“I’m fine,” she said.
“No, you’re not. You’re holding your pen like a shank.”
She gave me a smile that felt a little more genuine. “You should see how stabby I get during copy edits.”
I smirked, my chest feeling less tight knowing she was able to joke. Even so, I put a bottle of water on the table in front of her.
The crowd was just as hyped as ever, and I ran my eyes over the room again.
The next woman in line stepped forward, but rather than speak to Luna, she turned her back and raised her camera to record herself. “Hey, book babes, I’m coming to you live from the Luna Darling signing in Fort Worth.”
Luna looked at me for some direction. This was a first for me, but if she was making Luna uncomfortable, I couldn’t just leave it. “Ma’am, you need to stoprecording.”
She turned her attention to me, and for a moment, I thought she was going to comply. Then a squeal came from her throat, and she turned so the camera was pointed at herself but with me in the background rather than Luna. “Girlies, breaking news, the perfect book boyfriend is here! He has the beard and everything. Look at those forearms.” She pushed a button on her phone, and it zoomed in on me.
A murmur went through the lineup, and people strained their necks to see. I was used to being in the background as a deterrent and an insurance policy, but now a lineup of overeager fans had turned their attention on me, and it was my turn to feel like the cornered animal.
“Come on, Book Boyfriend. Smile to all your adoring fans,” the woman said.
Luna looked at me, her eyes wide. “He’s my bodyguard. He—”
“Of course he is,” the woman said, then turned the phone to face herself again and gave the camera an exaggerated wink.
Fuck.
Give me sharpshooters, tell me to run a few miles in full gear, hell, sucker punch me in the face, and I am as cool as a cucumber. This? I was out of my element and wasn’t sure what the move was.
We weren’t in any danger; they weren’t going to mob the table. Since the publishing company was footing the bill, should I play along to make them happy, or shut this down?
Luna finished up with her as quickly as she could, and I ushered her along.
Luckily, the next woman in line put a book in front of Luna and started gushing about her favorite character. She glanced at me a few times, but something on my face kept her from asking for a photo.
The next two hours crawled by, with nothing more exciting than someone spilling their coffee while waiting in line. By the time we packed up and left, I had all but forgotten about the woman and her video.
That peace of mind didn’t last.
A text from Gray came through just as we got back into the truck.
Gray: You went viral.
I stared at the screen for a moment before silencing my phone and tossing it in the cup holder. Whatever Gray was getting at, it could wait. I didn’t want to spend any more time at this bookstore than I had to.
I pulled out into Fort Worth traffic and set the GPS for Waco. It would take us an hour and a half to get there with the traffic.
The publishing company had originally hired a car service to take Luna to her events, but since I would be with her anyway, they canceled the service and paid for me to drive instead.
I preferred it this way. I needed my own truck. One I knew was reliable. I needed to be the one behind the wheel in case something happened. I glanced over to where Luna was slumped against the window in the passenger seat. I needed to find a place for us to have dinner, but first, I wanted to get out of traffic.
“You doing okay, Darling? That was a lot of people. I wish I could be half as productive as you on the amount of sleep you get.”
She nodded. “I’m okay, just a lot of socializing for one afternoon.”
“You did well and remained cool under pressure. Maybe you should have been a bodyguard.”
She laughed and patted my bicep. The heat of her skin felt good on mine. “Youhandled those lovesick ladies like a pro. Maybe you should be the one signing autographs.”
My interest in the lines of fans was waning as fast as my interest in the woman beside me was ramping up.
