Page 123 of Love on Tour
“Just talking to myself.”
Christine looked over her right shoulder and saw Matt walking toward her. When he got close enough to see the items she was putting on the conveyor, he blushed.
“Is there some sort of menstrual fairy that lets you know when I’m here buying this crap?” she asked.
“Uh, no. I guess we’re just this lucky,” he said.
“Hi,” Christine said.
“Hi.”
Matt remained by her side as the clerk scanned her items. Christine felt anxious. She tried to remember her relaxationtechniques, but nothing worked. She hadn’t been this close to Matt since the morning after they’d made love. Had it already been four weeks? She had come a long way in working through the trauma and was slowly getting her emotions in check, but Matt was in a league of his own when it came to stirring up her feelings.
She paid for her purchases and faced the man she loved.
“Well, it was good to see you.”
He pointed to Starbucks.
“I really need to get home and—”
“Please.” He dropped his head and let his eyes peer up at her. Then he put his hands in a praying position.
He looked so cute. She couldn’t say no. She owed him this. She owed herself this.
“Okay.”
She ordered her usual chai and he got a coffee. He paid and they sat down.
“Matt, I—”
“Please let me start.”
“Okay.”
“These have been the longest weeks of my life, not knowing how you’d feel coming out of Oasis. I know trauma can take a long time to heal from, and I’m a direct connection to Austin and Alicia. There were times when I felt like it was someone on the road, maybe even in our crew, and I watched people so closely. I feel guilty I couldn’t do more to help you.”
“You caught those two in the beginning and fired them,” Christine said.
“I did. But they were just copycats. I should have figured it out earlier. I owed you and Austin better than that. I failed.”
“You didn’t fail anything. She was good, and smart, and calculating. I never suspected her because she was so nice to me. We suspected Phoebe because she wasn’t nice to me. Butthat should have been the flag that it wasn’t her. We don’t think like cruel people, Matt. And that’s a good thing,” Christine said, reaching across the table to put her hand on his arm.
“Thank you for trying to make me feel better. And you’re right, we don’t think that way. But it has made me double down on doing background checks on the entire crew.”
“Would that have caught Alicia?”
“No. It wouldn’t. But it might catch someone else. Every time something else happened, I had so much pain for you. Watching it happen was devastating. Especially to someone like you. Someone I cared so much for. Felt so much for,” Matt said, putting his hand on top of Christine’s.
“Felt?” Christine’s chest constricted. Were his feelings for her in the past?
“Felt then and feel now. I love you, Christine. When I assumed I was competing with Austin, I let it go. When I found out I wasn’t, I dared to have hope.”
“What now?” Christine asked.
“I’ve been respectful and given you the space you asked for. Hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was leaving you alone when I felt you needed me the most. I want you in my life, Christine. And I don’t want to wait another minute. How about dinner? My place, tonight. I’m cooking.”
“Your place? Need I remind you of today’s purchases?”
