“Oh my god,” she squeals. “You’re the husband from her bio, aren’t you? You really are Scottish!”
“Aye, and I really am serious about keeping your hands to yourself.”
She nods up at me, her blue eyes bulging with excitement. “I promise. No touching.”
“Aven, stop being a bull and let Andrea through,” Quinn says behind me, and I step out of the way.
The woman nearly knocks me over as she rushes forward and holds her book toward Quinn. “I want to buy a special edition too, but can you please sign this tattered copy? I’ve read it three times since it released, and it’s helped me through a breakup.”
“You aren’t buying anything. I’ll sign that copy and your free special edition. Thanks for your support, love.” Quinn takes the book from the girl’s hands, then scrawls her signature in the front with a metallic silver pen. “And I don’t care what my husband says. You’re giving me a hug.”
I roll my eyes as she stands and pulls the flabbergasted woman closer. “Lass, I cannae do my job as bodyguard if you keep breaking all the rules.”
“Breaking rules is what got us here,” she says over the woman’s shoulder. She pulls back and looks Andrea in the face.“Now, tell me all about your book collection. We have about fifteen minutes before Aven lets the horde through.”
I stand to the side as the girls gush about their favorite authors. My head remains on a swivel. She may no longer be a cam girl, but ravenous fans are still ravenous fans. I’m happy to retain my post as faithful watchdog for the rest of my life.
And it will be the rest of my life. This marriage thing has turned out to be the best decision I ever made. I wake up to the woman I love. I come home to her. Every day is spent anticipating seeing her again and knowing she’ll be there. Granted, it’s taken some getting used to. Remembering to lower the toilet seat has been the hardest bit, though.
We’ve experienced our first fight. We’ve had our first makeup sex. It was pretty epic. I’m okay with losing fights to her if it ends with my dick in her mouth. Yeah, I’d say this is pretty much the best.
My musings are interrupted by a commotion around the front door as a man fights his way through the crowd of agitated women. He flails a small leather satchel as he pushes through. I’d better save his ass before they rip a second hole in it.
“Grab the door,” I say to the worker near the front. “I know the guy.”
The woman opens the door, and Jim falls into the bookstore, landing on his ass with a grunt.
“Well, I never,” he says as he rises and dusts off his tailored suit. “They’re like hyenas.”
“And there’s their queen,” I say with a nod toward Quinn.
“Is everything okay?” She peers around the woman in front of her. “We weren’t expecting you until after the signing.”
He raises the leather bag and gives it a wiggle. “I got some news today, and I was too excited to wait. Could we have just a moment?”
Quinn nods and jots something on one of her business cards, then passes it to Andrea. “I hate to cut this short, so let me take you to dinner. That’s my number. Text me later, and we’ll set something up.”
Andrea pulls the card against her chest and jumps up and down. “Oh my god, I have Quinn Carter’sphone number!”
I grab the girl by her shoulders and start moving her toward the door.
“Thank you, Quinn! Best day ever!” Andrea yells over her shoulder as I shove her outside.
Once the door is secured once more, I hurry back to Jim and Quinn. He’s already pulled a few papers from the satchel, and he places them on the table as I approach.
“This is an email chain that was intercepted by Frankie last week. Look at the country of origin.”
I raise the printouts and read through them. The conversation is heavily coded, but it’s not hard to figure out they’re discussing a hit. The country of origin is listed as America for one and Canada for the other.
“I’m failing to see what you want me to see,” I say.
“Same,” Quinn says.
Jim taps the page in my left hand. “That’s Grantham Carter. And he’s currently in the States.”
Quinn’s eyebrows pull together. “What does that mean? Is that a big deal?”
“It’s the biggest deal,” Jim says.
