Page 52 of Guarding the Singer

It was only when she heard Badger clear his throat that she realized that she'd lost herself a little too much in his undercover role.

She stepped back and put a hand to her cheek which was still tingling.

"Wow."

William smiled at her. "Exactly."

He turned, his arm still around her and they began to walk.

She let out breath after breath as they walked, and she heard him draw in a single breath.

"Sorry," she murmured under her breath. "I don't know what I was thinking."

She felt his hand smooth down to her hip and he bumped against her shoulder.

"Would it be okay if I tell you that I've been thinking about that for a long time?"

She looked up at him as the automatic doors opened up for them. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

Selene waved to a couple of the crew that walked by and they called out to her with smiles.

"You think we can talk about this later? If we talk now, I'm going to be blushing all day long." She spoke under her breath as another crew member caught her eye and looked at his watch. She called out to the man in his faded denims and his almost uniform flannel shirt. "I know, Joe. I know. I'm early."

The crewman gave her two thumbs up and continued walking.

She looked up at William, realizing she wanted to explain. "I'm never late, but it's become a thing whenI come in, sometimes moments before call time. When the time is ticking down sometimes, I get cheers. Like a marathon runner coming in at the end of the race."

William chuckled and rubbed his hand against her hip as they walked in and stopped at the sign in table.

"Morning, Miss Carter."

"Please, Maureen. Selene is fine."

Maureen grinned from ear to ear. "Sorry. Word came through that we're supposed to call you Miss Carter. I was hoping that it was a miscommunication."

Selene signed in on the sheet and smiled at the young woman behind the desk. "Yeah. I really don't have an issue. I'll talk to Cooper."

Maureen shook her head. "No. No, that's all right. I'm sure it'll be fine as long as you're okay with it."

William saw the slight shift in Selene's expression.

She wasn't upset at Maureen. She was smiling at the younger woman, her voice was warm and calm.

But he knew enough about Selene through his interaction with her and the postgraduate thesis he got whenever he talked to Mary about her favorite singer, that she was kind and courteous. He'd even seen people online, influencers or content people,push to the front of a meet and greet or signing line, demanding access to Selene.

He wasn't saying that she didn't get upset or flustered, but she handled people well. She made sure that the people who had waited for her got the attention they deserved, but she wasn't rude to the interlopers. Even if she was straight forward and didn't allow for arguments.

Sure, people got upset, but he'd seen enough interaction when people had been trying to get public sentiment against her, but people who saw her as a genuinely nice person always seemed to drown out the shouting.

"Maureen?" Selene stepped up to his side and put her hand on his arm. "This is William. He's going to be on set with me until we wrap."

Maureen looked from Selene to him. And then back again.

Maureen didn't seem to hide her thoughts at all.

He could see the excitement and joy in her face.

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