Fortunately, Gail had changed everything.
His thoughts turned to his publicist and what they’d shared tonight. Something had changed, grown serious. He’d noticed it in himself as much as her. They’d approached their lovemaking with an emotional intensity that hadn’t been there before, as if possessing each other mattered far more than achieving a physical release. And he’d welcomed that new emotional element, because Gail satisfied him more deeply than Bella ever could.
Somehow Gail, someone he would’ve considered a highly unlikely prospect, given their many differences, had managed to plug the gaping hole in his chest, to stop the bleeding caused by his divorce, his father, his mother—all of it. He wasn’t sure how long being with her would feel this right. He didn’t trust what he was experiencing to last. But he owed Gail enough loyalty to put an end, in every way, to what had come before, with Bella.
Please let me know if Ty needs anything, he typed. I will do everything I can for him. But other than that, don’t contact me. He reread his words, then smiled as he added, I’m happily married.
27
“Do you see it yet?” Josh’s voice was even more animated than usual.
Gail moved the phone to her other ear as she opened the link he’d just sent her. There, front and center, was a picture of her and Simon on the porch last night with the heading Hot Honeymoon. As she straddled him, his hands circled her waist and he stared up at her. They weren’t photographed from the front, but there was no doubting their identities. “I’m there.”
“Is that really you?”
Clearly, that was her. She looked completely caught up in the moment—and she had been. She and Simon had made love again this morning, a gentle, sweet coupling that was a stark contrast to the explosion of desire last night. She couldn’t decide which she’d enjoyed more. She’d liked both. Sex was so much better when you were madly in love....
“How many sites have put this up?” she asked Josh. Their furniture had arrived. She didn’t yet have a desk, but she was sitting on the new couch. Until Josh had called to report the sudden influx of Google hits, she’d been comfortable. There was only one drawback to working out of their new house—it wasn’t easy to hear with Simon banging away in the kitchen.
She had to admit she was glad he wasn’t in the room with her, however. She’d all but attacked him last night, and in plain view of anyone who might’ve been hoping for just such a pic.
“It’s all over the Net and spreading as we speak,” Josh said. “Isn’t that great? You did a fabulous job. You both look as if you’re completely into each other. This could be an ad for Armani or Calvin Klein. It’s gorgeous! Who took the picture? I even like the old Victorian in the background. Was it Ian?”
Face burning, Gail briefly covered her eyes. “No.”
“Then who? Your father?”
“My father?” She wrinkled her nose at the thought of Martin being anywhere in the vicinity when she’d wantonly climbed on top of Simon. “That’s sick.”
“Why? You have your clothes on!”
It still looked very sexual—because it had been.
“You are so conservative,” he said. “Well, normally.” He was obviously referring to the photograph with this clarification. He chuckled at his own joke, but Gail didn’t find it funny.
“Anyway, someone took that picture,” he said. “Was it a friend?”
“No. I’m guessing it’s some member of the paparazzi. Someone was trying to get a shot through the window while we were sleeping the night before last. We assumed he, or she, left after that. No one was here when the cops arrived, and we haven’t noticed anyone following us since. But apparently, whoever it was hasn’t given up.”
“I haven’t run across any shots of you sleeping.”
Big Hit would know if such photos had appeared on the internet. Google would’ve alerted them of that, too. “They must not have turned out—or showed our identities clearly enough. It wasn’t a high-percentage shot.”
Josh lowered his voice. “So…you were straddling Simon, getting him excited, and you didn’t know someone was taking your picture? This wasn’t calculated?”
She stared at the photo of her and Simon on her computer screen. Maybe Josh was happy about it, but she wasn’t sure this would do Simon any favors. He needed a different slant for his new image, one that showed him as a man who’d settled down. This was far too sexy. It made him look like he was embroiled in yet another torrid affair.
“No, it wasn’t calculated,” she said. “As a publicist, I would’ve structured it very differently—maybe had him carry in the groceries or something.”
“So this was spontaneous? Holy shit!” Josh cried. “Now I’m really jealous. You must be having the time of your life.”
She was having the best sex of her life. No doubt about that. But she was scared to death wondering where things would go from here. And now she had to worry about how her behavior last night was going to affect the campaign and her efforts to help Simon gain custody of Ty. After they made love, he’d talked about his son for probably an hour. He missed Ty so much, he’d had to get his pictures out of his wallet and show them to her, even though she’d met Ty several times in the past and already knew what a darling little boy he was.
Could she soften the impact of this rather explicit picture? Give an interview focusing on the fact that this was, after all, their honeymoon? Passion played an important role in a marriage, but that wasn’t what she’d been hoping to highlight. She doubted this picture would impress the judge who’d be ruling on Ty’s fate....
“Gail?” Joshua prompted. “Did you hear me?”
She searched her memory for his question and managed to recall his last words: he’d wanted to know if she was having fun. “For now.”
“So he’s good in bed. As good as he seems in Shiver?”
Joshua wanted her to dish, but her private life with Simon was something she planned to keep to herself. “That’s none of your business.”
“But you have slept with him, even though you said you wouldn’t.”
“Quit digging, Josh.”
“That’s a yes. Oh, my God!”
She couldn’t help laughing. “Stop it! We need to figure out how to spin this.”