1
ADRIANNE
There was a dead bird between me and the most handsome man I had ever met. Its poor little body was twisted and broken. I had found it arranged into a bouquet of red roses this morning. “Where did you find this... gift... again?” Ethan Mercado, head of Mercado Security, asked.
He met my eyes, waiting for my answer, and all I could manage was not swallowing my tongue.
Ethan had sandy-blond hair, and his eyes were a color somewhere between stormy grey and deep blue, and he was just sobig. Everything about him was big.
Seriously, no man should be this good-looking.
There should be a sign or something to warn people.
We were standing over a dead bird, for God’s sake, and all I wanted to do was climb this mountain of a man and wrap myself around him like a scarf.
I glanced away, cheeks flushed.
I was being a total creeper, and he had to know it by now. “It was sitting on my welcome mat this morning,” I explained after clearing my throat.
Saying the words out loud was ice water down my spine, and I was able to meet his gaze again. “I have a security fence around my property. There shouldn’t have been a way for anyone to just walk onto my property.”
Ethan frowned. “What kind of security system do you have?”
“It’s a wireless system that’s hooked to a 24/7 service. If there’s movement on any of the cameras, it starts recording, and if there’s a problem, I can call for help,” I told him.
His frown deepened. I was surprised by the genuine concern in his eyes. “It’s already a gated and guarded community. I didn’t really see the point in having someone sit at a guard station outside my house as well,” I said, stumbling over the words.
I looked down at my hands and twirled a ring that I wore on my pointer finger. It belonged to my mother before she gave it to me, and I’d been fidgeting with it ever since. “I’ve never really been comfortable with the bodyguard thing either, but then—”
“You got the part in the new Falconi movie.”Ugh, so he had heard, I thought and prayed that he wasn’t a fan.
Nearly a year ago, it was announced that I would be taking on the role of Marcia Falconi, world-renowned geneticist-turned-superhero after a freak lab accident. It was the latest film in the Falconi series, and at first, I was so excited.
Then, my world exploded, and it seemed like every Internet troll had something to say about how I was the worst casting choice in the history of casting blunders. “The fans can be nuts, huh?” Ethan asked, hitting on the problem instantly.
An unattractive sound hiccupped from my throat. “They've been... difficult,” I said as diplomatically as I could.
My producer would be proud.
“I had to shut down all of my social media accounts because of the comments. They doxed me, and I moved, and it happened all over again.” I gestured at the bird. “I’ve been gettingpresentslike this for the last month, but this is the first one that’s made itontomy property.”
“Has the production company offered any kind of help?” He looked outright angry now, but I couldn't understand why.
“The assistant director gave me your card,” I said. “He said you were the best in the business.”
“That's it? After all of this?” Ethan stood, and my throat constricted.God, but he was tall. I stayed in my seat, staring up at him. “Ms. Montoya—”
“Adrianne,” I interrupted him.
“What?”
“That’s my name,” I clarified. Ethan blinked once... and then again. “You don’t have to be so formal with me,” I added, in case I was somehow unclear.
“Most of our clients in the entertainment business prefer a more formal working relationship.”
I shrugged. “I’m not one of them.”
His jaw clenched visibly, and I found myself rambling out an explanation. “I mean, I know how to have a working relationship, obviously, but I don’t even have an assistant, you know?”