Page 46 of Love on Tour
“Yeah, well . . . that was a night to remember, huh?” He smiled. “I confess I was thinking about it the other night.”
Christine’s eyes grew wide. “Really? Why?” She hoped the answer would be that, despite her being drunk, it was the best kiss of his life. Or something along those lines.
Matt opened his mouth but was interrupted by the brunette’s arrival. He kept his eyes on Christine, and she returned his stare. Then, the brunette touched his arm.
“Uh, Christine, this is Cait. Cait, this is Christine.”
“Hello, Christine. I’ve heard great things about you,” Cait said.
Christine wanted to walk away but knew it would be rude. “I can’t imagine what you’ve heard.” She looked at Matt, worried it was about the Fireball-and-cookie night.
“I may have told her about the dancing naked people fiasco,” Matt said.
“Ah, yes. Quite a night,” Christine said.
“Matt,” Austin yelled. “Come here.”
Matt excused himself, leaving Cait and Christine alone. Christine regretted not having a drink. She needed something to relax her. She had this sudden odd fear she was going to blurt out her feelings for Matt. She wished Cait had left with him. Their eyes moved around the room, the conversation stalled, and they stood there.
“So,” Cait finally said. “Matt told me you’re a song plugger.”
“I am. And you?”
“I work in banking. Loan officer. Nothing exciting,” Cait said.
“Exciting can be overrated. For example, dancing naked people,” Christine said with a subtle motion of her hand.
“True, but you have better stories.”
“How do you know Matt?” Christine asked, dreading that the answer would confirm they were a couple.
“He came in for a loan when he bought his house. We became friends,” Cait said. Christine latched on to the word “friends.” Maybe that was it. Like she and Austin were friends. Maybe nothing romantic was going on.
Cait started talking again. “We go out from time to time. Nothing serious yet. But it’s been nice. Who knows, right?” Cait shrugged.
Christine was glad she hadn’t eaten. If she had, she was sure she’d have vomited right there in the foyer. “Rain check” had just become a rainstorm.
“Ya never know,” she said before Matt returned.
“I swear, Austin relies on me for every detail necessary to live his life. He’d forget his pants if I wasn’t around to remind him to wear them,” Matt said.
“Job security,” Cait said with a laugh.
“True that,” Matt said.
Christine didn’t want to be a part of this threesome any longer, and when she noticed Phoebe walking toward the bathroom, she took the excuse to talk to Austin.
“Nice meeting you, Cait. Later, Matt.”
Christine was falling apart inside. She knew she had no right to be angry. Matt hadn’t come on to her that night. She had come on to him. But still, he had kissed her back. Then again, he had also stopped things from going any further. Now she knew why. He had a girlfriend. She groaned as she approached Austin.
“What’s with the groaning?”
“Oh, was that my out-loud groan?”
He reached his arm around her shoulders and gave her a side hug just as Phoebe emerged from the bathroom. Phoebe glared at Christine when she saw her spot had been taken. She turned her back and joined Julianna, who was casually looking at her watch. Sometimes, it was difficult to find the right mix of people, no matter how cool you were.
“Thanks for the invitation, but I’m going to gather up whoever wants to leave and head out,” Christine told Austin.
