The ones at the brewery could’ve been shared by an employee there. But an employee from Cormac’s wouldn’t have an opportunity to take pictures at the dinner cruise. “I think a guest at the party sent in at least the ones in Today Magazine.”
“It had to be.”
There was anger in Matt’s voice. While she understood it, she found it a little odd that he hadn’t realized beforehand that it was a possibility.
He’d known that none of his family members would share pictures with the tabloids, and he’d assumed the other guests might post photos on their personal social media but not send them to magazines like the Star Report. He should’ve known it was a possibility, though. Those so-called magazines paid well for pictures from events that their own photographers would never have access to, such as the dinner cruise.
“Any idea who might have provided them to the magazines?”
“More like sold.” Tossing his shirt onto the floor, he sat. “All I know is it wasn’t a family member.”
Unfortunately, even with them excluded, that left plenty of other suspects.
“Almost everyone took photos at some point.”
“How many guests were there who aren’t family?”
He didn’t recall the exact breakdown of guests. “Maybe around forty.”
“That’s a lot of possibilities.”
Yep, and even if he discovered who shared the pictures, there wasn’t anything he could do about it. They’d already been published.
“Whatever. It’s done.” Matt opened the soda he’d grabbed from the fridge before calling Liv and took a sip. “Everyone was asking about you. They wanted to know why you weren’t with me. I invited them to come and visit whenever they wanted.”
“I’m not sure the female population of Orchard Harbor can handle having both you and your cousin, Jake or Trent, in town at the same time.”
He smiled for the first time since he’d seen the article and pictures. Although both men were now happily married, those two particular cousins had once been notorious playboys, constantly appearing on sites like the Star Report with a different woman.
“I’ll make sure they don’t leave my house when they come.”
“Are you still coming back on Sunday?”
Should he comment on the uncertainty in Liv’s voice or just answer the question?
“Yeah, and my brother is coming with me. Why wouldn’t I come back then?”
Silence initially met his question.
“You’re, um, not far from DC,” she said.
He pictured her shrugging and twisting a stand of hair as she tried to come up with a response.
“I thought maybe you’d want to get in some sightseeing. The last time I was in DC, I only made it to the Natural History Museum and the Vietnam Wall. One of these days, I’d like to check out the other museums.”
Matt wasn’t big into museums, but if she wanted to visit, he’d happily take her to DC. “Let’s plan to go in the fall when you’re not as busy. I’ll arrange for you to get a real tour of the White House, not the one they give tourists.” There were perks to being related to the President of the United States.
“Sounds like fun. I’m guessing Aiden’s coming back with you, not Theo.”
Readjusting his position, he stretched out his legs and took another sip of root beer. “I don’t think Brianna would let Theo come back with me even if he wanted to.”
He’d spent enough time with Brianna to form an opinion of her, and it wasn’t a positive one. Honestly, he couldn’t figure out why Theo stayed with her.
“Has she been as unsociable as when she was here?”
Unsociable wasn’t the adjective he’d use, especially after the way she stormed off last night during the cruise. On the plane ride back to Maine, he planned to ask Aiden about his comment Thursday night, as well as Theo’s response.
“You could put it that way. I don’t get what Theo sees in her.”
