Saving the Star by Rachel Bowdler

Author:Rachel Bowdler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: bodyguard romance, lgbt romance, bodyguard, romance, romantic suspense
Publisher: Rachel Bowdler
Published: 2021-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

BECK DID NOT SEE HOW partying in a high-ceilinged ballroom with chandeliers hanging overhead did anything to help victims of assault. She did not see how Atlanta stuffing herself with salmon puffs and olives and guzzling down alcohol would mend the traumas endured by women all over the world. Atlanta seemed to think that she was doing a good thing, and as predicted, she had prattled something predictable and very clearly scripted onstage about how important this event was, and how everybody must donate.

There were surely better ways of helping.

Still, Beck did her job. She trailed Atlanta while she socialized, noticing the exact moment when the champagne took its toll and she grew drowsy and giggly. She watched her pretend to listen to other women’s stories, Beck’s own heart aching for them more than Atlanta’s no doubt ever would. She escorted her to the bathroom and put up with her stupid little games while Atlanta reapplied her Chanel lipstick, blotting it on a tissue before pressing it to Beck’s cheek.

She would admit that the founders of the charities themselves left an impact with their own speeches. Many women went onstage to share their horrendous experiences, all of them causing a lump to gather in Beck’s throat. So many. There were so many who had felt helpless, who had been made small, like her mother.

It was exactly why Beck had chosen this. These were the people she had wanted to protect when she had decided this future for herself. Instead she was stuck with a shallow actress who understood nothing of these struggles.

And even if she did, what good would this do? They were only raising awareness among other women, rather than holding the perpetrators accountable and preventing it from happening again.

Beck wanted more than anything to leave, but the only small gift she was given was when Atlanta sauntered off onto the balcony after her sixth flute of champagne. Like the night at the party, Beck could have remained stationed by the doors, but she needed the fresh air far more than Atlanta.

Atlanta braced herself against the railings, her eyes hooded as she looked out onto the city. Beck mirrored her wordlessly. At night, LA didn’t seem so different from London, or Beck’s home city, Manchester. The palm trees were mere silhouettes, the roads indistinguishable from any other as a line of traffic waited for the red lights to change below. The honking of horns sounded just the same. The only things that served as a reminder of where she was were the Hollywood sign high in the hills across the way and the warm breeze that carried Atlanta’s lavish perfume. For a moment, and for the first time in a long time, Beck wondered about her family.

“Are you having fun?” Atlanta questioned finally without looking at her.

“Oh, yeah, a blast.” The barbs sharpening Beck’s words couldn’t be blunted. She was bristling with them.

By the way that Atlanta faltered, Beck could tell it wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting. “You’ve been walking around all pouty and brooding all night — even more than usual.

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