Bodyguard SEAL (SEALs of Coronado Book 8), Paige Tyler [best classic books txt] 📗

always been accessible to them and wasn’t going to change now. Knowing Noah was concerned for her was endearing—even if it was his job—but she honestly didn’t think there was any danger of the bad guy infiltrating the release party since most of the people attending were teenage girls.

Noah took up a position at the rear of the stage area, probably thinking he was being inconspicuous. That was crazy of course. There were a lot of women in the ballroom who’d caught sight of him and couldn’t keep their eyes off him. She didn’t blame them. If Noah wasn’t standing behind her, she’d be staring at him, too.

She was almost at the end of the little speech Claire had helped her put together when she spotted Noah’s Teammate, Sam, in the back of the ballroom. She almost stumbled over the story she was telling about meeting her very first fan, but recovered just in time to see Wes over by the archway that led to the kitchen. Noah must have asked his friends to provide some extra protection. It was almost certainly overkill, but very sweet nonetheless.

A second later she saw Lane, smiling broadly as he realized she’d noticed him. Either that or he was really psyched at being at the book signing. She’d have to remember to keep a book to the side. He deserved a signed copy for showing up here. Even if he was a closet superfan.

Noah stuck close when the signing started, and readers began jumping in to take group selfies with five or more people at a time. Peyton laughed, wishing he could let himself relax. But no. Instead, he looked poised to attack the entire four hours. She wasn’t sure how he did it. Seriously, it seemed exhausting to her.

As the last few readers hurried over for one more hug—and a few more easter eggs from the next book—Noah moved even closer. He looked ready to shove them out the door, but Peyton waved him off. She absolutely loved this part of her job and could do it all night.

“See?” she said as the remaining teenage girl paused on her way out of the ballroom to give Peyton a big wave. “I told you everything would be fine tonight.”

Noah opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say anything, Gwen and Claire showed up with Heather, Kiki, and Scott, all of them talking excitedly about how fantastic the release party had gone.

“Did you have a good time, Noah?” Kiki asked, still looking at him like she was sizing him up for her next book cover. Or some indecent pics she could keep under her pillow. “And have you reconsidered the modeling career?”

“Yes and no,” Noah said in a completely flat tone that pretty much ensured Kiki picked up on the fact that the small talk part of the evening was over.

Peyton bit her tongue to keep from laughing as Claire filled her in on the details of the next few promotional events. When her publicist was done, Gwen then asked about the status of her next book. It wasn’t due for two weeks, but they always pushed her to turn manuscripts in early. Peyton got about four months to write it and the publisher got twice that to check for typos and point out problem areas. There was something inherently unequal in this division of labor agreement, at least from Peyton’s perspective.

“I’m close to wrapping everything up,” she assured her editors.

“Excellent!” Gwen said. “Why don’t I stop by tomorrow and take a look at what you have so far. Just to give marketing something to work with. Get ahead of the game, you know?”

Yeah, Peyton did know. They wanted the book early and badgered her until they got it.

A few minutes later, Gwen and the rest of the crew left to grab a late-night snack at the hotel restaurant, leaving Peyton and Noah alone in the ballroom for all of two minutes before the hotel staff came in and started breaking down tables and dragging away the chairs.

Peyton was more than ready to head home. She might be riding the endorphin high of being around so many readers right now, but she’d crash at some point. But as she and Noah headed for the door, her three other bodyguards arrived, along with Laurissa and Tabitha, smiles on their faces.

“That was unreal,” Lane said with a laugh. “I’ve never seen anything like that. There were so many people and they were all fans of your books!”

Peyton couldn’t help laughing along with Lane, realizing that he’d been as caught up in the excitement as all her other readers had.

“Speaking of fans,” she said, reaching into her big purse and coming out with the book she’d remembered to set aside. “This is for you.”

Lane stared at the book for a second, then flipped open the front cover to look at the words she’d written inside. His smile widened. “This is awesome! Thanks!”

“The signing went smoother than I thought it would,” Wes said, shaking his head as Lane immediately started flipping through the book. “When we first pulled up and saw all the people, I had visions of you being crushed as hundreds of people rushed the table to get their books signed. But this thing went off without a hitch.”

Peyton would have chatted longer, but the hotel staff politely nudged them out of the room a few moments later so they could finish cleaning up.

“You guys feel like grabbing pizza with us?” Sam asked as they walked into the lobby. “I know this great place a few miles from here.”

Noah threw Peyton a look before shaking his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I think we’re going to head home. It’s been a long night.”

She sighed. “While I’d love to, Noah’s right. Besides, I need to get a little writing done before bed.”

They all seemed bummed she and Noah wouldn’t be joining them, but said they understood. Before they took off, Sam asked if he and