Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
At least this glare wasn’t aimed at me, and Bear hadn’t seen our hug.
“Better let me tell the Disneyland story,” I said to Bodhi with a laugh, remembering the night in question. “You never get it right.”
“You just don’t like how accurate I am, man,” he teased. He clapped me on the shoulder in a friendly gesture before stepping back. Within seconds, Lou had appeared between us, glaring at Boomer for letting Bodhi touch me. She made a show out of handing me a small plate of appetizers. Where the food had materialized from on short notice, I had no idea, but using it as an excuse to put some distance between us had been genius.
Bodhi didn’t seem to notice. I could still feel the imprint of his hand on my shoulder, but thankfully, it had been over my clothes. Bear was clearly keeping an eye on him, and I even thought I’d noticed him say something to the royal guardsman, Kasper, before tilting his head at Bodhi.
As if I needed the entire security force of Ventdestine looking out for me in addition to Lou, Boomer, and my own grumpy Bear.
“Zee and I played this gig the summer after our junior year at Yale,” Bodhi continued. “It was at a tavern not far from Disneyland. We’d gone to LA that summer to try and get discovered, you know? And we ended up getting some really great gigs. So at the tavern, we met this super-chill bass player who also worked as a cast member in the park. He got us tickets one night and let us stay for this extra hour thing…” He continued to tell the story about how I’d been fine on every thrill ride, but my stomach had revolted on the spinning tea cups. The Ventdestinian kids were riveted to his every word.
A few moments later, the event hostess pulled me away to greet the mayor of Amsterdam and her husband. I gave Bodhi an apologetic glance, but he waved me away good-naturedly. Boomer got called away for some reason, but Lou stayed with me as I was led from person to person around the room. It was a little exhausting, but the compliments not only on my music but on my charity efforts were really uplifting.
“We’re looking forward to the fundraiser in Berlin,” someone said. “It’s quite a lineup.”
I nodded politely. “I’m very excited for it. The LGBTQ Youth Coalition is working together with the Marian Foundation on some exciting projects. It’s an organization I’ve worked with in the past, and I’m thrilled to be included in this benefit show.”
The room was more crowded than I’d expected. “Lou,” I muttered, “I thought this was supposed to be pretty small.”
She nodded but didn’t look concerned. “Apparently, the royal family invited some additional dignitaries. Don’t worry, they were fully vetted by the royal guard. Boomer’s making sure no one else gets past security.”
“If you guys are okay with it, I’m okay with it,” I said, even though the crowd was getting large enough to make it nearly impossible to avoid being touched. People brushed past me here and there, and it became difficult to keep my eye on Bear. The king seemed to be monopolizing his attention by introducing him to the prime minister, the mayor, and a few other people I didn’t recognize.
Throughout it all, though, I felt his eyes on me. I knew he was making sure I was okay. And because I wanted him to be okay, too, whenever I caught him looking, I offered him a reassuring smile.
After that, everything happened in a blink.
Someone bumped me from behind and gasped a feminine apology. I turned to see Queen Gisella glaring down at her shoes in disgust. “Zee, I’m so sorry. I’m wearing impossible heels today. But I wanted to get a photograph of you with the children before you leave, if that’s okay?” Her own security officer, a quiet but attentive woman, was murmuring into an earpiece for someone to arrange different footwear for the queen before the concert. While she was distracted, Gisella grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the side of the room where the royal teens were. I glanced back to make sure Lou was with me but saw someone had stepped between us, blocking her way.
“It’s fine,” Gisella said, “Hedda is…” She looked over her shoulder and realized her own protection officer was also separated from us. Several people had filled in the gap in the crowd we’d come through and were now standing between us and our security detail. Gisella sighed. “She’ll catch up. She always does. I’m sorry my husband has taken Ryan away. He and Kasper are probably trying to lure him back to the royal guard for an obscene amount of money again. I told them no amount they offer will be enough. When Ryan left, he said he wanted to be in the US, closer to his family. That’s important.”