Page 57 of Guarding the Singer

If he was right, she was afraid of letting people down.

He'd had that same fear before. Lived with it as a constant when his mother died, and he'd been away from home. Away from his dad and sister.

Selene was a talent. She was incredible.

But she was also human.

And here he could see it.

He looked to Mitchel or Cooper to soothe her fears. They were the ones she was looking to for help.

For validation.

He just hoped that they could see it, too.

Mitchel lowered his voice in both tone and volume as he looked directly into her eyes. "Selene. You can't see yourself through the lens like I do. So, I'm going to tell you that this movie? This movie is going to show the world that your talent may haveno boundaries. If you say you're ready to go. I'm ready to go, but understand that your safety, both physically and mentally, is of the utmost priority to me and to Cooper. Together, we are going to make a movie that sets Hollywood on its head. And when this is over, and people see what you can do, they're going to be begging you to do another and another."

Cooper leaned in as well. "If you need a day or a few hours, whatever it takes to be certain that you're one hundred percent ready, you can have it."

Selene turned to look at him and William saw the trust in her eyes when her gaze met his. She smiled and he felt his whole body heat.

"I'm ready for this." She looked back at Cooper and Mitchel. "The crew doesn't know what happened in my dressing room. If I took time off, they'd know that something had happened. I'm sure by now they all know what happened in my trailer. I know how superstitious people are in dance and theater. I'm sure there's something similar for movies. I don't want anyone to think there's something wrong with the production." She looked at William with another smile. "Thanks to Mandy and William, I haven't seen anything in the room, and I choose not to think about it. We've got work to do."

Cooper clapped his hands together and William thought he saw more than a hint of relief in his eyes.

Mitchel looked straight into Selene's eyes and nodded. "If you're ready to work, let's get to work."

He turned and gave William a nod. "You're about to see something... amazing."

Mitchel leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before stepping back and giving her a nod. "I'm going to go and see how the crew is doing. I'll have Mandy come and get you and take you to make-up."

He walked away with Cooper on his heels, leaving him with Selene.

"You've always been amazing," he told her.

She blushed and looked away. "You're just saying that because your sister likes my music."

"Correction," he lowered his chin. "My sister LOVES your music."

"She's the sweetest." Selene beamed back at him and reached for his hand. "Thanks for everything you've done for me already. With you around," her smile softened, "I feel safe."

The tone of her voice said that she meant it. The look in her eyes made him feel... so many things.

Things he didn't have the time to mull over. He had a job to do.

He had to keep her safe.

And he was going to do it.

"Miss Carter?"

He felt Selene tense a little at the interruption.

Or maybe it was the name.

She turned to look at the end of the hall.

Mandy was standing there, her clipboard in herarms. "Cooper wants me to show you to the makeup trailer?"

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