Page 164 of Babies for my Ex’s Bodyguard

I expect another security update.

Instead of giving me another security update, he places a paper bag beside my keyboard, and when I open it, I find an entire container packed with pickles.

“You already bought me lunch.”

“You ate all of them.”

“That was the plan.”

His mouth almost curves.

I take a pickle from the container and bite into it as he sits across from me. “Are you checking whether I’m secretly falling apart?”

“Yes, because you would’ve told me you were fine either way.”

I lower the pickle to its container. He’s asking without trying to fix the answer for me, and the patience in the way he waits makes giving him the real one easier than I expected.

“I was embarrassed at first,” I admit. “For maybe thirty seconds, and then I got angry.”

“I noticed.”

“I spent so long letting Spencer explain me to everyone. Even my own reactions had to fit whatever story worked best for him.”

Bane listens without interrupting.

“This morning I realized strangers can believe whatever they want about me.” I glance toward the closed office door and the people working on the other side despite the circus surrounding us. “What matters is that I don’t let Spencer turn me back into the woman who waits for him to decide what happens next.”

“You didn’t.”

“I know.” This time I can hold his gaze when I say it.

Bane gets up and comes around the desk, resting one hand against the back of my chair before he bends to kiss my temple. “You handled today better than half my executive team handles a delayed software release.”

I smile. “That’s romantic.”

“I’m proud of you.”

Whatever joke I was about to make disappears, and I reach up to catch his wrist where his hand rests near my neck. “Thank you.”