Page 72 of Love on Tour
“Do you want to come up and get water or tea?” she asked.
“Sure.”
He followed her to her apartment and stopped cold when she shrieked.
“What is it?”
She pointed to the note on her door. “With Austin gone, my stalker has been leaving me alone. This was unexpected.”
“What’s it say?”
Christine grabbed the note and read, “‘Glad to see you’re not following him to Florida. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t.’”
Matt followed her into the apartment.
“How many of these have you gotten?”
“I lost track. Six? Seven?”
“Geez, Christine. This is nothing to mess around with.” Matt walked through the apartment, looking in the closets, under the bed, and in the bathroom. Christine heard him move the shower curtain aside. Her heart fluttered at his protecting her. He cared. Matt came back out to the living room.
“All clear. Are you doing anything to protect yourself?”
“I put more locks on my door, and I’ve made the police aware of it. But unfortunately, there’s nothing anyone can do until the stalker makes a move.”
“I can’t believe you’re going through this.” He leaned against the counter, and she wanted to lean into him. She didn’t.
“It’s absolutely surreal. But let’s not ruin this beautiful day by talking about it. Okay?”
“Okay. You have a nice place.”
“Thanks. It’s the perfect size for me. And I like the view.” Christine grabbed two bottles of water and handed him one.
He walked out onto her deck. “A grill. Use it much?”
“I was going to pick up something to throw on it tonight. Want to join me? I do owe you.” She’d blurted the words before giving them a second thought. Now, she held her breath waiting for his answer.
He glanced at his watch, and she knew right then that he had plans. Probably with Cait. “I’d love to, but I can’t tonight.”
“Rain check?” she said. It was becoming a curse word to her. He probably didn’t even remember saying it before.
“We’re racking those up, aren’t we?”
Christine grabbed her spare car keys, and after finishingtheir drinks, they got back on the bike. The red lights she had hated hitting every morning came as a blessing because they gave her a few more minutes with Matt. At the second stoplight, he dropped his right hand to her calf and gave it a squeeze. The gesture was sensual, and Christine felt it shoot from her calf to her thigh and higher.
They arrived at Publix ten minutes later, and Christine reluctantly released her grasp on him. She took off the helmet and yelped as the clasp got stuck in her hair. She tried to free it but ended up tangling it worse.
“Hold on. Let me help you before you rip it out,” Matt said, taking off his own helmet.
Christine’s body tingled from having him so close to her. He gently freed her hair. “You have beautiful hair.”
She felt the tears coming and turned away. “Thank you.” Her voice was a whisper. Had he really said those words? The unruly hair that had given her nicknames like Sasquatch was something Matt saw as beautiful.
“Let me get your purse.” He reached into the back compartment while Christine composed herself. She hit the button on her key fob and the car door unlocked. She retrieved her keys and jangled them in the air.
“Success.”
“Christine . . .”
