I just nodded and pushed to my feet. I was only half awake, and the cold dose of reality that had hit me when I’d thought that Jonas was there but then realized he wasn’t…I just wanted to go back to bed.
♪♫♪
The article shouldn’t have been a surprise to me. It was a miracle Sean had lasted this long under the radar, but I guess his beard, baseball hat and hipster glasses trick worked well when he was this far away from New York or L.A. No one expected to find Sean in the suburbs of North Carolina.
Then the challenge came out. The title of the online magazine article read, “Where is Sean Amity? Cash Reward for Picture.”
I snarled at my phone and then tossed it across my counter. Stupid, nosy people. Now I was going to be truly paranoid. I opened my fridge and glared at its contents.
There were two quick knocks on the back door before Sean walked in. The once-over he gave me was different, but I couldn’t figure out how I knew that. What was different about it? Had it been a little longer than usual? Was the way he looked at me different?
“You look cute,” he said as he closed the door.
I glanced down at my mid-thigh shorts and newly-acquired maternity t-shirt. “Thanks,” I said instead of dwelling on the fact that I’d accidentally kissed him a couple days ago.
I spotted my phone and then looked at him. His expression told me he didn’t know about the article that essentially challenged everyone to become paparazzi. “I’ve got some bad news,” I said, reaching for my phone.
He froze in the middle of setting down his guitar case and looked up at me. “Uh-oh.” He set the case down and came over to me.
I handed the phone over, the article pulled up.
He muttered obscenities as he looked it over. “Well, I can’t leave my house now.”
“You think it will be that bad?”
He looked up at me, his smile bitter. “I think it will be worse.”
I was slightly alarmed by his grim outlook. “Really?”
“Stuff like this…” He let out a ragged sigh. “It brings out the worst in people—in fans.”
“Are you really going to stay in your house?”
“Yup.” He slid my phone across the counter to me.
“You’re going to go crazy.”
He shrugged, then his brow furrowed as he fell into deep thought. “I might end up needing to go somewhere for a few days. Pop up in some photos in New York.”
“You’re going to leave?” Why did that idea make my stomach drop?
He let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. In fact, the more I think about it, the more it seems like the only legitimate option. Until they get a photo of me, it’s going to be a madhouse.”
I bounced my heel up and down and chewed on my lip. “How long would you be gone?”
He looked at me, his eyes sad. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on how the media responds to me showing up. The interest could totally die out, or they could go crazy, wondering why I’ve been off the radar for so long.”
“So…you’re just going to go clubbing or something?”
He snorted. “No. If I show up, looking like I’m trying to be photographed, it will cause even more problems. I’ll work with Randy and figure out a way to ‘accidentally’ be photographed.”
“So, like, a week? A month?” I was clearly stuck on the fact that he was leaving at all.
He came around the kitchen island and pulled me to his chest. “Hopefully just a week. Maybe two.”
A week I could probably handle. Two sounded…less doable. I tightened my arms around his waist. I wasn’t sure at what point Sean had become a necessary part of my life, but he was.
♪♫♪
Sean was gone the next day. Off on a jet, going back to New York where he would submit to the demands of his fans and give them what they wanted—namely crappy photos taken from behind bushes and trash cans. I swear those were more popular than the good photos.
He had shaved on the plane, leaving his North Carolina beard behind and putting his baby-smooth handsome jaw on display.
The first photo to hit the internet was clearly taken from just beyond Sean’s privacy wall. He was standing in his yard, talking to a security guy, wearing jeans and a black tee. He wore