Page 85 of Protecting Mr. Fine

“Zane. Are you saying youwantme to go back to Ventdestine?”

“What? No! Hell no. Of course not. I just…”Feel nauseous. Want to chain you to the wall. Want to tell you how I really feel.“Wanted you to know I would support you. I…”Say it, Zane.“I want you to be happy.”

He crossed his big arms in front of his chest, eyes narrowed. “And you think my happiness lies in Ventdestine.”

“No! I… I don’t know?—”

A knock on the door snapped our attention away. “Zane, your stylists are here,” Lou called.

Bear kept his eyes on me as he called back. “He’s ready. I’m going to need you to swap out with me, Lou.” He lowered his voice so only I could hear as the door opened and Lou escorted the stylists in. “I’m going to make sure the royal family find their seats and have everything they need. I’ll see you after the show.”

I clenched my jaw and nodded. I was a professional, and I would remain professional. There was a show to put on, and I was going to rock the fuck out of it.

Bear’s face softened as he reached out to brush my hand. “Break a leg. You got this. And Zane?”

“Huh?”

He leaned in and brushed my ear with his lips. “My happiness isn’t in Ventdestine.”

As he walked away, I turned in the chair to let the stylists havetheir way with me, my head spinning from his words. What had he meant, exactly?

Thankfully, all I had to do was sit in the chair and get worked on. I was already dressed, so all that was left was hair and makeup touch-ups.

Carlo moved around me in his typical silent but energized manner, applying bronzer to my neck, chest, and arms, while Kim chatted my ear off about the Bear Facts podcast she’d turned me on to as she turned my flat, tangled hair into something stage-worthy.

I let my mind drift off, wondering if I had the guts to sing the song I’d written for Bear. The song was light and fun—the melody still was—but the lyrics revealed way too much about my feelings for him.

I wanted Bear to know how I felt, to show him how much he meant to me, but I also didn’t want to put him on the spot. Not that anyone in the audience would know the song was about him—though Landry might’ve guessed if he was here—but Bear would know.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, trying to summon my courage, to reach out and grab the fairy tale I wanted… but something about tonight felt off. I was too unsettled to risk that song.

Kim’s pleasant chatter and Carlo’s periodic giggle in response to it cheered me up. By the time I heard the crowd outside screaming for the opening artists, I was ready to hit the stage and give a great performance.

Lou and Boomer escorted me up to the backstage area, where I met with the opening band coming off the stage and thanked them for performing with us tonight. I quickly told the band we could debut myothernew song, which I’d renamed “Mending Fairytales”…and then it was time to take the stage.

The only thing missing was my bodyguard.

TWENTY

RYAN

Bears might seem like lumbering tough guys, but they’ve actually got some strong emotions going on! Scientists studying bear behavior have noticed that bears show curiosity, playfulness, and affection toward each other. Beneath all that thick fur and muscle, bears are a little like giant, furry softies with serious heart.

—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 6

I was angry at Kasper for monopolizing my time and implying I should be prioritizing the royal family’s security over Zane’s. Ventdestinian royal protocol had been a pain in the ass when I was actually employed by the royal guards, but it was utterly intolerable when I had a job to do and the man I loved might be in danger.

There’d been three new emails from the Stamper since the one Zane had received in Norway, each creepier and more aggressive than the last as the Stamper grew more frustrated by their inability to get their hands on Zane. I was glad Zane had been spared theturmoil of reading those emails, but replaying them in my mind had made my separation from him during the VIP meet extra torturous.

By the time I was able to extract myself from the king’s box and make my way backstage to watch the concert from the wings, I’d mentally lectured the head of the royal guards about where he could shove his bullshit Ventdestinian traditions.

Thankfully, Zane was doing what he always did onstage—he was killing it.

The crowd had lost their minds when he’d walked onstage wearing the T-shirt he’d been photographed in last year while eating Rijsttafel in a place in Culver City. The shirt was heather gray with a stylized bicycle cartoon on the front with comically large tires and a tiny seat in front of a recognizable Amsterdam canal. He’d purchased it on a previous trip to the city, and the resulting social media posts had tagged him an Amsterfan.

It had been the perfect way to set the mood for the show, and now, his set list was knocking them dead.

Gerhard and Kasper’s offers to lure me back to the royal guard had made me uncomfortable. Gerhard’s entreaties had been personal, talking about how I’d been one of the family and his father had trusted him with his life. He’d mentioned the long-held belief that fate had brought me into their lives, and he truly felt it had happened for a reason.

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