Jenn laughed. “Luna, that doesn’t answer the question, which is all the answer I need.” She turned to the camera and gave it a significant look. “One quality that readers love in a book boyfriend is protectiveness. Hayes, you seem to have that in spades.”
I blinked. It wasn’t really a question, but I answered anyway. “That’s my job.”
Jenn turned to the camera again and spoke as if we weren’t even there. “Addicts, he is so freaking alpha, leave a heart emoji in the comments if you are swooning right now.”
I glanced toward Luna. I was out of my element here and couldn’t tell if we were doing well or not.
Her eyes were too wide for me to read.
“I polled the readers to find out what questions to ask you, and the number one request was to ask you, Luna Darling, if you are dating your bodyguard?”
Luna had been taking a sip of her giant coffee but choked when the question came out of Jenn’s mouth.
I patted her back as she composed herself. “Easy,” I murmured. I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and handed it to her. “Here you go, Darling.”
“He calls youDarling! That is so sweet.” Jenn clutched her hands in front of her chest.
“It’s just my last name,” Luna rasped, dabbing coffee from her chin.
Jenn’s smile sharpened, and I wondered if I had underestimated just how in-depth this interview was going to get. “But you two seem pretty close. There’s a lot of trust there, huh?”
She scrunched up her face, clearly as annoyed with the questions as I was. “Well, yeah, he’s literally paid to keep me alive, so trust seems like a good start.”
Jenn laughed at that determined look that didn’t leave her eye. “Hayes, keeping someone safe is a big job. It must be a lot of pressure to take care of Luna.”
My jaw tightened. I knew I had to present a certain persona to keep the production company happy, but I had a hunch she was about to bring up something from my past that was better left unsaid. “I take care of all my clients.”
“I’m sure you do. Think of what would happen if you made even one little mistake.” She drew out the last four words.
I stepped a little closer to Luna, hand still resting against her back. “We’re done here.”
The woman’s eyes gleamed. “So protective. Just like your books, Luna. A man haunted by his past, guarding the woman who makes him forget.”
She gaped at Jenn. “That’s not—”
“That’s all from me, Addicts,” Jenn said, turning her back to us and talking to the camera. “Tune in tomorrow when I attend the grand opening of a new bookstore in Bellmead.”
The camera was finally lowered.
“Thanks for the interview. It was nice to meet—”
“I have to talk to you.” I took Jenn by the elbow and stepped away so Luna couldn’t hear, but she was still in my line of sight. “What the hell was that?”
“What?” Jenn asked, blinking innocently at me.
“You know damn well what. You were hinting at something from my past.”
A smile spread over her pink-stained lips. “I may have researched you when I saw you going viral. The story is easyenough to find. I had a little talk with Luna’s agent, and she said she’d get me an interview if I kept my mouth shut about what I knew.”
My nostrils flared, and I let that sit for a moment. “If you agreed to keep it quiet, why bring it up at all?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t say a thing, just stirring up some conversation in my comments. Your secret is safe with me.”
Then they got into a car and drove away. I still had a whole book signing to get through, and I was reeling from the idea that the world of romance books could be so cutthroat.
“What was that about?” Luna asked as I rejoined her.
“Just asking her not to tag the location until after the event for security purposes,” I lied.
