processing what she said. Tried to wrap his mind around someone consciously making the decision to abstain for so long.
“That’s a really long time.”
“I know,” she said. “Will you cover me up now?”
Feeling like an ass for making her play twenty questions, he pulled the sheet up to her shoulders. “Better?”
“Thank you,” she murmured before kissing him.
“That’s the shot we’ve been looking for.” Baxter crowed, the camera once again digitally freezing every move. “This will have them talking for weeks. Months. Every major magazine and Internet site will have this splashed all over their front pages.”
They broke apart and she met his eyes once more, in their depths a sweet vulnerability. Zoe was his wife.
His to cherish and protect, not sell out.
“Bring Mrs. Romanov’s robe and then get the hell out.”
Baxter stared at him, sputtering, “But, but that last shot.”
Christian merely raised a brow. “I’ll triple what you’ve been promised, but the price includes everything.”
“Including this?” Baxter waved the memory stick.
“Especially that.”
Chapter Twenty
Zoe took a deep breath, then smiled at her laptop’s camera. “Last night I got married to Ian Romanov.”
“TMZ was right?” Luke asked, his cup dropping to the floor.
Heath plopped down in the nearest chair, his long legs sprawled out in front of him. “What’s his favorite color? I’ll knit matching hats for the two of you.”
“I knew it.” Melanie smiled in satisfaction.
The screen froze on her best friend’s face and Zoe smacked it in frustration. “Stupid connection.”
“My house is not a trashcan. Pick it up,” she heard Carter, the eldest of the Ambrose siblings, say as their video call resumed.
Luke muttered ‘sorry’ and did as he was told, but then Logan, the pusher of buttons, got involved. “Zoe. Got. Married,” Logan repeated with a smirk, then looked at the group. “Think I should say it in Spanish? It is his first language.”
Melanie snorted and Zoe laughed.
“I heard what she said, chilito.”
Logan grabbed his crotch. “I got your little bitch, right here.”
“So, you’re admitting we’re not identical everywhere.”
Carter shot to his feet. “Do you mind? There are ladies present. Not to mention your niece is taking a nap just inside the house.”
“Who invited Eva? She’ll tell the whole county.” Heath picked up the bag of chips and tilted it up, frowning when nothing came out.
Evangeline, the youngest of the Ambrose siblings, tossed her hair. “Please, my nickname isn’t Mouth of the South. That honor would belong to you, brother o’ mine.”
The two started arguing and pretty soon the entire room was off subject.
“Do something, Carter,” Zoe ordered her brother.
Carter whistled and every head turned to look at him. “Could everyone shut up long enough to concentrate on the problem at hand?”
“How is it a problem Zoe’s married?” Melanie asked.
Zoe wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, how is that a problem?”
“You’re assuming they’ll stay that way,” Luke pointed out.
“Gee, thanks, Luke,” Zoe snapped.
“I think it’s romantic,” Evangeline sighed and Zoe beamed at her. She could always count on her baby sister’s support.
Heath rolled his eyes. “That’s because you’re female. That’s all women think about—marriage and babies.”
“Is that what Isabella Edwards has been thinking about?” her baby sister shot back.
Zoe tried to get a better look at her youngest brother. He was still after Isabella? She hoped no one told Gabriel. He’d hunt Heath down, drive out to the ocean and drown him for trying tomes with his sister.
“How do you know about me and her?” Heath’s voice rose. Yep, he was a dead man.
Evangeline wiggled her brows. “Oh, I know things about people you wouldn’t believe. Things that would blow your mind.”
“What possessed you to do something so stupid? So out of character?” Luke stopped in the middle of the room and crossed his arms over his chest. He stared at her computer screen image, then glared at Melanie. “Or should I say who encouraged you to lose your damn mind out there?”
“Well, I just told her to shake things up a little and be wild out in Vegas. I didn’t think she’d get married. I thought she’d just find a man to get it… on… with.” Melanie’s words slowed as every male but Carter looked at her like she was insane.
Zoe groaned and smacked a hand to her forehead. “Stop talking, Melanie!”
Evangeline started laughing.
“Dammit, Eva, it’s not funny. The thought of that womanizing asshole touching her makes me want to perform surgery on him without anesthesia. Romanov doesn’t respect women. He just uses them.” Luke’s hands clenched into fists. He looked like he was itching for a fight. “I know all about his reputation. He’s legend.”
Evangeline smiled brightly. “I think Zoe likes the thought of him touching her. In fact I know she would.”
Heath groaned and leaned forward in his chair. “I hate repeating myself, but how do you know?”
A cold chill went down Zoe’s spine and her palms became damp. What exactly did Eva know?
“You people are so thick.”At their blank looks, she sighed and pulled out her e-reader. “Maybe this will help your feeble male minds.”
“Evangeline Mae, put that up,” Zoe ordered, wishing she could teleport through the wireless connection and smash it to pieces. “I should’ve never given you the stupid thing.”
Understanding dawned on each face as it was passed around, until Luke got it. His pissed-as-hell-look grew darker. “Don’t tell me this is the same guy she met out in California at that party of Aunt M’s.”
“No problem.” Evangeline snatched the e-reader back from Luke and handed it to her sister-in-law.
Zoe grabbed her laptop and yelled at it. “Hello, I’m still here! Ask me, not her.”
