* * *
“How was work?” Zane asks as he seasons chicken for the grill. We make dinner together, but I don’t think it means anything. Imean, we live together, so it just makes sense. It also looks really good.
“Work was work,” I say casually. Meanwhile, Deborah’s words are festering like mosquito bites all over my skin, and I’m about to lose it.
“So business as usual and you're hiding behind trees and popping out of recycling bins to get the perfect shot,” he jokes. I don’t smile. Not because it annoys me, but because I know I need to talk to him about the photos Deborah wants.
“I’m kidding,” he says.
“I know,” I say as I force a smile. Then I top off my wine glass. He watches me and looks up at me with a curious smile.
“Is everything okay?” he asks.
“Yes. I mean…I don’t know. My boss is just very demanding.”
“Uh oh,” he says, as he picks up the tray of chicken and heads out to the patio grill. I grab my wine and follow him. After the meat is cooking, he turns to me, picking up a seltzer and leaning back against the outdoor counter. “What does the Queen of Blackmail want?”
“Photos,” I say, and he shakes his head.
“The owner of a tabloid magazine wants photos? The audacity,” he jokes.
“Of you!” I blurt out. “She wants photos of you.”
“Who doesn’t these days?” he asks, picking a strawberry out of the fruit salad and popping it in his mouth. “I’ve been caught red-handed more than once with a pretty girl,” he says with a smile and a wink.
But even that isn’t enough to tame the dread souring my stomach.
“She wants personal photos of you,” I say, and his eyes narrow.
“How personal?”
“If Deborah had it her way, she’d have photos of you sleeping and showering and trimming your nose hairs,” I mutter, and he cringes. “Well, maybe not the last one, but everything else.”
“I see,” he nods. “And what did you tell her?”
“I told her I don’t want to do it,” I say.
“But let me guess…your job is on the line.”
“Ding! Ding! Ding!” I mumble with a sigh.
“Alright,” he says, and I blink up at him.
“What?”
“If she wants photos, let’s take some photos. They won’t be the ones she wants, of course, but there’s nothing wrong with a little sneak peek,” he says and I just stare at him. “What?” he asks when he notices.
“Nothing wrong with a little sneak peek?” I parrot. “I thought you hated people being up in your business.”
Zane closes the grill and turns to me, pulling me closer to him, and my heart skips a little. “They won’t be up in my business for this photo shoot,” he says. “Only you.”
I smile and back away a little. “I don’t know…” I say slyly. “That sounds like it might be breaking the rules some.”
“The rules. That’s right,” he nods. Meanwhile, his eyes are dancing with mischief, and my heart is in step. “See, I thought we tossed the rulebook.”
“We closed it,” I agree.
“Good,” he says, stepping closer to me. Then he leans in to kiss me, but at the last second I turn and look away, and his lips brush my cheek instead.
