The transporter sound came from Emma’s phone again.
Placing a hand over her heart, Liv did her best shocked look. “Really, wow, I never would’ve guessed. You stopped midsentence when you read it, though. Is everything okay?”
“Phoebe wanted to know if I was with you and if you’d seen the new photos of Matt trending on CHAT.”
She’d barely had time to use the bathroom today, never mind check the social media site. “No, I haven’t seen anything.”
Sighing, Emma pushed a stray piece of hair over her shoulder. “The first couple are on the Star Report’s page. The other ones are posted to an Eclipse fan group page.”
Even before Liv took Emma’s phone, she knew she wasn’t going to like what she was about to see. Still, her heart plummeted when she saw the photo of Matt with his mouth close to a woman’s ear. The following picture showed them dancing. Much like in the first, she couldn’t see the woman’s face, but there was no missing Matt’s hands on her waist.
For a second time this week, Eclipse’s frontman, Matt Sherbrooke, has been seen in the company of a beautiful woman. Does that mean his summer romance is over, or is he taking a page from fellow bandmate Carter Wheeler’s playbook?
“The ones the Star Report posted could be from his cousin’s wedding. And the woman with him could be a relative.”
Emma made a valid argument. While Liv couldn’t see the woman’s face, her hair was styled in an elaborate updo, and her strapless dress was one you’d wear to a more formal occasion, such as a wedding. Matt was clearly wearing a suit. But according to Matt, the guest list consisted of family and friends. Would a relative or close friend leak photos to the media?
“What fan group page are the photos on?”
“ForeverEclipse.”
Something about Emma’s tone sent her heart further south, which she hadn’t thought possible.
A treasure trove of photos occupied the page. Some were of fans posing with different band members, while some had been taken during various concerts. Others, though, clearly had been taken without the subject’s knowledge. The three most recent ones fell into that category. The first one featured Matt and a woman talking near a vehicle. The second showed the woman getting into the car while Matt stood by, waiting to close the door. The final one showed Matt opening the driver’s side door.
Liv read the post that accompanied the photos.
“Matt Sherbrooke is in town. Just saw him leaving Omakase. Anyone recognize the woman with him?”
A multitude of comments followed the post, with a few mentioning what she’d already noticed. The woman in the photos had the same hair color and body type as the one from the Star Report’s page. They even seemed to be the same height.
If it was the same person and the Star Report’s photos had been taken at the wedding, why was she also in California with him?
Eighteen
“How many guests do you expect at the banquet?” Liv asked as she jotted down the date and location of the high school sports banquet.
“Our fall banquet is our smallest since we only have three sports,” Lydia answered.
Liv had assumed as much. Even when she’d attended Harbor Regional, the only sports offered in the fall had been cross-country, soccer, and golf. Although it was a regional school and students from various towns attended, there simply weren’t enough students interested in typical fall sports.
“We tried to field a football team but were short on players again.”
For as long as she could remember, the school had been trying to expand its athletic program by adding more sports. Sometimes it was football, other years it was field hockey or volleyball. Each time, however, they encountered the same problem: a lack of interest.
“We have forty-four student athletes. Each one is given two tickets, so the maximum would be 132, but we’ve never had all the athletes show up. Based on past banquets, I estimate there will likely be 120 people there.”
Liv’s phone vibrated inside her pocket. She’d turned it to silent mode when Lydia walked in because there was nothing professional about her phone alerting her to messages while meeting with a client. Still, she had to fight the urge to pull it out and check who the message was from. Despite telling her he’d call last night, Matt never did. In his defense, he knew she was working a double, so he might have assumed she wouldn’t be up for a chat after work. Unfortunately, the lack of a phone call or a text message had kept her awake, leaving her to wonder not only about the photos but also what he was up to.
“Do you want us to prepare enough to serve 120, then?” Liv hated it when customers didn’t give her precise numbers, especially since, if there wasn’t enough food, people blamed the catering company, not the person who’d planned the event.
“What’s the price difference between 130 and 120?”
Her phone vibrated again, and Liv’s grip on her pen tightened.
“It would depend on the meal, but it would be less than $200.”
Lydia considered the answer for a moment. “Can we go with 130 and adjust once I get the RSVPs back?”
