“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. “I got married last night to Ian Romanov.”
“TMZ was right?” Luke asked, his cup dropped 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. “You 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.
“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. Just 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. He 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.”
“Oh, I think God knows and I bet Zoe liked it. I know I would have liked it,” Evangeline teased, seemingly oblivious to her brothers’ groans and growls. “He probably made her year with his idea of a good time.”
“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 that 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, holding up a hand as if to ward him off. “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 her chance at planning the dream wedding Leah never had, and God knew somebody was going to pay.
***
Christian paced the balcony, wishing for a cigarette. The sun beat down on his head and a trickle of sweat made its way down his back, but it wasn’t because he was hot.
For once he was nervous, unsure of what to do next. The screen of his phone showed a missed call from his brother. Sebastian never called him. Never texted him. He only spoke to him when necessary.
Maybe he should try to mend thing with his brother. Start things fresh. He pressed call on his phone’s screen. They could go slowly so Sebastian would know he was serious. That he was—
“Did you use the remaining brain cell living in that empty head of yours to get the chit to sign a pre-nup?” Vladimir asked.
Just what he needed. Crafty old fool knew he wouldn’t answer his call or return it. “Why would I do that?” he purposely slurred the words.
“Are you ever sober, Christian?” Vladimir sounded pissed. Excellent.
“Define ‘ever’.”
“As in if you ever pull a stunt like this again, I’ll cut off your trust fund.”
Then Christian would be a multimillionaire instead of a billionaire. Oh, the horrors. “Well, if I were to agree to your demands, then certain avenues would have to be traveled which would lead to a certain destination that would require me, i.e you, to pay out more than just my trust fun. Savvy?”
“I don’t find this remotely funny. Why can’t you grow the hell up and act like a man?”
“Let me consult my magic eight ball and I’ll get back to you.” Christian gripped the balcony’s railing with one hand, his knuckles whitening.
“Is she pregnant? Is that why you had to marry the woman?”
He had to have sex with the woman first, but decided not to enlighten his father of that little fact. “You do realize this is the twenty-first century? And there are ways to prevent that.” Ways that he‘d employed every time.
“Answer the question.”
“No, but at the rate we’re going....” He let his words trial away before he continued, “What shall the brat call you: Vlad? Grandpa? Hey You?”
His father let loose a string of profanities, mostly in Russian, that impressed Christian’s jaded ears.
“I didn’t realize one could do that with sheep or fish guts.” He could hear his father’s teeth grind over the phone, the sound making Christian smile.
“Make the little money-grubber sign a damn agreement.”
“Her name is Zoe,” Christian snarled, all the posturing of the without-a-care-drunk fled.
“I’ll have the documents emailed to you in less than two hours. Lucky for you, the State of Nevada considers postnuptial agreements valid.” His father ended their call before he could.
God, he hated when the old man got the last word.
He heard a sniff and turned to find Zoe looking at him with tears in her eyes.
“How much did you hear?” he asked, wary of her answer. He didn’t want her to think he wasn’t serious about her or them.
“Was that your dad?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
To his surprise she wrapped her arms around him.
He kissed the top of her head. “Mad Vlad is what Sebastian and I used to call him behind his back.” He heard her laugh, but it sounded hallow. He leaned back to get a good look at her. “Are those happy or sad tears?”
“Both,” Zoe replied, not saying anything more. She couldn’t tell him that half her family thought she was stupid. That they were disappointed in her for marrying someone like him. It didn’t matter that Melanie and Evangeline supported her. Or that Heath said he’d knit Christian a hat to match hers. Her own mother was threatening to disown her, right after she called an emergency prayer circle. There was no way she would hurt her husband’s feelings by sharing their opinions of him. He received enough rejection from his own family.
She allowed him to guide her to a nearby chair and pull her into his lap.
“I put Baxter’s memory sticks in the safe. You can take them home with you tomorrow,” he said, his expression serious.
; “Thank you.”
They laced their fingers together, his conspicuously missing a ring.
“I have to buy you a wedding band.” In her love stupor last night, she’d failed to think of anything beyond ‘I’m getting married to my dream lover’. She hadn’t meant to get drunk while they were waiting, but she had been so nervous. So sure Ashton Kutcher would show up with a new Punk’d crew to tell her it was all just a joke. The champagne had helped steady her nerves.
“Somehow the thought of making love to a married woman seems very scandalous for me,” he teased, making her swat at his arm. He raked a hand through his blonde hair. It gleamed in the setting sun, pale golds, dark ambers and wheat strands. “Actually, it’s because it’s you and you’re my wife.” He gave her a side glance. “I think that’s how I’ll refer to you from now. Wife or Mrs. Romanov.”
Her heart sped up, until it was beating against her chest like hummingbird wings. She loved the titles. “While I’ll call you Mr. Zoe Ambrose or Zoe Ambrose’s husband.”
He gave her a bone melting smile. “Ah, yes, I suspect you’re more famous than I in literary circles. Tell me, love, will your brainy friends welcome me into their fold? Or will they sip serious drinks, give me serious frowns and try to school me on how movie adaptations are bastardizing novels.”
Christian was insanely funny, completely sweet and… entirely unlike his persona. Heck, he was entirely unlike the asshat he’d been at the airport last week. Had it really been only a week? It seemed as if a lifetime had passed, but now everything was in fast forward.
“What has caused that most serious frown?”
“I like you better now,” she blurted, inadequately prepared at explaining what she meant. “Now who’s seriously frowning? But what I mean is that you are totally a different person than almost a week ago and...”
“You’re wondering if it’s an act, if you’ve made the right decision, if you’re willing to go against what your family thinks of our rather hasty decision.” He gave her a knowing look. “Shall I go on?”
“You’re doing a better job at explaining me than I am.” The antique diamond ring sparkled and flashed in sun.
Twice Tempted (Holland Springs) Page 16