Page 7

PART III

When Selene arrived at Cooper's brownstone, his assistant let her in.

Mandy looked a little harried.

Then again, she always looked a little harried.

The door almost banged off the inner wall and Mandy blew her bangs up and the action seemed to make her cheeks pink up. The other woman always seemed impossibly pale, almost like a porcelain doll.

Selene smiled at her. "Hello, Mandy."

Mandy stepped back and gestured toward the house behind her. "I'm glad you finally got here. Cooper said I had to wait until you got here for me to leave."

Selene's smile faltered a little, but Mandy didn't see it .

She hardly ever looked at Selene.

It wasn't upsetting for Selene. She just didn't want people to be uncomfortable around her. She couldn't be everyone's friend, that's not what she wanted, but she didn't want people to feel like they had to avoid her.

Mandy was shrugging her coat on, her head down. "You can go in." She pulled the front of her coat together and looked up through her bangs.

Selene could only see the flash of green of Mandy's eyes before she looked away.

“You need me to show you in?"

Selene tensed but tried to keep a smile on her face.

It wasn't just a fake it til you make it thing, her favorite voice teacher and her first dance teacher had told her that a smile changes everything about your body. A smile changes everything.

While she wasn't all that sure there was any scientific data on it, she'd certainly felt that it was true.

"I... I can find my way into the..."

"Library." She huffed. "Who the hell has a library these days?"

Selene knew that the comment wasn't for her, but before she started to walk into the house, she gave Mandy a wave as the other woman stepped outside. "Thanks for waiting."

Mandy lifted a hand to wave it and stepped outside. "I get paid to do it. "

The heavy wooden door slammed shut and Selene blew out a breath.

"Now where," she wondered under her breath, "is his library?"

"Selene? Is that you?"

Her shoulders sagged in relief. "Cooper? It's me! Sorry I'm late!"

Cooper appeared at the landing on the staircase. He lifted his hand in greeting. "Nonsense! The party doesn't start until you're here. Do you want me to come down-"

"I can come on up. No need to make the evening into a workout if you don't need to."

She was halfway up the stairs before she realized that she hadn't taken her coat off.

Scolding herself as she moved, she peeled her coat off and draped it over her forearm. As she reached the landing, she could see Cooper's curious gaze on her face, and she could hear quiet conversation in the room off to the right.

A quick look told her that it was, indeed, the library.

"What are you doing with your coat?"

She grinned and there was a little wince inside at the question.

"Sorry, Cooper. I forgot to take it off downstairs."

Cooper took it in his hands and laid it over a table just before the door. "I'm surprised that Mandy didn't take it from you and hang it up. "

She put her hand on his arm and gave him a reassuring touch. "It's not a problem, Cooper."

"No," He frowned and took a step back toward the stairs, "if she's close enough."

"Cooper, please." She grasped his arm a little tighter.

Tighter than she'd meant to.

"Cooper, really. It's fine. It was my mistake. I know she was staying until I got here. So, again, it's my fault. By the time I got a car to come and pick me up, I-"

Cooper's face changed in a heartbeat.

She could tell that he was concerned, but there was something else weighing on his mind.

He was looking at her like a cross between a guardian and a stern professor. "What do you mean you had to get a car to come and pick you up?"

Selene froze a little. She'd tried to call Mandy when she found herself sitting on her stoop waiting for the car that had been reserved to take her to Cooper's home, but the call had gone unanswered.

It wasn't a huge thing either way. Cooper likely kept Mandy hopping while she was working. Cooper lived life on a fast forward setting. He was always doing something.

So if the reservation on a car had fallen through the cracks, that was fine.

She got to his home, and it was still close to the right time .

Not on time, but...

"Cooper. Please. Can we talk about this later?"

She smiled and hoped that he'd unconsciously mimic the gesture.

When he did, she relaxed a little.

"Okay, come and meet my other guests."

Selene felt relief flood through her veins.

She was glad that there were other people. This way, she could probably avoid questions about Mandy for a bit.

He put his hand on her back and walked toward the open door. "I hope you brought an appetite. Oswaldo has promised a meal of his best."

Selene was really happy, now. Cooper knew a whole slew of chefs, but she really did love Oswaldo's food. It was warm and comforting.

When they stepped into the room, Cooper guided her to the right first and gestured a hand out to start introductions.

"I'd like you to meet Sadie Patterson. Sadie this is-"

"Selene!"

Selene's jaw dropped as Sadie walked toward her.

"It's so good to meet you!"

"Meet me?" Selene knew she probably sounded like a star struck teen, it was true!

Well, except for the teen part.

Sadie paused for a moment when she was a step away. "Is it okay if I give you a hug? "

Selene nodded and a moment later she was wrapped up in Sadie's warm embrace.

Selene mirrored Sadie, hugging her back.

When the world-wide movie star stepped back, Selene was still stunned. "Cooper didn't say that you were coming to dinner." She looked down at her clothes, a simple outfit of mostly black. Boots. Jeans. Long-sleeved blouse. The coat that she'd taken off on the steps. That was black, too. Black helped her slip into the background especially at night in New York. When she was done taking a mental inventory of her really blah outfit, she looked at Cooper. "A little warning would have been nice. I could have worn something... nice."

"I think you look... amazing."

That voice.

Cooper stepped back, putting his hand out to touch her back, and turned her to the left.

It was just enough for her to see the other person in the room.

"William."

He smiled and her heart melted.

It just melted right there in her chest.

