Page 87 of Songs for Libby

His face was all apology. He raised his hands to his side. “You’re in this with me now. Things are going to change.”

I stayed quiet, not wanting to say out loud what I thought he might be suggesting.

“You need a security detail.”

My shoulders sank. “No.” That one word landed somewhere between a whine and a cry. “I was fine after the last article.”

“They didn’t think you were carrying our love child before.”

Well…that shut me up. Still, I shook my head. “I don’t want a bodyguard, Sean. This isn’t New York or LA. It’s not the same.”

“I know, but it’s still a big deal.”

I shook my head and folded my arms in front of me.

“Libby.” His voice was a warning.

“I know you’re worried, but I still get to make my own decisions. I don’t want this.”

His face fell. “Please, Libs?”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised. “But I’m not going to overreact and start trooping around with some muscle man dressed in all black. That would attract more attention, not less.”

“Your security wouldn’t look like that. My security is meant to stand out and deter overzealous fans. Your security would be designed to blend in.”

I moved around him, pulling a bowl from the cabinet. “You’ve thought about this way too much.”

“Of course I have.” He walked over and put his hands on my belly. “I happen to have a vested interest in your safety.”

Whoa.

I was speechless for a moment. I had made Sean put his hand on my stomach several times to feel the baby kicking, but this was different. It felt less friendly and more intimate. There was also the look of soft sincerity in his eyes that made my chest constrict for a moment. Why did this moment hit me so hard? Was it simply that I recognized the look he gave me as something more than just friendly concern? Or was it the fact that he so seamlessly included my baby in the equation? He saw me for me, and he knew that I now came with another little human.

What had we been talking about?

I shook my head. Security. That was it.

“I don’t want a security detail. Not now.”

“If not now, then when?”

“When it’s actually necessary. I don’t want to turn my life upside down for something that might happen.”

He let out a deep sigh and ran his thumbs over my rounded belly. Was he doing that on purpose? “Okay,” he conceded, and it took me a moment to realize I had won the argument. “We’ll hold off for now.”

“Thanks,” I said, my voice a lot breathier than it should have been.

He kissed my forehead, then excused himself to go back to his house and get ready for the day.

I was left…befuddled.