“Ohmygod! Stop it.” I knew he was sincere in his feelings, but I didn’t want to get diverted from the conversation with a cheesy line.
“Stop what?” Ty was getting exasperated.
“When you say that you’d pay any price to be with me, it sounds so selfless. If you read between the lines, what you’re really insinuating is that I should also pay any price to be with you. Even if that means the world finally identifies and annihilates me. Even if it means harming my own career,” I quarreled. “Do I have that right?”
“Zoey, when did you get so argumentative? Did they teach you that in law school? We are on the same side. I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m famous, my picture gets taken so much I don’t even notice anymore. Scandalous things have been written about me for years now, it rolls off my back.”
“So, I guess it should roll off of mine too.” My sarcasm was real.
“Jesus, there’s only been a few pictures, you’re making such a big deal out of this.” Ty huffed and pulled out his phone. “If it makes you happy, I’ll interrupt our romantic weekend to text Sienna. We can spend our last night before you have to go home getting a media plan together.”
I knew I was ruining our night, but I couldn’t let it go. Something felt really off. Life had been so much easier when we were younger. Being back with Ty was a dream come true, but now I worried that Ty’s fame and notoriety would suck me dry and overshadow all that was good between us.
“Come back here.” Ty motioned.
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re not taking my feelings about this seriously, and I need to think about how I’m going to fit into your life without losing my own identity.”
“Wow.” Ty deflated and looked like I’d kicked his puppy. “I had an entire romantic night planned for you, and now it’s all messed up.”
“Sorry, not sorry.” I got up, went into the bedroom, and shut the door.
Sprawled out on the king-size bed, I flung my arm over my eyes. Something about this whole situation was bugging me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t like I had a bunch of job interviews lined up. I’d only had a few nibbles from the headhunter. None of the positions were even in Seattle.
All I knew was that I simply couldn’t afford to be part of any scandal until I figured out where I’d be working. Even after I took a new job, depending on the non-profit I’d probably have some sort of code of ethics to abide by.
Then it hit me and utter panic set in.
I already had a code of ethics to abide by.
Tearing out of the bedroom, I found Ty out on the balcony looking completely out of sorts. I couldn’t worry about that because I had real problems.
“Ty, I need to go back to Seattle.”
“What?” Ty’s eyebrows nearly jumped off his face. “Why?”
“You’re the firm’s client and we’re sleeping together.” I was freaking the fuck out.
“Zoey, you’re the love of my life, we’re more than sleeping together,” Ty roared. “What is going on right now? Since we got to the hotel you’ve been acting so irrational!”
Frantically, I typed into my phone, ignoring Ty for the moment. When I found what I was looking for, I expanded the words on the screen and held it up for Ty to read.
“A lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a client unless a consensual sexual relationship existed between them when the client-lawyer relationship commenced,” he read from my screen.
“I’m in so much trouble.” I sank down on one of the patio chairs.
“I don’t understand.” Ty sat next to me, looking completely confused at what was going on with me. “We had sex years before you were a lawyer.”
“You have to read the words exactly how they are written.”
“I’m no good at this legal stuff, Zoey. Just spit it out.”
My mind felt like it was going to implode. “Bottom line is that I’m violating ethical rules. We did not have a consensual sexual relationship when the firm took your case.”
“You’re not even helping the foundation anymore.” Ty threw his hands up. “This is so fucking stupid.”
“And yet, I could get fired. Even disbarred,” I whispered.
We sat in silence as that little tidbit sank in.
“Fuck.” Ty pulled me into his arms.
“You need to take me to the airport, I have to go home.”
“Z, it’s late. There’s nothing we can do about it tonight. Stay, we’ll book on you on the first flight out and we’ll go from there.” Ty kissed my head and I tunneled into his arms, seeking comfort.
Unfortunately, I had a sinking feeling that I was about to lose everything.
Chapter 20
TYSON
Lying in a beautiful hotel suite with Zoey should have been absolute heaven. With LTZ’s hiatus looming, I wanted to convince her to move in with me, get married, quit her job, and spend an entire year with me with no schedule and no commitments. Just me and her. That had been my master plan.
Man, I was stupid.
Jace warned me that the LTZ fans were going to figure out that she was Z. He was convinced that the backlash against her would be brutal. He’d been on my case since the Space Needle show to work on a strategy to soften her introduction to the fans. It’s not like I could hide her forever, everyone knew who I was. I selfishly ignored his warnings and now Zoey was paying a price.
She hadn’t taken the paparazzi and fan stuff very well, and for good reason. I’d irresponsibly ditched my security team in a misguided effort to have some privacy with my girl. That had backfired spectacularly. How could I have forgotten how it felt years ago when I’d first become famous? I hated being
