Page 15 of Born To Be My Baby

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Mina said 'Cut' and Gloria let out a long-held breath. Her fingers were shaking as Mina let go of her hand. The urge to run and hide was strong. She couldn't, though. She wouldn't leave Mina and Sean to deal with this all on their own.

She stood woodenly and asked, "What about security at the hotel? We'll need it now, as the Crossroads event will certainly bring in gawkers and ne'er-do-wells who want to take pictures and cause problems. Chris certainly doesn't need or want that, and if we're using this to propel the show to prime time, we can't have that."

Mina stood and tapped on her phone as she stomped across the room. Gloria watched her daughter handle this with such professionalism she was awed. Sean stepped closer to her and his scent wrapped her in an aromatic cocoon. She tilted her head back to look into his eyes. He swallowed as their eyes met and her heart raced. She inhaled slowly to calm herself, her fingers still shook and her body was freezing. She crossed her arms in front of her and Sean softly asked, "Is that a protective stance, Gloria?"

"No. I'm freezing."

"It's eighty-seven outside, and it's not much cooler in here. The thermostat on the wall said seventy-two earlier."

"It's stress."

"I imagine. I can warm you up."

She jumped back. "No." She looked around the room, at the carpet, the furniture, the cameras. Anywhere but him.

To be completely honest with herself, she didn't trust her reaction to him. And she needed to keep her wits about her right now.

"I won't bite," he whispered.

"I didn't think you would."

His fingers lifted her chin so her eyes were once more on his. Hurt registered in her eyes and a lump grew in his throat.

His voice was husky. "We have a lot to talk through."

"I know."

"I did what I thought I had to do for both of us, Gloria. If you would have told me you were pregnant, things would have been different."

"But not better. You wouldn't be where you are and neither would I, most likely."

"Neither of us knows that."

"You've said it yourself. You spend every waking moment on your music."

"So I won't think of you. I learned that if I completely exhausted myself every night, I could sleep without crying first."

"Right. The pictures on the Internet show how you exhausted yourself."

"What?"

"Women. Groupies. Whatever."

He chuckled. "I would have preferred you."

"Right. That's why you broke up with me." She turned and walked over toward the door. Boon lifted his camera off its tripod, then stopped. "Is it safe for us to leave?"

She stopped and stared at him for a split second, then padded across the carpeted floor toward the windows. Pulling the curtains back just enough to peer out, she saw a police line and a group of reporters just beyond the yellow tape they used. Several officers stood guard inside the tape line to keep the reporters from crossing the line. She turned to Boon. "Where's your truck?"

"Out back."

She nodded and strutted toward the door; Boon was right alongside her. Keeping busy was better than wallowing in all of this emotion. She moved with purpose to the back of the BnB. There was a small sitting area overlooking the backyard and driveway. For the most part, it was empty.

She turned to Boon. "There are two reporters just beyond the landscaping. But, if you and Dylan go together, we can ask one of the police officers to stand by just in case."

"Naw. As soon as one of them moves, it'll alert the crowd something's going on. More importantly, how will you all get out of here?"

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