Chapter Fourteen
Hayes
The hotel ballroom buzzed like a kicked beehive when we arrived—laughter, chatter, and the soft rustle of paperbacks sliding across tables. The air was stuffy and hot until I was almost dizzy with it.
I’d been in louder, busier places. Concerts. Stadiums. Riot control. But this? This was chaos of a different breed. Or maybe every little thing felt like too much because I wanted to be back in that quiet hotel with her.
Luna was in her element. Despite the awkwardness in the truck, she smiled easily and talked with every fan, her laughter carrying over the noise. Every so often, she’d glance up at me, a flicker of warmth, confusion, maybe both, before turning back to the fan in front of her.
I stayed a few paces back, scanning the crowd, doing my job. At least, trying to.
I could list exits, ID security gaps, and spot a hidden weapon from a mile away, but none of that was what had my pulse out of rhythm.
It was her. The way she tucked her hair behind her ear.
The way her fingers brushed mine when I passed her a bottle of water.
The way my chest still burned when I remembered the taste of her lips last night.
I’d told Gray I’d gone too far. I believed that.
But standing here, watching her, it didn’t feel like crossing a line. It felt like finally seeing one and realizing I’d been on the wrong side all along.
“Busy crowd,” one of the event organizers said, smiling as she passed.
“Yeah,” I answered automatically.
It was packed shoulder to shoulder now. Someone tripped near the signing table, spilling their drink.
I was moving before I even thought about it, hand at Luna’s back, as if she needed my protection from a few drops of coffee.
She looked up at me, startled, eyes locking on mine for a second too long.
“It’s fine,” she murmured.
I stepped away, mad at myself for reacting like it was a bomb threat.
Gray’s voice replayed in my head: Stop waiting for history to repeat itself.
But history had teeth. It had names and faces and memories that didn’t fade, no matter how many new ones I built on top.
She caught me watching her again. Her smile faltered, just a little, before she forced it back for the next reader.
She thought I regretted it. I could tell. The truth wasn’t that simple.
When the signing finally wrapped, she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her wrist. “That was insane,” she said, smiling tiredly.
“Yeah,” I managed. “You handled it well.”
What I didn’t say was I can’t handle this. That I’d spent the entire event torn between wanting to protect her and wanting to be the one she didn’t need protection from.
By the time the staff started packing up, I’d made up my mind.
Tomorrow was the last stop. She needed a different guard. Someone who wasn’t distracted and jumpy. Someone who could focus on the job without second-guessing every sound. Someone who saw her only as a client, nothing more.
******
It took three hours to drive from Houston to San Antonio. Three long hours when we should have talked this whole thing through. Instead, Luna slept with her temple against the window, and I spiraled in my own head.
I was desperate for space by the time we got to the hotel.
“I’m so sorry, there was a mix-up with the booking. We only have one room available,” the hotel clerk said, anxiety written on her face.
“No other rooms?” I asked.
“Conference,” she said with a shrug.
“It’s fine. We’ll make do,” Luna said. Her lips were a pursed white line. The tension between us had to be getting to her.
As soon as we opened the door, it was clear that one room wasn’t our only problem.
“The one bed trope,” Luna said under her breath.
Any hope I had of escaping the tension really disappeared then.
Luna let out a resigned sigh and sat on the edge of the bed with her arms folded. “We might as well talk.”
I should have known she wasn’t the type to leave things unsaid. I took a seat in the chair across the room and faced her.
“I heard you on the phone with Gray this morning, and I need to know one thing. Did you request to be replaced because you don’t want to be near me or because you want it too much?”
“It isn’t that simple, Luna.”
She scrunched her brow. “Of course it is. You are a professional bodyguard. You professionally guard bodies. Now that you have touched my body, you want to run away. The question is why?”
“I can’t be distracted, Luna. You know that, and you know why.”
She let out a frustrated groan. “I do, but this job is one more day, Hayes. One. Then you don’t have to watch my back and can throw me on it instead. So is that what you want, yes or no?”
I ran a hand through my hair, irrationally angry that I couldn’t see the situation the way she did.
Or even the way Gray did. “I need to make sure you are safe first. Thinking about what comes after is a sure-fire way to miss something. This conference is the biggest part of the tour. You’ll not only be doing signings, but you’ll be on stage doing a Q and A. I can’t get ahead of myself on this.”
She studied me, her usually expressive eyes flat. “So you can’t take one second to think past tomorrow and decide what you want?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded once. “Fine, we’ll do this the hard way.” She picked up her cell phone, which had been connected to a portable charger, and unplugged the cable.
“What are you doing?”
“Breaking rule two, no charged phone.”
“Luna, you’re being ridiculous.”
She rounded on me. “I’m being ridiculous? Hayes, you can’t even see the big picture for a minute. Or admit what you want. So if all you care about are things that can hurt me, well, I guess I’ll have to hurt myself by breaking your rules.” She stood and started taking off her clothes.
“What the hell are you doing now?”
She tossed her dress in my direction, leaving her in her bra and panties.
“I’m going to get dressed up and go for a drink.
Alone.” She started digging through her suitcase.
“I’m messing up my sleep schedule, my meal schedule, and going out without my guard.
That’s what? Rules one, three, and four.
But hey, Hayes, I’m taking a break. Slow clap for me following rule six. ”
“We both know you’re not going out for a drink. You hate crowds.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that? If so, go take a shower and go to bed. If not, then I’m a danger to the person you are supposed to protect, so you’d better pursue me and subdue me before anything bad happens.”