“Fine by me.” Zoey shrugged. “It’s a cute picture.”
Jace raised one eyebrow at her but didn’t say anything.
“I’m booting you out,” I said to Jace and opened the door.
“Yeah, yeah. I just texted you the schedule for tomorrow.” Jace waved over his head and walked out.
Zoey watched me from her spot on the light-blue, velvet sofa, her expression unreadable. I crossed over the room to her. Now well past ten p.m., the day had been long and tomorrow the band had an early start. She reached her hand out to me as I got closer. I took it, sat down next to her and draped my arm around her shoulder.
“Is this a normal day for you?
I kissed her head and breathed her in. “Meh. This is a light day.”
“What’s tomorrow’s schedule? I’m not really in the loop. I didn’t want to say anything or be a pain in the ass.” She reached up to twirl her finger around a lock of my hair. “It’s making the control freak inside me lose my mind.”
I pulled up Jace’s text on my phone and listed out my obligations. “Photoshoot, a few hours of press, rehearsal, management meeting, food, shower, change, red carpet, movie premiere, show, appearance at a VIP event, possibly more press.”
“Wow, that’s a busy day.” She looked up at me, a cloud in her eyes. “I’m feeling super nervous about what my role in all of this is going to be, but I’m going to suck it up.”
“Yeah. At first this stuff is hard to get used to.” I rubbed my hand up and down her arm, hoping to soothe her. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it with Jace. Most of the day you can just chill here, go shopping or go to the spa. Sergey will be at your disposal until it’s time to leave for the premiere.”
“I’m so glad Jace stepped in. It didn’t seem like the publicists had our best interest in mind. I’m not sure what I did to Sienna, but she clearly has a problem with me.” I tried to keep my expression neutral, but her observation made me internally cringe.
Something about how Sienna was acting about Zoey was bothering me too. “I wish I had paid more attention to that stuff. I always allowed other people to handle my business. In some ways, I buried my head in the sand. Look how well that’s worked out. I’ve gotten so much bad press over the years.”
Too late now.
“I didn’t trust what they were trying to do.” Zoey rested her head on her hand, watching me. “I’m not going to interfere in your band business, don’t worry. No need for me to be a heartless bitch and a Yoko.”
“You’re not interfering in band business. It’s our business. I’ll talk to Jace, but it’s probably time to find another company to do our PR.”
Because I need to keep Sienna away from Zoey.
“Well, it was never fun to see you in the press back then.” Zoey stuck out her tongue and made a gagging sound. “I always knew it wasn’t really you.”
“Zoey, we both have to acknowledge that it was me for a while.” I frowned. “I know that’s hurtful to you but trying to pretend my past doesn’t exist isn’t going to help us move on together.”
Zoey’s expression was priceless, pursed lips and a cocked eyebrow.
“Z, I know I’ve been super defensive about it with you, but the press is going to dig all of that up again. Wait and see. You’ll get it thrown in your face, so I’ll suck it up too. I’d rather take the brunt of it to protect you. Us. I know how to handle it.” I wanted to remove her from the situation as much as possible, for so many reasons.
Zoey shut her eyes and sighed as if deep in thought, and we remained silent for a few minutes. “How this goes down is important to me, Ty. You don’t need to do this alone, I’ll be by your side no matter what.”
“Well, today was a shitshow so let’s put it behind us.” I enfolded her into my body. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We should get some sleep. Welcome to the glamorous world of LTZ.”
“This suite and the private jet were pretty fucking spectacular.” Zoey poked me playfully.
“Come here.” I caressed her face and rested my forehead against hers.
“Am I going to be a problem, Ty?” Zoey stroked the hair at the nape of my neck. “Tell me the truth.”
“Never. You’re my solution, not a problem.” I lightly gripped her head in both hands and pulled her lips to mine, losing myself in the deliciousness of my tongue sliding against hers. It was time to get lost in each other and forget about the outside world for a while.
“I’m exhausted.” Zoey stood and held her hand out to me. We moved into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Side by side in the big en suite bathroom, we brushed our teeth. I dug out a hairband from my shaving kit and handed it to her. She wound her hair in a top knot and rubbed cream on her face and neck, taking care to rub it in all over.
She caught me staring at her in the vanity mirror and flashed me a radiant smile. “What?”
“Ahh, butterfly. All of this is going to be okay. I love you so, so much.”
“Then show me.” Zoey danced out of the room. “Take me to bed, big guy.”
After I passionately demonstrated just how much I loved her, we snuggled in a cocoon of luxurious hotel linens and fluffy pillows. Soon, she was fast asleep, her arm wound around my waist, her legs tangled together with mine. I felt safe, satiated, and content in our hotel bubble, knowing that nothing would tear us apart if we stuck together.
By mid-morning the