"What are you-" "It's so good to see you."

She took a step forward but stopped.

Sure, Sadie had hugged her but that was a kind of greeting that Selene had seen Sadie use on TV. Sadie was a hugger .

Selene was too with people she felt comfortable with. People she worked with. Most of her fans.

William set down his drink on the table and gestured to the chair beside his. "Do you want to have a seat?"

Her gaze moved around the room, touching down on Sadie and then Cooper.

There was something in their eyes. Something different than what she saw a moment before.

She turned to look at Cooper. "What's this about?"

The other man seemed contrite.

"Cooper?"

"Selene?"

She felt a warmth on her arm and turned to see William standing beside her.

It felt a little like a dream.

After all, she'd had more than her share of dreams about him over the last couple of years.

Her cheeks started to burn, and she could only hope that he hadn't seen the color bloom across her skin.

"Why don't you sit down, and we can talk about why Sadie and I are here?"

She nodded.

She was already shocked, but she could tell that she was the only one in the room who didn't know what was going on.

William's hand slipped down to her wrist and then her hand and he walked her to the seat beside the chair he'd likely been sitting in. She didn't know why he was touching her, but she wasn't about to pull away.

Not when she was busy enjoying his warmth and the gentle way he held her.

At least now, she could have some new dreams.

When she sat down, Sadie sat at the same time and Selene tried to sneak a glance at William as he sat down beside her.

There were hundreds of questions in her head.

She wanted to ask him so many things, but she knew that this wasn't the time or place.

So she turned to look at Cooper. She knew him the most of the people in the room.

Or did she?

She held back the instinctive need to look at William.

The curiosity was going to kill her, but she'd waited this long, right?

"Cooper?"

She met his gaze and saw the hesitation in his eyes.

"Sadie and William are here because I asked them to come."

He sat forward in his chair and tried to smile at her but could only manage a slight curve of his lips. " What do you know about Sadie outside of her Hollywood ties?"

Selene hesitated a little wondering if this was a trick question.

"Not much, really. I've watched all of her movies and every appearance on TV. I think she lives in Montana when she's not on set. That's about all I know of her life outside of the entertainment industry." Selene felt her cheeks heat as she turned to look at Sadie. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." Sadie smiled at her. "Much of what's out in the media is a little crazy anyway."

Selene nodded. "I understand."

Sadie blushed and Selene relaxed a little.

"Yes, you would understand."

Selene felt like they had a moment of connection there.

They'd likely had some of the same experiences in their lives, just in different parts of the entertainment industry.

"Outside of my work as an actress, I do live in Montana. My husband is the head of a group called the Brotherhood Protectors."

Selene shifted a little in her chair, her forehead furrowing a bit. She'd heard that name before.

"We offer protection or help to people who need it."

"Oh-kay." Selene felt like she should be getting a bigger picture of what was going on, but she couldn't seem to put her thoughts together into a single thread.

"Here."

She turned her head and saw William reach out a glass toward her.

"A glass of water?"

She nodded slowly and took the glass in her hand and lowered it to her knees.

"Thank you." She managed a lopsided smile in his direction.

He swallowed and she had to drag her gaze away from his throat and back to Sadie.

"There was a time in my life when someone was trying to hurt me. I needed someone to keep me safe and Hank was there. He protected me when I needed someone to have my back and as you can see. I'm still here today."

Selene smiled. "That's wonderful. It's nice to have support. Even better when it's someone you care for. That you love."

Sadie's smile lit up the whole room and Selene couldn't help but return her smile.

"William is here because he's working with Hank now."

Selene couldn't hide her surprise at that.

It had been some time since she talked to him about his job.

Well, it had been quite some time since they'd said more to each other than a quick check in .

When she turned to look at William, he was watching her with a little hesitation in his eyes.

"He's here because you might be in danger."

Selene turned to look at Sadie and her eyes searched Sadie's face to see if this... if her words... were real.

Selene came to the sinking realization that Sadie believed her words.

That didn't make it any easier for her.

"When you say danger..."

She turned to look at Cooper.

"The break-in. What they did to my trailer? That... That wasn't a one-off?"

Cooper shook his head. "There have been a few things, but we were able to fix things and keep the production going."

Selene tensed in her chair. "Why... Why didn't you tell me?"

Cooper shifted on his chair and lifted his leg. He set his ankle down on his knee, but he didn't settle into the posture.

He shifted again and lowered his leg until his foot was on the ground again.

"I was hoping that it was just pranks."

"And now you know it's not?" Selene hesitated for a moment before she looked back at Cooper. "Now you think I'm in danger."

The words came out of her mouth, but she didn't feel the fear until a moment or two later .

It seized her heart, and she was suddenly short of breath.

"Selene."

Warmth.

She felt William's hand on her arm.

And she closed her eyes, enjoying the steady, reassuring heat against her skin.

"Breathe."

His hand squeezed her arm gently.

"Or, take a sip of water."

When she didn't move, she felt him lift her arm and she lifted the glass and took a slow sip of it.

William didn't hold her arm there. He'd let go as soon as she'd lifted it.

It was a thoughtful gesture. As she lowered the glass back to her lap, she opened her eyes and looked at him beside her.

The concern she saw in his eyes felt good.

It helped. A little.

"So, if I'm putting together the puzzle pieces correctly, then William is here to protect me?"

Selene turned to look at Sadie. And then at Cooper.

She was already prepared to accept his help, but she didn't expect Cooper's next words. "William is here to be your boyfriend."