Page 92 of Blue Moon

“People are watching, moon.”

“Then let them watch. One of the minions will tell Romeo, and then he’ll stop hitting on me in front of you.”

There was a fifty-fifty chance of that. If Derek Monroe was in the control room, the information would make its way to the boss, but if anyone else was watching the feeds, Luna would be all over BuzzHub again.

“Not yet. I might not trust Romeo, but I trust you.”

Ryder peeled her arms away, but not before she planted a kiss on his lips. Apprehension washed through him, pre-emptive grief at the death of his career, but he couldn’t give this woman up. And keeping their relationship under wraps long-term was one dream that would never come true. If she wanted to perform, he’d support her.

Frank Serafini’s office was the size of three mess tents and dominated by an ornately carved wooden desk not much smaller than Luna’s BMW. The surface was empty apart from a cell phone and a cigar humidor. Frank himself was seated on a couch, one of a pair set on either side of a coffee table at the other end of the room, across a wide expanse of Persian carpet that was probably handmade. The floor-to-ceiling windows looked out across the hotel grounds.

Ryder followed Luna as she headed toward the older man.

“Luna…” He rose and kissed her on both cheeks. “What brings you here today? Is everything okay with the show?”

“The show’s going great.” For a second, she looked uncertain, and Ryder realised she’d lost confidence over the past several months. Or maybe she’d just gotten sick of faking it? This fraud and the issues with her mom were undoubtedly taking their toll. “Isn’t it?”

“From my perspective, things couldn’t be better. Every date sold out, and the reviews are positive across the board.” Serafini Senior studied her. “Yet you don’t seem happy.”

The door opened again, and Junior walked in, dressed to kill—possibly literally—in a suit, as usual.

“Sorry I’m late. I was in the control centre.”

Romeo’s gaze held on Ryder for a beat too long, and Ryder knew that he knew.

“I’m having a few issues in my personal life,” Luna said.

Senior poured himself a glass of whisky from a carafe on the credenza. “Sit, sit.” They sat, Ryder beside Luna on the other couch, and Romeo in a matching armchair. “Are the reporters still bothering you? Let us know which ones, and we’ll take care of it.”

“It’s not the reporters. They’ve been very, uh, absent. So, uh, thank you?”

“The stalker with the gifts?” Junior asked. “We’ve received nothing here.”

“He’s still sending dinner to my apartment every night, and my security needs to take a trip. I was hoping I could get a room here for a while because the thought of being home alone totally freaks me out.”

Yesterday, Luna had aww-ed over the dog treats that arrived in the mail from Mark Antony, and Ryder had been forced to remind her that even if the man sent Rocky gifts, that didn’t make him a good guy. The evening delivery of pizza had joined the treats in the trash.

“There are agencies in town that supply contract bodyguards,” Senior said. “Or I can get one of my guys to drive you around.”

“That wouldn’t work.”

A smirk crept onto Junior’s face. “She’s talking about overnight security, Papa.”

“And no offence, but I don’t trust strangers, especially men.”

Ryder stepped in. “What Luna is saying”—there was no point in continuing with the “Ms. Maara” bullshit—“is that we still have no idea who is sending these unwanted gifts, so to be safe, we need to restrict access. At this point, everyone remains a suspect. If there’s a hotel room available, this would be the best place for her because then she can avoid a late-night trip back home.”

“We can provide a room,” Junior said.

Senior nodded. “No, a suite. Female staff only. And I’ll walk you down to the theatre personal. Gotta look after our star, don’t we?”

That had been an easy sell. “We appreciate that, sir. If Luna needs to leave the hotel, a bodyguard from Blackwood will accompany her.”

Randall if he was available, or a colleague handpicked by Shani if he wasn’t. Ryder hadn’t told her the whole story, but she knew enough about Luna’s past to understand her hang-ups around men.

“How long will you be gone for?” Romeo asked.

“If all goes as planned, no more than a week.”

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