Page 35 of Love on Tour
Christine stood in the hall thinking about his comment. She was flattered. He’d offered twice now. And twice she’d said no. Not because she was a prude or because she didn’t think it would be fun, or great, or any number of adjectives that could be used to describe Austin. She just knew it wouldn’t last. And she didn’t want a one-night stand. Flattered as she was, she knew part of her allure was that she kept turning him down. Christine wanted something more. She wanted it all. Smart, stable, sexy, and dependable. A vision of Matt came into her head. Those were all characteristics she’d use to describe him. A shiver ran through her.
Christine took a hot bath and admitted to herself that she enjoyed girly soap. She made sure to use a brand-new bar that was still in the box. She wasn’t a germaphobe but drew the line at sharing soap with Austin’s flings. With her bath taken, teeth brushed, and jammies on, she sank into the soft mattress inAustin’s spare bedroom, impressed at how clean and crisp the sheets were. He probably used a cleaning service.
She felt safe. After the threatening posts, and then finding the note on her door, she was grateful to fall asleep without worrying.
SHE WOKE EARLY, TOOK A SHOWER,and dressed for work. She tiptoed downstairs in case Austin was still sleeping and found Matt in the kitchen.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t expect to see you here.” She felt awkward around him because of her drunken night. She had a vivid vision of straddling his lap and kissing him. It stirred something in her that didn’t resemble guilt. She fought the urge to straddle him right there in Austin’s kitchen.
“Christine? I didn’t expect to see you, either. I guess . . . well . . . I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised, huh?”
His tone carried an edge that Christine didn’t understand. Unless he was still angry about her drunken escapade. Maybe she should apologize again.
“For the record, there were no cookies consumed last night. Wheat or weed. I don’t need to do anything else stupid. I apologize again for that night,” she said.
He stared at her, opened his mouth, and then closed it. What did he want to say? She was about to ask when Austin came strolling into the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants, sans shirt.
“What’s up, Matt? I thought you were coming over at nine,” Austin said.
“No, I changed it to eight. Remember?”
“Hmm. And I agreed to meet that early?”
“You did. You don’t remember?”
“No, but it’s cool. I heard Chrissy get up and it woke me, so it’s all good. How’d you sleep?” He surprised Christine by giving her a quick hug from behind and a kiss on her cheek.
Matt turned away, focusing on his iPad.
“I slept well. Thanks again for inviting me over. I’m going to head to the office. Matt, good to see you again.”
“Yeah, you, too,” Matt said, not looking up from his iPad.
Christine headed for the door, and Austin followed her to her car.
“If you get any more notes or threats, let me know.”
“I will.”
She drove straight to work, where Julianna was waiting in Christine’s office.
“Um, did you spend the night with Austin?”
“How did you know?” Christine asked, throwing up her hands and plopping on her chair. “I thought I was careful.”
Julianna held up her phone and there it was. Social media already had a photo of her car pulling up to Austin’s house.
“Someone’s stalking me.” She told Julianna about the note and why she’d stayed at Austin’s.
“Next time, come to my place. Did you call the police?”
“No. What can they do? Nothing happened. It’s just a note and an idle threat.” Christine shook her head and it drooped down to her shoulders.
“At least they can put it on record,” Julianna said.
“True. Maybe I’ll report it later today. Right now, I have music to listen to. I refuse to let this rule my life.” Christine grabbed her headset, signaling that Julianna should let her get to work. She tried listening to music, but her mind was somewhere else. All she could think of was the nasty messages splayed across social media. She never thought she’d be the kind of person people paid attention to. She had always been invisible, at least until she befriended Austin Garrett. Was it worth it? She had to wonder.
He was heading out to the West Coast for a four-week tour. She wouldn’t see him for at least a month. Maybe things wouldcalm down and get back to normal during that time. She could only hope.
