Chapter Twelve #3
Cait remained silent.
“Does Austin know about this?”
“It’s a surprise,” Phoebe said with a smile.
“The bus is pretty tight on space,” Matt said.
“I’m sure Austin won’t mind sharing his bunk with me, and you and Cait can cozy up in yours. If she can ride the bus, we can.” Phoebe pointed directly at Christine.
Christine had a horrible vision of Matt and Cait sharing a bunk.
“Alrighty then. For now, take your luggage to production. Christine will show you where it is. Christine, I need to talk to you first.” Matt pulled Christine to the side and spoke quietly.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but Austin will not be happy about this.
I’m going to talk to him. Stall them as long as you can. ”
“Got it.”
They returned to Phoebe and Cait.
“Christine will get you set up with credentials and then take you to catering for a bite to eat.”
“Where’s Austin? Can you take me to him?” Phoebe asked Matt.
“I don’t know where he is at this exact moment. But it’s not our tour, and you can’t just walk around looking in rooms. Go with Christine, and I’ll find him and catch up to you.”
“Don’t tell him I’m here. I want to surprise him.”
“Cait, I’ll see you in a bit,” Matt said.
Christine suddenly wanted to be back in her apartment in Nashville. As far as she was concerned, this trip was over. She decided to book a flight home. That night, if possible.
“Come on. I’ll get your laminates,” she said, leading them down the driveway and into production. Then, once their laminates were secured on lanyards around their necks, Christine took them to catering.
“This looks awesome. I’m starved,” Phoebe said.
Catering had set up Italian cuisine. Bread, salad, and various types of pasta and sauces were arranged on a long table.
Phoebe piled her plate high with pasta and meat sauce, pouring on the cheese.
Christine watched, mouth agape. She couldn’t imagine what Phoebe’s workout routine looked like if she could eat like that.
“We didn’t stop to eat,” Cait said. “We were eager to get here.”
“Yeah, we wanted to surprise our men, didn’t we, Cait?”
“I hope they’re okay with us showing up like this. When Phoebe called, I was reluctant. But she convinced me.”
“I’m sure she did,” Christine said, knowing how persistent Phoebe could be when she wanted her way.
“Do you need some help? Matt said you were taking on a big role, practically his assistant,” Cait said.
Christine could not fathom spending time in a small production room with both Matt and Cait but was grinning on the inside that Matt had told his girlfriend about her.
Christine’s phone rang and Matt’s name popped up on the screen along with a photo of him she had snagged from Instagram. He was shirtless. She turned away, hoping Cait wouldn’t see it.
“Excuse me.” She left their table. “Matt. What’s up?”
“Can you come to the bus? Austin is seriously PO’d.”
“What can I do about that?”
“You have a calming effect on him,” Matt said.
“In this situation? Yeah, good luck with that.”
“Please,” Matt pleaded.
Christine couldn’t turn him down. “I’ll try.”
“I’ll be back,” she said to Phoebe and Cait.
Phoebe’s mouth was full but she managed to get out, “If you see Austin, bring him here but don’t tell him why.”
Christine looked from Phoebe to Cait. Cait mouthed the words, “I’m sorry.”
Christine found Matt outside the bus.
“He is hot! Mad as hell. Austin doesn’t like women blindsiding him like this.”
“I figured as much. Let’s go talk to him.”
She followed Matt onto the bus.
“I assume you didn’t know about this?” Austin said, looking at Christine.
“How would I know?”
“She’s your friend.”
“Not really. And she’s your girlfriend.”
“Not really.”
They laughed.
“God, why can’t women just enjoy casual sex?” he asked, plopping down on the couch.
“Because we can’t,” Christine said, sitting beside him.
“Phoebe acts like she can. That’s why this pisses me off so much. It’s not her MO.”
“Maybe she missed you,” Christine said. “It’s three more shows. Let her stay. It might chill out the people who are angry that I’m here.”
Austin put his head in his hands. “It’s just so high maintenance having someone out here.”
“Suck it up, big boy. You can handle it,” Christine said, lightly punching his shoulder.
Matt had been standing back, not saying much.
“What about you, Matt? Now you’ve got a chick out here, too,” Austin said.
Matt looked at Christine. She returned his gaze. Neither said anything. Austin looked from one to the other, his eyes narrowing. “Or maybe you already had a woman out here?”
Christine didn’t know if Matt heard Austin and chose to ignore him or if he’d missed the implication. Christine stayed silent.
Matt broke eye contact and turned to Austin. “Cait would never do this on her own. Phoebe convinced her.”
“Well, she’s here now.”
“Yes, she is. We may as well accept it and deal with it. Look, Phoebe wanted it to be a surprise. They’re in catering. Why don’t you saunter in and act all surprised and happy? Unless you’re ready to send her packing for good,” Christine said.
“I guess I can act surprised and happy. But damn, this is like taking a paper bag lunch to a restaurant. I may have preferred something off the menu,” Austin said.
“That is so crass,” Christine said, shaking her head and frowning.
Austin’s eyes crinkled as he laughed. “I know. Okay. Here goes nothing.” Austin left the bus, leaving Matt and Christine alone.
“I guess it’s going to get a bit crowded on here,” Matt said.
“Maybe not. I’m going to book a flight out of here tonight or tomorrow.”
“What? No. Why would you leave?”
“It’s a chick thing. You wouldn’t understand.” There was no way in hell Christine was going to sit around on the bus watching Matt and Cait together, much less sleep knowing they were cuddling in a nearby bunk.
“I’m not that dense. I get it. Watching Austin and Phoebe hang all over each other can’t be easy,” Matt said.
Matt had no idea she was talking about seeing him with Cait. She figured that was better. She neither confirmed nor denied, choosing instead to be silent.
“It was good having you here,” he said.
“Thanks. I enjoyed it.” Matt walked over and hugged her.
A nice, long hug. She didn’t want to let go.
When he left, part of her crumbled. She fell back on the couch and gave herself a moment to grieve her fantasy.
Then she stood up, shook it off, grabbed her computer, and searched the travel sites.
She found a flight that would get her back to Nashville that night and booked it.
She packed her bags, called a cab, and, without saying a word to anyone, headed for home.
As the flight attendant asked everyone to turn their phones to airplane mode, Austin texted her. I can’t believe you left without telling me.
She texted back, It was about to get very crowded on the bus.
Kinda pissed me off. Not gonna lie.
I’m sorry. But this was about me. Not you.
Austin responded, I’m the star. It’s always about me.
She laughed. Thanks for adding levity to the moment.
See you when I get home?
Of course. Enjoy the rest of Canada. Gotta go. Flight attendant glaring at me.
She switched her phone to airplane mode, glad this wasn’t a Wi-Fi flight.
She needed the break.