Page 95 of Songs for Libby

“Did he touch you?”

“No.”

“Okay,” he muttered to himself. “Okay. I’m on my way.”

“No. Don’t come here!”

“Why not?”

“Because—” I cut myself off and looked around. The lobby was mostly empty, but a couple people were talking near the stairs. I lowered my voice. “Because if you bust in here in all your famous glory, people will notice. And the reporter is probably still sitting outside, hoping to get a photo of you coming to my rescue.”

He sighed loudly. “Okay. Just…let Nick take you home. He’ll be able to get you here without a tail. We can get your car later.”

“I assume Nick is the bodyguard?” There was a chill in my voice. Yes, it was on purpose.

“Yeah. Nick is a great guy and…we’ll talk about that when you get home.”

“Yes, we will.”

“So you’ll let him bring you home?”

“Sure.” My fear of the reporter was greater than my annoyance with Sean.

“Okay. I’ll see you when you get here. Can you hand the phone back to Nick?”

I did so without saying goodbye.

“Hey, man,” Nick greeted.

When they ended the call, I gave Nick a sardonic smile. “Nick, I presume?”

“Yeah.” He had the grace to look a little sheepish. “Sorry we had to meet this way.”

“Would you have preferred we never met?” I asked, a bit darkly.

“No, I wanted to meet you up front, but Sean was under the impression you wouldn’t accept protection.”

“He was right.” I heaved myself to my feet. “Shall we go?”

He nodded. “I’ll pull my car up to the back door. Then you can come out.”

I gave him a mock salute and he left through the side door instead of the main entrance.

I sat back down, chewing on one nail, lost in chaotic thought. It startled me when Heidi and Gemma came and sat on the couch with me.

Heidi’s face was all concern. “Are you okay?”

I blew out a breath. “Yeah, just…reporters.” I grimaced, knowing they likely knew what I was talking about but feeling awkward that I hadn’t spoken about it with either of them. To their credit, neither of them had pounced on me for information after the article came out.

Gemma gave me a sad smile. “I’m sorry about that.”

I waved it off. “Not your fault.”

“So…” Heidi started with a weighted look. “Any chance you’re going to give us the low-down on that situation at some point?”

A startled laugh escaped me. I kind of liked that Heidi was willing to broach the subject now that I had. Her face was genuinely curious instead of having the hungry look that some people tended to get. “Yeah. I’m sure I’ll tell you the whole story at some point.” I patted her knee, trying to be friendly while also trying to leave. “But right now I have to go.”

“Okay,” Heidi said. “Stay safe.”