34. Sarah
Sarah looked down at her phone as the call disconnected. Theo sounded… off. Had something happened at dinner? She wanted to go back to the hotel immediately, but she understood what he was saying. They needed to keep up appearances—that was her choice, even if she was now regretting it.
With a sigh, Sarah turned to go back to the karaoke booth. She had been looking forward to her turn. Nobody did karaoke in Australia anymore, or at least no one she knew did. Maybe she could convince Alexis to go with her sometime? If she could even find a karaoke bar, that was.
‘Sarah?’
Sarah stopped at the sound of her name and turned slowly. ‘Bodie?’
He walked toward her. He was wearing a suit that looked a little rumpled, and his cheeks were ruddy. By the looks of his glassy eyes, he’d been drinking, although he didn’t stumble as he approached her. Sarah was shocked, to say the least. Why was he here? Was he following her? How did he know where she’d be?
‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, and she was happy to note that he didn’t slur his words.
‘I’m here for work. What about you?’
‘Same,’ he replied, and then grinned. ‘Remember a couple of weeks ago when I said I’d had a rough day in the office? Well, this trip is to hopefully smooth things over.’
‘At a karaoke bar?’
It didn’t sound right, but then, she was also at a karaoke bar for work.
Bodie laughed. ‘You know how it is. Business meetings always end up in a karaoke bar when I come here. I’m not a fan myself, but it’s fun to watch others. So what about you? You said you’re here for work. Did you mean here in the bar or here in Japan?’
‘I’m here, in Japan, for work. With Theo. I’m his stylist for a job he’s doing. I’m at a karaoke bar for pretty much the same reason you are.’
Sarah had never felt uncomfortable around Bodie before, but tonight she did. Maybe it was because they were in a foreign country, and it was weird to see him out of the usual environment. Or maybe it was because he was so obviously drunk. Okay, maybe it wasn’t obvious to others, but Sarah had never seen him like that, not even when he’d spent a night gaming with Gabe.
‘Bodie!’ A heavily accented voice called his name, and Bodie turned to wave.
‘I gotta get back to it. But, if you’re free tomorrow, how about we catch up? I’m leaving the day after, but we could grab lunch… or dinner?’
‘I can’t do lunch,’ Sarah said, biting her lip. Did she really want to spend time with Bodie? He was here for work, evidenced by the Japanese businessman who’d called his name. It did make her feel a bit better about seeing him. She had a fleeting thought that he was her stalker and had followed her all the way here. Knowing he had a legitimate reason to be here went a long way to soothing her fears.
‘I’ll let you know about dinner,’ she said with a smile.
If Theo had to go to another work dinner, then she could meet up with Bodie. It would be nice to talk to someone she knew. Sarah loved meeting new people, but it was exhausting, and as much as she was enjoying karaoke, she wouldn’t want to do it two nights in a row.
Bodie held up his phone. ‘I have the same number, so call me.’
Sarah nodded as she held up her phone. ‘I’ll text you to let you know about tomorrow once I know Theo’s schedule.’ Had she given Bodie her new number? She couldn’t remember, but it wouldn’t matter, because she would be the one contacting him.
Bodie nodded and gave her a wave as he walked away. Sarah watched him go and smiled as a group of men in suits and ties welcomed him, all sporting the same ruddy cheeks indicative of a night of drinking.
‘Sarah! It’s your turn,’ Mihoko called from the doorway of their booth.
‘Coming,’ she called back, slipping her phone into her back pocket and returning to the room.
Sarah had doneher song and then spent the next twenty minutes clock-watching. Everyone around her continued to drink, but she stopped. She needed to get back to the hotel before Theo fell asleep. She wanted to check that he was okay, and they both needed a good night’s sleep before the shoot tomorrow.
When sufficient time had passed, Sarah stood.
‘You’re not going, are you?’ Mihoko asked.
Sarah pretended to yawn and rolled her neck. ‘I’m still dealing with jet lag,’ she said, hoping her performance was convincing.
‘The best thing for jet lag is to stay awake as long as you can,’ Mihoko said.
‘I’m practically falling asleep while I’m standing. I think a good night’s sleep is what I need. Especially since I have to be on set tomorrow.’
Mihoko grimaced. ‘At least you get to work on Theo’s makeup and not Yu-jin’s.’
‘You don’t like her?’
‘She’s just… difficult,’ Mihoko said with a sigh. ‘But if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.’
Sarah mimed zipping her lips. ‘Your secret is safe with me.’
‘Do you need help to get back to your hotel?’
‘I’ll just grab a cab,’ Sarah said.
Mihoko waved as she left. Sarah stepped out of the club and into the muggy night air. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Getting a taxi was easier than she expected, and then she was walking back into the hotel lobby and hurrying to the room she shared with Theo.
As promised, Theo was waiting for her, swiping across a tablet on his lap as he sat on the lounge. He looked like he was in a magazine, and Sarah felt decidedly lacking as she watched him. He was so beautiful and she was… not. She had a healthy self-image, but she wouldn’t deceive herself by thinking she could coexist in a world of models whose beauty was otherworldly.
Theo turned and smiled at her, and her heart fluttered.
‘You’re home.’
She grinned and crossed the room to him, curling her feet under her as she snuggled up next to him on the couch. ‘I’m home.’ She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. ‘What are you reading?’
‘Nothing,’ he replied as he put the tablet aside. ‘How was your night?’
‘Good. Better than I expected, actually. How was yours?’
He blew out a long breath. ‘Pretty much exactly what I expected.’
Sarah sat up and looked at him. ‘Is everything all right?’
He smiled wearily. ‘Everything is fine.’
She didn’t believe him, but she couldn’t exactly force him to talk.
‘I ran into Bodie,’ Sarah said, to change the topic.
Theo stiffened. ‘Bodie? Your brother’s friend, Bodie?’
Sarah nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘Where?’
‘At the karaoke bar.’
Theo frowned. ‘What was he doing at the karaoke bar?’
‘He was with some business associates. Why?’
‘Don’t you think it’s weird he’s in Japan at the same time we are? And that you just randomly ran into him?’
‘I did at first, but he is genuinely here for work.’
‘So?’
‘So, I don’t think he’s the stalker.’
‘I’m not so sure about that.’
Sarah was agitated now. Theo was hiding something from her, and instead of telling her, he was deflecting by using Bodie and the stalker issue.
‘He’s here on business. He was with a group. He couldn’t have faked that.’
‘No, but maybe he arranged this ‘business trip’ so he could ‘accidentally’ run into you here.’
Theo actually used air quotes, which pissed her off even more.
‘And maybe you’re ‘actually’ reading too much into it.’ She purposely used air quotes too. ‘Why are you so convinced it’s Bodie anyway?’
‘He always pops up in the most random places,’ Theo said with a shake of his head. ‘I don’t like it.’
‘See? This is why I didn’t want you or Alexis, or anyone to know about it. It’s bad enough that I suspect everyone around me. I don’t need you doing it too.’
She stood up and walked away. She was too tired and jet lagged to deal with this conversation now. She needed to sleep, and so did Theo. Maybe they would have clearer heads in the morning.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To shower,’ she shot back, not bothering to look at him. ‘And then to bed.’
‘Fine,’ Theo said.
‘Fine,’ she retorted before slamming the bedroom door.