Melanie ran her finger across the small screen, turning pages. “There could be lots of tall Russian guys with blond hair, blue eyes and…oh, yeah…in chapter fourteen, we find out Dimitri has a tattoo of a sunflower. Doesn’t Ian have a tattoo of a rose—seriously?” Her brown eyes flew to Zoe’s, hurt filling them. “I can’t believe you kept it from me.”
“I didn’t keep it from anyone,” she mumbled, ducking her head to avoid Melanie’s stare. It was the only thing Zoe’d ever kept from her best friend.
“But he’s the bad guy,” Heath pointed out, shooting Zoe a funny look when she glanced back at the monitor. “Bad guys are, well, bad.”
“Wow, Heath. Anymore words of wisdom you care to share with the group?” Logan asked.
“Dimitri isn’t completely bad,” Zoe said, her cheeks heating. “He’s misunderstood. And I’ll have you know that I use celebrity pictures all the time as inspirations. Joshua’s doppelganger is Henry Cavill.”
“The guy from The Tudors?” Evangeline sent Zoe a disbelieving look. “Yeah, right. Anyway, the pictures of them from that night helps, too.”
“You went through my things?” All thoughts of gratitude for her sister’s support fled. To think that she’d help Eva sneak out to see Reece by distracting their mother with a spur of the moment shopping spree. Zoe hated shopping with their mother. Or rather what their mother tried to get her to buy.
“Welcome to my world,” Heath grumbled, his mouth full of chips. It wasn’t surprising that he was on his next bag. He was always hungry, always eating. Then again, playing for a minor baseball league while trying to get the attention of scouts from the majors was grueling on the body. Heath was obsessed with playing and working out. He was also obsessed with knitting. Something that amused the rest of the Ambroses to no end.
“What pictures?” Carter asked.
“The ones hidden in a shoe box at the top of her closet.” Evangeline toyed with a button on her cardigan.
Everyone’s head swiveled to Zoe.
“You mean the one labeled private?” Zoe narrowed her eyes at her little sister.
Evangeline flushed. “I might have accidentally knocked the box down and they might have accidentally fallen out. And I might have accidentally looked at them…and tried on the ring with them.”
Zoe glanced behind her, checking the door. All she needed was for Christian to overhear this family conversation, before she had a chance to talk with him.
Melanie’s eyes widened. “There’s a ring?”
“Does anyone get to have any privacy around here?” Heath asked.
“You lost all rights to privacy when your marriage ceremony went viral on YouTube,” Carter pointed out.
Zoe slid her gaze to the webpage she’d minimized. The video had gotten over three million hits. “We’re nowhere near ‘cute kitten rescued by hot fireman’ levels.”
Carter crossed his arms. “What a relief.” Sarcasm dripped from his words.
“Has anyone given any thought to the location situation?” Logan asked, snatching an unopened bag of chips from Heath after he’d returned from the pantry.
Everyone, including Zoe, stared at him in confusion.
“Well, Romanov lives—and I’m taking a big leap here—in LA, while Zoe lives, well, not in California. As in they have homes on the opposite sides of the country. Hell, isn’t he British? Where will they live?”
“Who says he’s going to live that long to find out?” Luke countered.
Zoe narrowed her eyes at her bloodthirsty brother. “Really, Luke? Your solution is violence? Way to be all doctory.”
Luke crossed his arms, unfazed by her insult. “You got married because blondie over there told you to be wild with him.”
“I didn’t say Ian specifically. I just said a hot guy or five to have a good time with,” Melanie snapped.
Good Lord. Zoe grabbed a pillow and hugged it. “That’s not helping.”
“You sure you didn’t steer her in the famous direction just so you could help your business out, Melanie?” Luke sneered. “I’m sure you wouldn’t dream of asking to take exclusive photos of the newlyweds.”
“That’s out of line.” Melanie had never tried to use anyone for anything. Luke was being unreasonable, even more than usual. How he’d ever accomplished having a great bedside manner as an intern was beyond Zoe’s comprehension.
“Now, wait a damn minute, Luke,” Carter said, jumping to his wife’s defense.
“I’m not waiting a damn anything. Prepare yourself when Zoe comes home alone and heartbroken.”
Zoe’s blood boiled. Just because she did something that they didn’t expect or, God forbid, approve first didn’t mean she couldn’t have her happily ever after. “Way to trust my judgment, Luke.”
“Your judgment?” Angry dark eyes met hers through the computer screen. “You assured me the rumors being blogged about you and Romanov were nothing. Just a mutual agreement to be seen together. And now we know you lied your ass off.” Luke tossed a scowl at Melanie. “She learn that from you, too?”
“You’re really over-reaching, Luke. If you don’t stop, I’m going to reach over and beat your ass,” Carter growled.
Luke shook his head and held up a hand. “All I’m being is a realist. Something the rest of you should be doing, too.”
He marched off screen. Zoe heard a door slam.
Carter cleared his throat. “Our main goal is to make sure that momma does not find out about this until you call her. Now.”
“Fine,” Zoe said.
She told her siblings good-bye, her stomach sinking with each response. Luke didn’t bother coming back inside. She closed her laptop and put her head in her hands. What had she been thinking?
Leah Ambrose was going to have a full blown fit with a capital HISSY. Zoe had taken away another chance at planning the dream wedding Leah never had, and God knew somebody was going to pay.