I knew I had to man up and tell her. To fix it. I was just so worried that after my behavior in LA, Zoey wouldn’t give me a third chance. Was it worth the risk of her feeling as disgusted with me as Jace seemed to be? Or would it be worse if she found out some other way?
It was a no-win situation, and losing Zoey wasn’t an option.
Chapter 27
ZOEY
After Ty headed out with the guys for all of their press obligations, my plan had been to stay offline for the entire day. Of course, curiosity got the better of me. The photo Jace took of me and Ty was everywhere. As someone who never really understood the appeal of social media, suddenly I found myself obsessively checking every five minutes to see how many likes our pictures had. By noon, my new Instagram account had close to a million followers. It was nuts.
Ty encouraged me to go shopping in the designer stores on 5th Avenue while he took care of the band business. He left me his Amex black card with strict instructions to buy whatever I wanted. I knew he didn’t care what I wore, but after the incident with the paparazzi, I’d been stressing about it, knowing we’d be photographed together. I figured it was important to step up my game fashion-wise and, unfortunately, wearing Alex’s hand-me-downs wasn’t going to cut it.
By the end of my shopping spree, I’d bought the softest black leather Prada miniskirt with a thick, built-in belt and a slight flare to accommodate my curvy behind, a stretchy, black V-neck cashmere sweater, and black ankle boots with studs at Valentino, black Diesel moto trousers, and a few blouses, T-shirts, and jeans from the sale rack at Bergdorf Goodman. My favorite purchase was an expensive bottle of Creed perfume called Spring Flowers, which smelled just like its’ name. I wanted to bathe in it.
After a quick bite, Sergey and I returned to the hotel where he helped me unload my purchases. Ty and I hadn’t spoken much that day, only a few check-in texts because he was so busy. After another quick check of the social media accounts and entertainment gossip sites, I was relieved to see that the coverage hadn’t been too scary. I’d even go so far as to say that it was mostly positive.
I was in an absolutely great mood.
With a couple of hours to spare, I showered and got ready before Ty got back. Zoning out under the spray, I pictured Ty and me walking hand in hand at the premiere and smiling as the cameras flashed. I felt so happy about everything, quitting my job, moving in with the love of my life. Everything. Lost in my fantasies, I was startled when Ty rapped on the shower door.
“Butterfly? How’s my gorgeous naked girl?” Ty’s piercing blue eyes peered at me, his hair tucked under the black skull cap he used to try to hide his identity. He looked a bit tired. Stressed.
“Daydreaming about the sexiest man I know.” I smiled at him. “Wanna join me?”
“God don’t tempt me. I’m headed to Zane’s suite for one more interview but thought I’d check on you. Are you coming with me to soundcheck? If you want to chill, I’ll be back to change after.”
“I’d like to be with you guys.” I hoped it wouldn’t be annoying for me to just hang around.
Ty’s smile spread across his face. He grabbed a towel and held it out to me. “I was hoping you’d come with us.”
Stepping out of the shower into his waiting towel, I squealed when Ty kissed me and copped a feel of my boobs. I shooed him away good-naturedly and he left to finish up his interview while I got ready. Assessing my purchases, I decided on the miniskirt, thigh-high tights, Valentino booties, and a plain black T-shirt. Using a YouTube tutorial, I fluffed and teased out my hair a bit and did my makeup with a neutral eye, black liner, and red lips. After spritzing on my new perfume, I was waiting on the blue couch when Ty got back.
“Wow, babe. You’re so beautiful!” He knelt down and took my booted foot in hand. “These are fucking rad!”
“Thank you for my Pretty Woman moment.” I handed him his Amex back.
“Well, you outdid yourself.” Ty kissed me and gestured to the door. “Mmm. You smell fantastic too, I want to eat you up but we gotta go.”
Security ushered us through the staff elevator into two Escalades. Jace, Ty, and I rode off to the venue in one with Sergey. Connor and Zane rode together with their own bodyguards. None of us spoke on the way, everyone was lost in their screens for the twenty-minute ride over. I was now at over two million followers.
The cars pulled into the loading area where golf carts were waiting for us. Sergey accompanied Ty and me to Ty’s dressing room where a very chatty production assistant handed me an all-access pass. Once inside, Ty perused the catering setup and made himself a cup of tea, glancing over to me to see if I wanted one. I shook my head and sat on the green pleather couch.
“I missed you today, did you have fun?” Ty sat next to me, tracing my thigh under my miniskirt with his index finger. He seemed a bit distant and distracted, but I’d never been with him before a show of this magnitude.
“It was fun.” I watched his finger move higher. “I’m not used to spending that kind of money on clothes.”
“I love spoiling you.” Ty leaned back on the couch and slipped his arm around me.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” Ty traced my lips with his finger. I leaned into him, touching my mouth to his
