The Wedding Contract

Chapter 11





I take my time getting back to the room, even though I’m frozen. Nick is asleep in the bed, but he’s made me a pallet on the floor from blankets and pillows. I jump in the shower, just standing there warming up, until my skin is scalded. Then I slip on a pair of sweats. I pad out of our room and down the hall to Sophie’s room. It’s after midnight. I leave my gear behind. I just want to talk to her and see if she’s all right.

I knock on her door and it swings open. “Sky!” She throws her arms around me and clobbers me in a bear hug before pulling me inside. “I’m so glad you stayed. I was afraid Nick Ferro would chase you off.”

“Oh, no. I’m staying—Ferro or not. Besides, I’m a better shooter than him, by far.”

One of the bridesmaids I don’t know scoffs. “A little arrogant there, aren’t you?”

My gaze cuts over to her. She has a pointy face and fake red hair. It looks like she went down on the Kool-Aid guy and he came in her hair. It’s, like, holy f*ck R.E.D. “Just calling it like I see it. If he were better than me, he wouldn’t have to copy me. Besides, what do you know about it? Jack shit, that’s what. So keep your mouth shut.”

Kool Cum makes a face at Sophie and mutters, “Bitch.”

“Excuse me?” I’m crossing the room and standing in front of her. The girl is wearing purple PJs and sitting on the floor with a bottle of wine in her hand. It’s the little plastic kind the hotel sells downstairs.

“You heard me. You’re a bitch—a deranged one from what I’ve heard.” She smirks.

Sophie jumps between us. “And Mandy had too much to drink.” She pulls the cup away from Mandy and laughs nervously.

“And I’ve had nothing to drink, so tell me, Mandy—what’d you hear about me that made you instantly hate my guts? Or is it just that you’re the slut at this party, but Nick already has another woman in his room?”

Mandy lunges for me and I’m ready to punch her, but Sophie and another girl jump in the middle. Sophie screams, “Mandy stop it! Sky, I’m going to kill you!”

We’re apart and I’m breathing hard. I press my fingers to my chest. “Me?”

“Yeah you. You’re not drunk. She is.”

“That’s a shitty answer, Sophie.”

“I’ve got an idea Conceited Chick will find interesting. I bet you that the best picture taken at this wedding is Nick Ferro’s and not yours.” Mandy smirks pointing a half-filled wine glass at me.

“Cut it out, Mandy.” Sophie warns Kool Cum to back down, but she doesn’t.

“Come on girls, let’s put money on it. How about twenty grand if you win?”

I have to ask, “And what if I lose?”

“Then you don’t show any of your pictures from the wedding, let the real wedding photographer sell his pictures, and let me into your room the night before we leave. I have a surprise for Nick Ferro, one he’ll adore.” Mandy’s face is pinched into a snobby scowl. She comes from money. Her fake titties almost look real and I don’t think that’s her original nose either.

I shake my head and mutter, “A*shole.”

“Oh, what’s the matter? Too afraid to put your money where your mouth is? I hear that mouth has been everywhere else, so what’s one more place?”

“Mandy!” Sophie scolds.

“Bitch,” I bite back.

“Whore.”

I roll my eyes and push up. “I don’t have time for this shit. We can’t all be pampered asses. I’ll talk to you tomorrow Soph.” Just as I’m about to walk through the door, Mandy finishes whispering to her friends. “We’ll double it. Come on Skylar, we know you’re strapped for cash and if you’re the best you have nothing to lose. Forty thousand bucks for the best shot of this wedding.”

I pause in the doorway, unsure what to do. It’s degrading, but it’s enough to get me out of the mess I’m in. I can win without screwing with Nick. The lighting is a nightmare and he can’t use his camera unless it’s set on auto. His pictures will look like crap.

“They’re using you. Walk away, Sky,” Sophie whispers in my ear. These are her cousins. She can’t stand Mandy, but the people you love and hate most are both invited to your wedding.

“Who picks the winner?” I ask and instantly hate myself for doing it, but I have to. There’s no other way out of this.

Sophie closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. Mandy looks over at her cousin. “Sophie and Steven will pick, but you’ll have to make it so they can’t tell which picture belongs to which photographer. No cheating, trailer trash.”

“Go f*ck a cactus, classless cunt.” Everyone gasps like they can’t believe I really said those words. “Oh, shut up. It’s not like you didn’t know you were one. I’m just the only person brave enough to say it to your face.”

