“My luggage has never been stolen.”
“Okay. I have to go. I need to wrap this tour up and go home and pack my budget suitcase in a way that will make you insane. I’m not planning to fold anything, just toss everything in there.”
“You’d better be joking.”
“Nope.”
“It’s a good thing you’re cute.”
“Same.”
I ended the call and looked up at Christina who had opened the slider to the back yard but was glancing back at me. “You two lovebirds are adorable,” she said.
“He basically called me a bag lady,” I said. “How is that adorable?”
She shook her head and smiled. “You’re happy and in love with James. Just admit it.”
I fell back onto the carpet with a groan. “I am! God, how did this happen?” But honestly, it would have been impossible to resist James. He was just determined to be with me.
“I don’t know, somewhere between cocktails and him buying you a house.”
I rolled on my side, taking Kadin with me, who giggled. “It’s a good house, isn’t it?”
“It’s a good man who bought the good house. Enjoy it, Mia.”
“I am. I plan to.”
She eyed me. “You’re scared he’s going to dump you, aren’t you?”
Yes. “No. Not exactly. I’m not scared. I’m just trying to be practical. Maybe he goes hard like this, then flames out. Maybe in a month this will all be over.”
“And maybe you should stop assuming that only things that are difficult and a lot of hard work have any value. Sometimes things, relationships, life, can be easy.”
“Not in my experience.”
“Maybe the other shoe isn’t going to drop.”
“And maybe Ji-Ho is secretly a famous K-pop star who is hiding in Las Vegas from his evil manager or a crazy stalker.”
Chrissy grinned. “Then I guess I need to stick close to him and protect him.”
* * *
“I can’t believe my fucking luggage got stolen.” James was fuming as we stood in the baggage claim area of the Nashville airport two days later.
I almost laughed, but I just shrugged, figuring it was better to keep my opinion to myself. I didn’t blame him for being upset, but the luggage was Gucci. Why would he check that and expect it not to get stolen? If I was a thief I would go right for the expensive bag, assuming it contained valuables. Seemed like a no-brainer to me.
“I guess you need to fill out a claim form.”
“I guess so.” He yanked my suitcase so hard it flipped on its side. He righted it, then started toward the office area. “Okay, I need to shake this off.” He actually shook his hands and jumped up and down a little. He rolled his neck. “They’ll find it, right? It’s not lost forever, just temporarily.”
“I’m sure they’ll find it.”
It was then that I noticed a man staring at him, like he recognized him. James didn’t seem to notice, so I just fell in step beside him as we went to the office a few feet away. Despite the fact that he was clearly irritated, James was calm and friendly to the woman behind the counter. She in turn seemed fascinated by him. She kept smiling and tucking her hair behind her ear. I felt completely invisible and superfluous.
After being reassured his luggage would arrive at Cash’s house later that afternoon, we left the office. James was immediately approached by the man who had been watching him. He wanted a selfie with him. James complied and I again hovered, feeling out of place. It was like getting bumped at the nightclub by the woman looking to score with him.
It reminded me of being a maid. Everyone ignores the maid unless they need extra towels or the minibar replenished.
Not a new feeling, but not one I’d been expecting to experience with my boyfriend.
But after the selfie, James asked the man, “Hey, would you take a picture of me and my girlfriend?”
“Sure, no problem.”
James smiled at me and pulled out his phone. He swiped on it and handed it to him, and then put his arm around me and tugged me in close to him.
I felt awkward and wasn’t exactly sure why, but at the last second James kissed the side of my head, which was so unexpected, I smiled. Okay, I actually giggled like a schoolgirl. I admit it. But sometimes he could be really sweet. Or all the time now actually.
Flying first class had been a new experience. I hadn’t even been on a plane in a decade, let alone where I was handed a hot towel to wash my hands. It had been amazing to get great service, but it had contributed to me feeling awkward. But James was easy to be around, he made me happy, and that was scary.
Chrissy was right. I was suspicious of anything that was pleasant.
How absurd was that?
“Thanks,” James said as he took his phone back. “I appreciate it. You have a good day.”
“Thanks, you, too.” Then he blurted out, “Your girlfriend is really gorgeous. You’re a lucky guy.”
James laughed. “Right? Trust me, I know it, man.”
That surprised me to the point I actually felt heat in my cheeks. Maybe being invisible was more familiar than this feeling. “Oh my gosh, thank you.”
When we walked away, James looked down at me. “Do I tell you enough that you’re beautiful? I feel like I don’t.”
“You tell me all the time.”
“I’m going to tell you more often. You’re very beautiful, Mia.”
He was definitely a cinnamon roll. So gooey on the inside. I grinned at him. “Thank you. And you’re very attractive too.”
“Even with my scar?” He pointed to his temple.
“Even with your scar. How did you get that? Football?”
“No. My little sister was falling off a slide and I ran to catch her. She kicked me in the head and I connected with the edge of the slide. My head split like a watermelon. I was ten, she was five.”
“That’s very graphic imagery.”
He just grinned back as we approached the rental car area. He had reserved a truck ahead of time and within minutes we were in it, heading out of the airport.
“I feel like I need to tell you something, but I don’t want you to be mad at me,” he said, shifting gears.
I eyed James suspiciously. “Is this where you tell me that you bought me a car? Or you replaced all the clothes in my suitcase with sexy lingerie?”
He laughed. “No. No car and no lingerie, though I wish I had thought of that myself. Damn. Next trip. I’m disappointed in myself for not thinking of that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Before Train and Sydney were together, she asked me to have sex with her and I basically said yes.”
“Basically?” I stared at him, not thrilled with the thought that I had to spend a weekend with someone he’d had sex with, married to someone else or not. “How do you basically have sex? With a latte in your hand?”
He gave a short laugh, then cut himself off, like he’d realized it was the wrong time to laugh at my joke. He didn’t look at me, but kept his eyes on the road. “No, no, we didn’t actually have sex. Nothing happened because at that moment seeing us made Train realize he wasn’t going to let that happen and he hauled her off to his hotel room and knocked her up.”