Popstar Bodyguard Summer (Sunbreak Harbor Security #7)

Gia

“Hee hee hoo, hee hee hoo.” I expel a panicked breath into the sweaty face of my head of security while I all but haul her enormous pregnant body out of the seat of my car. “C’mon, Allie, keep breathing. We gotta go! Baby’s comin’!”

“Yeah, tell me something I don’t know,” Allie grumbles as I tighten my hold on her hand and hee hee hoo into her face. “And what exactly is—” She pauses, wincing as another contraction hits. “Just what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“Helping. Aren’t you supposed to be breathing through these? Isn’t that what they always teach the birthing partners to do in the movies?”

“You’re not my birthing partner, and we’re not in a movie.”

No, we sure as hell are not. I hustle Allie forward, double back to grab my bag, and bite off any delirious replies I might have about not having a clue how to help a pregnant woman birth her baby. My panic isn’t going to help her through this, and with her wife stuck in traffic…

My stomach flips as I fight to remain calm.

Is this what it’s like for her to usher me through crowds and public spaces every day?

“I appreciate the help, G, I do. But I really need my wife.”

“Thalia’s already on the way. I texted her before we left rehearsal.”

Other than the sweat and the periodic grimace that twists her features during a contraction, Allie seems as cool as a cucumber.

Never mind that a whole human is fighting to get out of her while she waddles through the double doors of Sunbreak Harbor Hospital’s emergency entrance, thumbs flying over her phone as she fires out multiple texts.

“There. Handover sent to the rest of the team. Jonny’s gonna get the ball rolling and call in a favor for me with Sunbreak Securities. They’ve got a guy I know I can trust to take my place for a while.”

“You’re not seriously talking about work right now,” I say, incredulous. Somewhere behind me, someone shouts, but I don’t bother turning around. Too used to people shouting at me.

“Ma’am? Ma’am! You can’t park here, ma’am.”

No one calls me ma’am, so they can’t mean me. Pushing my sunglasses further up my face, I propel Allie forward, past the wildly gesturing security guard, and straight toward the cluster of people standing by the receptionist’s desk

“Allie, darling, you’re about to have a baby.”

“I know I am. And maybe one day, I’ll repay the favor and take you to the hospital to have one. Imagine the absolute media circus that would be!”

Her eyes twinkle with mirth as I snort and drop my voice to a near-whisper. “For that to happen, I would need to be having sex. I haven’t been properly sexed in…”

Another contraction hits, and Allie groans out, “Fifteen months, three days, and twenty-two hours.”

I rear back, my steps grinding to a surprised halt while she laugh-moans her way through it. When it passes, she huffs out a breath and smiles wearily at my bland expression.

“You pay me to know your every move.”

“I pay you to watch over me, but there are boundaries, girl. No need to be keeping that close of an eye on me.”

“I only remember because you were vocal.” After a moment, her hold on my hand loosens, and I nudge her toward an empty seat.

“I promise I’m leaving you in good hands.

Hayden Choi saved my ass a time or two. I just saved his more.

He’s discreet, competent, professional, and from what the other ladies said, a hottie.

So you get a little eye candy while you wait for my return. ”

“I don’t need eye candy. I just need you back in the mix whenever you’re ready.”

Then, I join the group waiting by the reception desk, but time is ticking.

Before I know it, Allie’s face crumples, and she’s bent over the chair, moaning aloud while people turn to stare.

Even from here, I can see the whites of her knuckles as she digs her fingers into the plastic chair, and my panic reaches new heights.

Her contractions seem to be coming faster and faster now, and while I may not know a lot about birthing, I know I’ve never seen my head of security look like that.

We must be close to showtime now—and not the kind I’m used to. But even as I glance around the waiting room, full of ailing people and their loved ones, I know even this place can turn into a stage with a waiting audience.

To wield the power of celebrity or not?

I glance over, chewing on my bottom lip, and evaluate the pain she’s trying to valiantly keep a lid on.

Allie’s been a longtime member of my team.

She’s seen me through ups, downs, desperate paparazzi, and crazed fans trying to hide out in my luggage.

She’s the closest thing I’ve got to family when I’m on the road.

And in my family, the world-famous Golding family? We don’t shy away from using the God-given talent and status we’ve been blessed with.

