Page 137 of The Bridges I've Burned

I knew I wasn’t an expert at stringing lights, but I thought I had done an all right job. Mostly.

She manhandled me through the sliding glass doors and toward the front.

“What the fuck, Molly?” I swore as she came to an abrupt stop.

“I just had a very interesting conversation with the uninvited guests who are now parked outside our front lawn, Zander.”

I looked out the window and found three men huddled together, talking and laughing. Cameras were strung over their shoulders or around their necks.

My eyes widened.

“Shit,” I muttered. “I need to call my manager.”

“You do that.” Her arms were folded across her chest as her fierce gaze fixed on me. “But first you need to explain why you haven’t?—”

“Call your sister,” I told her. “She’ll explain. I need to figure out how this happened.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but I already had my phone out, turning away from her and the window.

“Zander,” Lance answered, sounding on edge. “I was about to call you.”

“Thinking you have some news to tell me.”

“You didn’t keep your head down, kid.”

“What the fuck do you mean?”

He sighed. “Someone got ahold of some photos of you and your brother in a tattoo shop, and they’re making the rounds. Your last name is right there on your damn body, Z.”

My eyes pinched closed. “It must have been one of the staff members.”

Fucking hell.

I stepped into a small parlor and put him on speaker so I could do an internet search and found them with a few clicks. I flipped through each photo, shaking my head in disbelief at how oblivious I’d been that day.

And naive.

We’d chatted openly in that shop, let the artists take photos for their portfolios, fucking tipped them a king’s ransom.

I was so in over my head.

“There are reporters outside,” I told him. “My brother’s rehearsal dinner is tonight.”

The rehearsal was nothing compared to the wedding though. Would they harass every single guest?

What a goddamn nightmare.

“They probably found that information online as well. Did they have a wedding announcement?”

“I have no idea,” I told him as I scrubbed a hand down my face. “What do I do? I need them gone. They’ll ruin his wedding.”

“Well, it’s probably going to get worse,” he said frankly as I started to pace. “Just ignore them for now and let me get in contact with Ridge. In the meantime, tell your family and friends the same thing and, uh, tell your brother congrats for me.”

“Sure.”

He hung up with the promise to get back in touch soon while I stood frozen in the empty parlor. This was not how I wanted to tell them.

I let out a sigh.

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