Beatrix awoke in a cocoon of comfort, with Buck’s warm arms wrapped around her.

There were sounds in the hallway. The others must have come home.

Bea moved to sit up, but Buck held her tightly and deposited a kiss on top of her head.

“Think about what you want to say to them before you dash out of this room,” he murmured in her ear.

He had a point.

Her first instinct had been to go dashing out into the hallway to extricate herself from him.

But of course they would know anyway.

And was that really such a bad thing? She and Buck were adults. And she liked him.

“I would never kiss and tell,” he whispered into her hair, sending shivers down her spine. “Unless you wanted me to. In which case, I’d go out there singing the news.”

“Maybe put some clothes on first,” Bea suggested. But she couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across her face.

“Excellent choice,” Buck replied.

He pulled himself out of bed and pulled on the robe he had come in wearing.

“Oh dear,” she said.

“I will gladly wait in here until they all go to bed and then get clothes,” he told her. “You can tell them I’m out running an errand.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m not embarrassed.”

He smiled as proudly as if she had just handed him an Academy Award.

Beatrix slipped into her clothes and they headed out into the hallway together.

“Hey, guys, how was dinner?” Beatrix called as they entered the living room.

“There you are, sleepyhead—oh…” Kate trailed off as she noticed Buck in his robe.

“Be right back,” he said, heading across the living room to the boys’ shared room.

Beatrix watched Kate watch Buck until he disappeared into his room.

Kate turned slowly back to Bea.

“So, uh, did you guys have fun while we were at dinner?” she asked.

Beatrix could tell that Kate wanted to ask her if they had formed a mate bond yet.

Bea shook her head slightly.

Kate made a pouting face.

“Give us a little more time,” Beatrix whispered with a smile.

“Did who have fun?” Cecily’s head popped out of the kitchen.

“I’m gonna let you handle that question,” Kate said to Bea, throwing her blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

Cecily’s mouth formed a tiny “o” as she looked back and forth between Bea and Kate.

“Did you and Buck—?” Cecily began.

But the guys were pouring out of their room before Beatrix had time to think of how to answer her friend.

Buck was pulling a t-shirt over his head. Bea tried not to drool over his swoon-worthy abs.

“So how did your day go?” Kate asked Beatrix, as if they had not been gossiping about her love life.

Bea shot her friend a grateful look.

“It was exciting,” Bea replied.

“Exciting is good,” Cecily said, coming out of the kitchen with a bottle of white wine, condensation beaded on the glass, and a pizza box. She placed them on the table.

“We brought you guys back our leftovers,” she said over her shoulder as she headed back to the kitchen.

Kirk seated himself next to Kate, wrapping an arm around her.

Kate’s relieved smile was radiant, as if she had been in actual pain until he was touching her again.

Bea wondered if their bond could really be so strong, or if she was imagining things.

Buck stood before Beatrix and she patted the seat beside her.

He settled in next to her, and though he didn’t put an arm around her, they were tucked in close enough that their thighs were pressed together.

“So how did it go?” Kate asked.

“I kind of got stage fright in front of all those kids,” Beatrix admitted.

“But you’ve done so many conventions,” Cecily said, coming back in with three glasses.

Solo followed her with three more. He set them on the table and sat next to Cecily.

“This was different,” Bea said. “You know I don’t do well with showing my process. Besides, kids are different. They have built-in bullshit detectors.”

“So what did you do?” Kate asked.

“I didn’t,” Beatrix said. “I froze up. Thank goodness Buck was there. He’s fabulous with kids.”

“It was nothing,” Buck said.

“It was not nothing,” Bea told him firmly.

“You’re going to have to get used to the spotlight, Bea,” Kate said.

“What do you mean?” Beatrix asked.

“I mean this movie,” Kate said. “You can’t make a big movie and not wind up with a lot of people paying attention. You have to learn to put your shyness aside.”

“I’m not going to be that famous,” Bea said dismissively.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Kate said. “But no matter what happens with the movie, when the truth comes out, Buck is going to be crazy famous. Way more than I’ve ever been. How are you going to deal with that?”

Beatrix felt her throat tighten.

“I’m not going to be famous,” Buck said firmly.

“You can’t hide forever,” Kate said.

“I can and I will,” Buck told her. “Keeping my origins secret is the most important thing to me. Not just to protect my brothers back in Stargazer and the others who escaped, but also for myself. I would never, ever want to be the object of public curiosity.”

Bea looked up at him and saw in his eyes that he was serious.

And crazy as it sounded, she was sure that if he wanted to live as a regular human it was likely possible. He was huge and unusually good looking, but he had an easygoing nature and a sweetness that made him seem less alien than his brothers.

She smiled up at him and leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment.

“To privacy,” Cecily said handing out the glasses she had poured.

“To privacy,” they all repeated, clinking glasses all around.

“Not to change the subject, but I did a little digging today,” Cecily said.

Bea felt her heart skip a beat. Cecily had been trying to get investor leads for her.

“I had two people who seemed pretty interested, but neither of them got back to me,” Cecily said. “It’s weird. I mean I know we’re at a con, but usually these guys would be all over a chance to get in on the ground floor of something this promising.”

“It’s my fault,” Kate said suddenly. “You thought that bringing me on as the star would push your project over the edge. But, of course no one wants to work with me if Spencer is out there saying I’m hard to work with. He’s an idiot, but his dad is a big deal in this business. If it helps you, I can step down.”

“That’s not it,” Bea said firmly. “And even if it were I wouldn’t care. I can’t wait to have you in this movie. It’s a dream come true. We will find the money.”

Kirk kissed the top of Kate’s head and Bea was relieved to see her perk up a little.

So Bea might have to work a little harder to get the funding. That was fine. She had a brilliant star, good friends, and a great guy by her side. Everything would fall into place.