Page 113 of Protecting Mr. Fine

“Noelle?” I blinked. “What’s going on?”

“Lots of things, apparently,” she said in a hurt voice. “I’m here with your bodyguard, answering her questions—which, seriously, am I actually beinginvestigated, Zee? Because that isincrediblyinsulting. You and I wanted to take your career in different directions, I know, and I admit I made some mistakes, but I thought we were overthat. In Amsterdam, I tried to thank you and explain how I’m actually way, way happier now. I’m a public relations liaison for visiting foreign dignitaries, and I freaking love it. I’m really good at it. And no offense, but like… you’re gonna have a hot career for, what? Another ten years? Tops? Royalty lasts forever?—”

There were the brief sounds of a tussle, and then Lou’s voice clipped, “I’m gonna nutshell this for you since Chatty Cathy here will take all day.”

“Harsh,” Noelle muttered in the background. Lou ignored her.

“I asked if she could explain how she’d come to be in every single location where we’ve had an, um… incident,” Lou said carefully, not revealing too much information. “Apparently, she was in San Diego meeting up with the head of the royal guard?—”

“Kasper,” Noelle called into the phone.

“Kasper. He was supposedly meeting her on behalf of the royal family to discuss publicist stuff for this holiday trip to the US. Noelle is working as a publicist for a company that provides domestic media support to visiting dignitaries.”

Noelle tried to butt in again, but Lou spoke over her. “He met with her in San Diego and Los Angeles, both times at your shows there because he’s supposedly a huge fan. Such a big fan Noelle ended up giving him a bunch of swag. You know, things like pens, temporary tattoos, anovelty rubber stamp from your first album.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Kasper? But… he couldn’t have been at Shaky Knees.”

I thought of where Bear was right now. On a plane in the air over god-knew-where with the royal family.

And Kasper.

My chest was tight, and it wasn’t until I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Kenji’s low voice in my ear reminding me to breathe that I realized I was hyperventilating.

“Apparently, he was. He met up with Noelle there, too, andsomeonedidn’t seem to think that was an excessive amount of in-person meetings to arrange PR for a two-week trip, but whatever.”

I heard Noelle complain in the background.

“Lou, did you tell Violet all this?” I demanded.

“She got the longer, Noelle-narrated version, but yes,” Lou agreed. “She said she’s checking on a few more things.”

“Good. Please,pleasekeep me posted. I need someone to notify me as soon as they contact Ryan. He needs to know to keep an eye on Kasper?—”

“Kasper’s not with Ryan. That’s the other thing.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Couldn’t you have led with that? Jesus, Lou. I was worried. Where is he?”

“According to a final logistics text from Ryan, Kasper is going with the advance team directly to Majestic. We’re waiting for confirmation now, and Violet is contacting the sheriff in Majestic.”

I sucked in a breath, suddenly panicked. He was coming here? What would Kasper do? How far would he go? Would he step up his fear campaign and actually try to hurt me? Oh, god, Bear would never forgive himself.

And all for what? Because Kasper thought if Bear stopped protecting me, he’d immediately run back to Ventdestine? Like there weren’t a billion other jobs he could do instead?

Clearly, the man wasn’t thinking logically. He’d believed in the winds of fortune too hard and had lost sight of reality. How could I make it clear that Bear was no longer coming back to Ventdestine under any conditions? How could I get Kasper to leave us the hell alone? How could I protect Bear from someone who couldn’t see the truth when it was right in front of him?

How could I reveal the truth without spilling our secret?

I bit my lip as a memory of playing Secret Sauce tickled the back of my mind.“…the best way to deal with multiple potential scandals was to let them all blow free at once…”

Maybe I didn’t want to divulge one truth butfivetruths.

“Noelle,” I said slowly. “I need to write a few press releases.” I bit my lip and gave Kenji a nervous smile. “Do you think you can help?”

TWENTY-EIGHT

RYAN

Black bears are sometimes more wary of each other than they are of other big predators like wolves or mountain lions. Turns out, the real threat can come from the least expected places—like another bear competing for food or territory. Despite this, bears rely on their families, their mates, and their close allies, especially when facing the unknown. They know they need to trust their instincts and lean on the people they love.

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