Page 3 of Protected By The Polar Bear

“To a book signing in Colorado. I’ll just be gone for two days.”

“At least the weather will be better,” Cameron jokes, and I smile.

“Well, it will probably still be snowing, but yeah, definitely not as cold,” I agree with a smile.

“I wish that I was going with you,” Elle sighs, and I nod.

“Me too. I’ll be sure to tell all of our readers that you said hi,” I promise her.

“Just not Randy,” she adds, and I shudder.

“Yeah, I’ll be trying to avoid him if he’s there,” I agree.

“Who the hell is Randy?” Ash asks, and I jump in my seat at the anger in his voice.

“He’s a fan. He’s been coming to all of our signings for the last few years and then he just hangs around our table,” Elle says.

“I don’t think he even reads our books,” I grumble.

“No, I meant he’s a fan of us, not our books,” Elle says, trying to joke.

The truth is that Randy has given both of us a weird vibe from the beginning, but he’s never tried anything. He just makes us a little uneasy.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go,” Niko says, frowning at me and then Elle.

“Or not by yourself,” Alec adds.

“Ash, why don’t you go with Tessa?” Gunner asks, and I’m kind of surprised.

Gunner rarely talks, so hearing him speak always kind of throws me. He’s staring at Ash, and they seem to be having some kind of silent conversation. Ash scowls at him and Gunner raises his eyebrow back at him.

I want to speak up and decline his offer. It would be nice to have someone to go with me, but the truth is that I don’t want it to be Ash. It hurts to be around him, especially when I know I’ll never be with him.

“That’s okay. I’ll be fine,” I interject.

“Are you sure?” Elle asks. “Some of our fans can be a bit… intense.”

“Ash will go with you,” Niko says, and I can tell by the tone of his voice that it’s an order.

I peek a look at Ash, and he’s scowling down at his empty plate. He definitely doesn’t look thrilled to be going with me.

Yeah, this trip should be fun…

THREE

Ash

Elle smothers a yawn as she hefts another box of books onto the table. We’ve been setting up her table at the signing for the last half an hour. We’re rushing now because the signing starts in fifteen minutes.

“What should I do with the empty boxes?” I ask her as I take the last box and set it on the table.

“We can just set them behind the chairs. I’ll pack anything that doesn’t sell back up in them.”

I nod. I was worried that we weren’t going to make it. There was a storm in Alaska, so we were grounded for a few hours. By the time we took off, we had just enough time to land here in Denver, grab the rental car, and drive to the hotel. We haven’t even checked into our rooms yet.

“It looks good,” I tell her as we finish setting up all of the books and swag.

“Thanks. I think I just need to set up my sign and I should be good. There’s breakfast over in that room if you want to grab us something to eat,” she says.

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