“And how are things going between you and Neil?” She stretched out his name, giving me a playful smile.
I furrowed my brow. “I thought I’d be seeing more of him since our first date, actually, but it’s been a while since I’ve been alone with him.”
We’d had that one amazing date, and we’d been messaging each other every day, but we still hadn’t managed a second date. I knew his shooting schedule kept him busy, plus we were on different tour buses, but I was starting to worry that maybe he was avoiding me. That couldn’t have been the case, though. He sent me sexy messages non-stop, to the point where I always had to double check no one could see my phone’s screen before I opened any messages, just in case.
“The film crew’s been pretty busy.” Gabriella shrugged, confirming my own thoughts. Then she rolled her eyes. “And everyone knows Cornelius is a control freak who can’t sit still and let people do their jobs.”
I wondered if that need for control would make itself known in bed.
“You should take the initiative,” she said. “Make him stop working for a bit and take you out on another date.”
“You think so? We are here for work, after all.”
“Sure, go for it. He’s the one who kissed you. Make him realize what he’s missing.” She threw me a wink. “I think I saw him backstage.”
I followed Gabriella’s advice and finally tracked him down to one of the back offices. He had a pen in one hand and a stack of papers in the other and seemed to be marking them up profusely. I knocked on the door lightly and he looked up, an annoyed expression on his face. It cleared up a bit when he saw me, but he still had a slightly harried look.
“Sorry for interrupting.”
“It’s fine. I’m going over some production notes before tonight’s concert.”
“Do you have a minute?”
“Is it important?”
I blinked. Important?
“Well, not really. I just haven’t had the chance to talk to you in person in a while. Not since our first date.”
He gave me a small smile and lowered his papers, but didn’t put them down. “Yeah, things have been pretty hectic over here. Now that the tour is in full swing, we’ve got a lot of scenes to shoot.”
“I was hoping maybe we could get together for another date sometime soon? We’re leaving this city soon, but we’ll be in the next one for a few days. Maybe we could go somewhere?”
Neil grimaced and shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t. I’ve got to re-work some of these shots. We missed the chance to grab close ups of Ren’s violin solo the last few concerts, and we really need to get them on film. Since they change up the set list every couple of days to keep things fresh, we’re always on a tight schedule.”
“Oh.” I tried to hide my disappointment. I was busy, too, but I knew I could still manage to make time for Neil.
“Well, maybe later when you’re not so busy?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll message you when it looks like I’ve got some free time.”
“Sounds good.” I turned to leave.
“Can you close the door on your way out? I don’t want to be disturbed.”
I paused with my hand on the doorknob. Was I just a disturbance to Neil? I knew how seriously he took his work. I didn’t want to become a hindrance.
I shut the door quietly and leaned against it on the other side. The hallways were full of staff and crew rushing around as usual. Neil wasn’t the only busy person on this tour.
I couldn’t help the small pang of hurt rising in my chest. He had been so happy to find out who I was. He’d seemed so enthusiastic. Now it seemed like getting some alone time with him was going to be like pulling teeth.
Maybe we really should have waited until summer was over.
