Chapter 100

Chapter 100

A couple days passed after Nikolas and Eliza’s wedding without incident. I had thought that everything was calming down. Then I found the picture on the web.

We had not hired any photographers for Nikolas and Eliza’s wedding. It was an odd request,

their but they did not see any reason to record their wedding so artificially. They did not stop friends and family from taking pictures with their cell phones, but they did not want to stage any photos with professionals.

Yet there it was, a professionally captured and edited photograph of Nikolas and Eliza k*ssing under the altar as the sun set behind them, tears running down their cheeks, on social media. I knew that this was not the account of any of their friends or relatives. In fact, I had found it quite by accident, searching for royalty–free images of that beach to use on Ever After Weddings‘ website as an option for a wedding venue.

I wasn’t sure how anyone had taken this picture in the first place. Andrew’s personal guards were everywhere, mostly in disguise, and they had supposedly been on high alert after the intrusion of Nikolas’s sons. I would definitely need to talk to Andrew about this.

The picture was quite beautiful, actually, I would have paid a lot for a wedding photo like this. The problem was that nob*dy had–and I doubted that the subjects of the photo even

knew that it existed.

I picked up my cell phone and quickly dialed Nikolas’s number.

“Hello, Crystal,” Nikolas answered. “What can I do for you?”

Of course, he’d be one of the few people to not ask me what was wrong immediately.

“Hi, Nikolas,” I replied. “I hate to interrupt your honeymoon, as steamy as I’m sure that is-

“It surely is!” I heard Eliza exclaim.

“Am I on speaker?” I asked.

“Yes…” Nikolas said.

“Hi!” Eliza said cheerfully. “Did you need something, dear?”

“Yeah, it involves both of you, actually. Did you know that there’s a picture of both online?”

“Really?” Eliza asked. “From when?”

“From the wedding.

“Well, we did let friends and family members take pictures,” Nikolas said. “I’m sure that they’ve posted them on their social media accounts.”

“This wasn’t anyone you know. It was a pretty well–known photographer named Luna

(Chapter 100

Bianchi

“Luna Bianchi?” Eliza interjected. “I think I have one of her wolf portraits hanging up at my house

“Any chance that you let her take a photo of you at the wedding?”

“No, not at all!”

I rubbed my temple, trying to figure out what to do.

“I guess that I’ll track down this Luna Bianchi and talk to her about using the picture without your permission. Meanwhile, I’ll e–mail you the link to the photo, and you can tell me what you want to do about it.”

was

I discovered from her website that Luna Bianchi’s studio the city, about twenty minutes away from my apartment. I knew that I should probably just e–mail or call her, but something told me that a face–to–face conversation was necessary.

When I arrived at the studio, I was greeted by a petite woman who held herself quite tall for her physical stature.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asked, skipping over the pleasantries.

“No, but-

“I’m afraid that you can’t see Ms. Bianchi without an appointment. Would you like to make

one:

“It’s quite urgent that I see Ms. Bianchi-

“Then you’ll need to make an appointment.”

1 sighed.

“Fine. When is your soonest appointment?”

The woman tapped on her laptop.

“One month from today at 9:50 a.m.

“A month?” I groaned. “Are you sure that you don’t have anything sooner?”

I’m sorry, but Ms. Bianchi is in the middle of a big project right now. I’m sure that you’ll understand-

Oh Clare, give the woman a break!” a feminine voice called from the next room.

Chapter 100

A tall, skinny woman with olive skin and purple pixie cut hair sauntered through the doorway. A camera hung from her n*eck

and she held a notepad and pencil in either hand.

She smiled at me, flashing brilliant white teeth.

“She came all this way to see me, and I like that initiative,” the purple–haired woman continued. She walked up to me and held out her hand. “I’m Luna Bianchi.”

I took her hand and shook it.

“Crystal Blanchard.”

“Crystal Blanchard of Ever After Weddings?”

“Yes. You know of me?”

“I should say I do,” Luna said with a laugh. “The ex–con–turned–wedding–planner who’s rumored to be Andrew Dubois’s next Luna. Plus, I’ve seen pictures of your weddings.”

She crinkled her nose.

“Lovely weddings,” she continued. “I think you could have more…artistic photographers, though.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“So, what brings you to my humble studio today?”

“I wanted to talk to you about a photograph of yours I found online.”

“Oh? Which one?”

I got my phone out of my pocket and showed her the picture..

“Ah, yes. The elderly couple on the beach. It’s lovely, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” I said, “but it was also taken without their permission. I also know for a fact that it was posted online without their permission.”

Luna’s smile disappeared.

“What is it to you?”

“Well, in addition to being their wedding planner, I’m also their friend.”

“Are you their lawyer, too?”

“No, but I am here to mediate an agreement between you and them.”

She arched a perfectly manicured brow at me. She exchanged glances with Clare, then looked back at me.

“What kind of agreement?”

“Why don’t we call and ask them?”

Luna hesitated but nodded.

I dialed Nikolas’s number and put him on speakerphone.

“Hello, Crystal,” Nikolas answered. “Are you at the photographer’s studio yet?”

“Yes, I’m at her studio,” I replied. “You’re on speaker with her right now.”

“Hello, Ms. Bianchi,” Nikolas said.

“Hi, Ms. Bianchi,” Eliza called out after him.

Luna’s l*ps quirked slightly, but she resisted the urge to smile. I knew that she would be pulled in by the couple’s combined charm, just like everyone else.

“Hello-”

“Nikolas and Eliza Vanderbilt,” I supplied.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt,” Luna said. “It’s so nice to meet you over the phone. It assume that you’re on your honeymoon.”

“Yes, we are,” Nikolas replied.

“I hope that it’s going well.”

“Oh, it is,” Eliza said with a giggle.

Luna cracked a grin.

“I’m glad to hear that. Unfortunately, I also hear that we have a violation of privacy issue.”

“You did take the picture without our permission,” Eliza said.

“And then you posted it online, also without our permission,” Nikolas continued.

“Not to mention it was a private event hosted by Ever After Weddings,” I added.

Luna fiddled with the camera around her n*eck. I could practically see the gears cranking in

her mind.

“I could pay you for the rights,” she said.

“We wouldn’t know how much to ask for such a thing,” Nikolas replied.

“We would still need to get a lawyer involved for that,” I agreed, “but there might be a way that we can resolve this without lawyers, but only if Nikolas and Eliza agree.”

Luna folded her arms across her chest and waited for me to continue.

“Luna can keep using the photograph on her website and social media accounts, so long as she also uses it to promote Ever After Weddings and Nikolas’s dresses, as well as collaborates. with both businesses on future events.”

No one spoke for a moment.

“That would work for us,” Nikolas finally said.

Luna fidgeted with her camera again, pretending to examine something on the lens. After she finished rubbing an imaginary spot off of it, she looked up at me and nodded.

“I did s

say

I grinned.

that you needed a more artistic photographer,” she said.

“Shall we shake on it?”