Mandy grins wickedly, not denying my accusations. “So the bet is on?”

“Is she good for it?” I ask Sophie. My friend nods. After a moment, I nod and say, “Hell, yeah. I’m going to kick his ass so hard, even he won’t find my shoe.”

“You’re so crude.” Mandy’s little nose crumples up before she goes to say more, but I’m already gone.

Beat Nick Ferro. I need the best shots. I already have one, but I don’t know what shots he has. I tiptoe down the hall, into our room. After closing the door, I go over to his gear bag and fish out his only camera. Schmuck. I could break it and he’d be screwed, but I don’t play like that.

Nick inhales and rolls away from me as I sneak the camera under my blankets to look at the illuminated screen. I flip through his shots and terror grabs hold of my throat. He’s actually good. The angle of the portraits flatter everyone and his exposures are dead on. There’s no way these were shot on auto. When I check his settings, I can see that they weren’t. Damn it. Nick knows how to shoot.

As I press my eyes closed and silently curse, Nick yawns sleepily, “Taking dirty pictures with my camera? I’m a breast man. Make sure you get a good shot of underboob. I like that part.” I gasp and try to conceal it, but it’s too late. I’m totally busted. I drop the sheet and he can see me looking through his pictures. Nick is standing next to me, holding out his hand. “Hand it over.”

I sigh and hold it up. “You’re a liar.”

“What?” He laughs.


“You said you couldn’t shoot. You said you only shot on auto.”

“I never said that.”

“That’s what you told my assistant when she interviewed you to second-shoot a wedding.”

He laughs and climbs back into bed, leaving his camera next to him on the nightstand. “I knew who she was, Sky. I made shit up. Do you seriously not remember meeting me the first time?”

“I remember you moving in and making your studio look exactly like mine, you cocky ass.”

He chortles. “Yeah, that was funny. But we met before that. I’m hurt Sky. I really am.” Nick’s teasing tone is getting to me, but I don’t remember him. “Oh, come on—green hat, cord jacket, threadbare Chucks. I told you I wanted some pictures of a small wedding. You blew me off. I didn’t even get a folder.” He presses his hands mockingly to his bare chest and says the last few words like he’s going to fake cry.

“I give everyone a folder.”

“Except people you rule out. You ruled me out. I wasn’t worthy of your services because of my secondhand clothing. Ironic, right? Ya know, since I’m filthy stinking rich and you’re not.” Nick winks at me before he lies back, tucks his hands behind his head, and settles into the mattress.

I slip down to my pallet on the floor and recall the instance he’s telling me about. “You were wearing a John Deere hat.”

Nick points his forefinger at me. “Bingo. And you blew me off.”

I did toss him out pretty fast, but that wasn’t why. There’s no way in hell I’m telling him the truth, so I roll with it. “Yeah, I’m a snob. Total bitch.” I pull up my blankets and roll away from him.

He’s quiet for a moment and then softly says, “No, that’s not it. I’ll figure it out, Wendybird. And you should keep your kiss until you find the right guy. It’s under your pillow.”

My throat tightens as I reach underneath and find my thimble necklace. In Peter Pan, Wendy gave Peter the thimble and said it was a kiss. Nick knew. No one remembers that part of the story. My heart thumps and I don’t know what to think of him. He shouldn’t know these things, but he does. There’s no way he’s a Peter Pan freak like me. Yeah, guys get Peter Pan syndrome, but this isn’t the same. His words choke me because they’re filled with meaning beyond the gesture of handing back a trinket.

I’ve tried to find the right guy. The one previous time Mr. Right popped up, the situation was all wrong. There was already a ring on his finger and a woman on his arm. Sometimes that happens, and fate is too slow or we don’t wait long enough. I thought that’s what happened. After that first meeting with Nick, I was totally enthralled with him. I couldn’t shoot his wedding because the magnetic pull was too strong and I liked him too much. His smile was so alluring—add in those blue eyes and I knew I’d be toast. The fastest way out of the wedding business is to flirt with the groom, so I threw him out without explanation. After all, it’s not like I could tell him any of that. He’d already picked someone else.

Damn it. I’d wondered what happened to that guy, if he was happy. Now I know he’s fine, because he’s lying on the bed next to me, sound asleep.