Page 117 of Protecting Mr. Fine

Rocker Zee Barlo Announces New Record Label: Fairytale Recording Studio

Zee Barlo Buys Sprawling Ranch in Wyoming

I waited for the string of headlines to end, but they simply… didn’t.

I finally met his eyes. “Someone’s been busy?”

“Don’t be mad.” Zane was suddenly white as a sheet. “Please. I felt more confident about your reaction when I did it, but now…”

I slid the phone back into my pocket and pulled him close again, leaning in to press a drugging kiss to his lips. “I love you. I’m on boardwith whatever our plan is. I just want to know what the hell the plan is because that… was a lot.”

“I know, but when I found out Kasper was doing this because he wanted you back in Ventdestine, I realized… there was a way to make sure he wouldn’t want you back there.”

The realization came to me. “Tell the world I’m gay.”

He nodded and swallowed. “And then I remembered your story about Secret Sauce and how the king took the teeth out of the scandal by flooding the media with lots of scandals at once.”

I reached up to cup his beautiful face. “So you made up some stuff to distract them from the bodyguard affair?” I teased.

“None of it’s made up.”

I blinked at him. The headlines scrolled through my memory. “The winter sports pledge.”

“I’m funding a winter sports program here in Majestic. And I hope my boyfriend will figure out how to run it.”

My heart rate notched up. “On your Wyoming ranch?”

He rolled his eyes. “Now, that part they got wrong. It’s not a ranch. Right now, it’s a giant parcel of land without a house on it. But soon, it’ll have a home on it, as well as a recording studio.”

“Ahh,” I said, starting to see his vision. “And that brings us to the record label.”

My sweet Zane looked defiant. “It’s time for me to do things my way, Bear.”

“Because you believe in fairy tales again?” I wrapped my arms around his waist.

He nodded. “And I really hope…” He blinked, belatedly processing the giant grin on my face. “Wait. You’re on board with it?”

I nodded and leaned in to kiss him softly. “Very on board. You’re my principal, Zane. Where you go, I go. It’s as simple as that.”

EPILOGUE

ZANE

Bears may wander far and wide, but they always find their way to a home that feels just right. Black bears, for instance, are known to settle down in cozy dens for winter, often returning to the same spot year after year. Once they find a good place—a safe, warm, familiar haven—they stay. It’s a little happily-ever-after of their own, where they can rest, feel safe, and simply be. And maybe that’s the real bear dream: to find the place where they’re fully accepted, totally at ease, and perfectly at home with their honey by their side.

—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 143

There was nothing like Christmas in Majestic.

“Waylon, so help me god, if you ask for me to pose for another picture, I’m going to withhold se…” Silas stopped as he remembered Lellie was in the room. “Celestial viewing opportunities.”

Way, who hadn’t been paying attention to Silas or Lellie, turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. “I don’t need your permission to lookat the night sky,husband. And you’ll pose for whatever pictures I ask you to, or else you won’t get oral…” He noticed Lellie playing with blocks on the rug. “Hygiene tips. Motherfucker. We suck at this.”

Dev shot Way a glare. “I admit it takes some getting used to, but I’ll remind you the f-word is also on the naughty list.”

“Fuck that,” Tully said, plopping a Santa hat on Dev’s head before smacking his cheek with a kiss and going to sit by Lellie. “We talked about this, remember? I’m incapable of filtering out the f-word, so we agreed to teach her it was for adults only.”

“That’s not how toddlers work,” Way said with a snicker. “Wait till you get that first letter home from Mrs. Hamrick in kindergarten. Fair warning, she doesn’t hold back. Foster said the f-word one day after spending the weekend following a plumber around their house, and Aunt Blake never heard the end of it.”

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