So, I rip the sunglasses off my face and march to the front of the line. I don’t wait to be acknowledged, waved forward, or greeted. Goldings get the gold standard, and tonight, Allie’s as good as gold—I’ll make sure of it.

“Hi, ’scuse me. We’ve got an emergency here.

See my friend there?” Leaning over the countertop, I aim a gracious smile at the unimpressed middle-aged woman typing away on a keyboard and wave my sunglasses in Allie’s direction.

“She’s in labor. That baby’s about to drop out of her just like the water that exited her body all over the hotel floor, and I’d really like to avoid another messy cleanup on aisle nine situation, so if we could get her settled into a private room right qu—”

“This is an emergency room, ma’am. Things get messy sometimes. Nothing new here.”

My brows lift. That’s now two ma’ams in mere minutes.

“I understand, but she’s gonna birth at any—”

A nurse behind the receptionist fumbles the chart she was holding, and it hits the tile with a loud clatter. “Oh my god, you’re… it’s you. You’re Gia Golding. Your song ‘Midnight Kisses’ was the song I lost my virginity to.”

She clamps a hand over her mouth, and her cheeks go pink with embarrassment as I flash my trademark smile at her, warm and appeasing but not so bright as to invite further discussion.

“Hi, darling. That’s really sweet, but I’m not here for me today. Just trying to help my laboring friend here. Any chance you could get her a private room, please?” I look meaningfully at Allie and then at the crowded waiting room. “The faster, the better.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Right away, Miss Golding.”

The nurse flips into action, and not a moment too soon, because I can already hear it.

The gasps and whispers. The ripple of recognition as word flies around the room and people take out their phones to snap photos and record me walking through the halls with my hair in a high pony and my face devoid of stage makeup.

I slip my sunglasses back on. Keep my polite, controlled smile in place. Tilt my head away from the waiting room and try to answer all the questions the nurse fires at me. Then a wheelchair appears and whisks my head of security down a maze of lanes with me in hot pursuit.

Trying to escape, as I often am, the prying public eye.

Except I’m just about to lose the person I pay to shield me.

An hour later, my ears are ringing and my hand’s numb. Allie’s given up all pretense of Zen hypnobirth-style moaning and instead unleashes primal screams as a way of coping with the intensity of the moment. My bones, too, feel the crunch every time she clamps down and tightens her hold on me.

It’s enough to convince me I can live my life without having children when the door flings open.

“Oh, baby, baby, I’m here. I’m here. I got here as fast as I could. How are we doing?” Thalia runs around the nurses and presses a kiss to Allie’s forehead. She turns her shimmering eyes to me and mouths her silent thanks as relief surges through me.

“She’s doing great, Thalia. You got here just in time.” I stand, feeling more than a little faint as I try to gulp down air. “I’ll just wait outside.”

“No,” Allie growls. “Stay.”

“It’s time. Next contraction, you’re going to push, okay, Mama?” The doctor, crouched low between Allie’s spread knees, shoots me a warning glance that says just do what you’re told.

I lift a hand to my brow. Try to keep upright. It’s too hot in here, too stuffy. “You want me to stay?”

“Just until your new detail turns up.”

I scoff. That could take however long, and it’d mean—

“He’s here already,” Thalia coos, swiping Allie’s hair back from her head. “He’s outside. Ready to go when she is.”

Oh, I’m ready.

The doctor gives me that evil eye again as I ease away. To Allie, she commands, “Time to push, Mama.”

“I’ll be right back.” I move fast to give the couple space, to grab some much-needed air and let Allie birth her baby in peace. But as I yank open the door, I make one critical mistake.

I turn around at the sound of her scream.

My eyes zero in on the magical sight of a baby crowning, pushing its way into the world, and the next thing I know, I’m going down, down, down.

There’s a flash of sea foam green. A figure moves before me. Strong arms grab hold of my body and the bright overhead lights pierce my eyes.

Still, the door cracks against my skull. Pain radiates, and I cringe when my savior moves into view. Dark hair, dark eyes, peachy brown skin that’s several shades lighter than mine and sun-kissed.

The snap of his brows, the swoop of his face-framing fringe, and the swirling concern in his deep brown eyes are the last things I see before everything goes dark.