Shay stared at the message, wondering if he was still asleep. He’d floated off stage last night and climbed straight into bed, and despite ten hours sleep and a decent breakfast, he still didn’t feel quite awake yet.
Dreaming of Ollie messaging him didn’t seem all that bad, but the notion that Ollie had somehow procured Shay’s phone number was somehow better, even if it was clearly for work purposes.
Shay’s fingers hovered over the screen as he debated his response. Playing the packed-out Glasgow venue had blown some of the worry webs from his mind, but he still wanted to know where Ollie had been. Andwhy. Fuck it. He wanted to know everything about Ollie that Ollie would deign to tell him, and he didn’t understand it. One kiss and he was obsessed?
Bullshit. You were obsessed before.
Shay groaned and dropped his phone on the table. Corina glanced up from her work. “Everything okay? Do you need more food?”
“I’m fine,” Shay snapped, then regretted it. “Sorry, I mean, no, thanks. I’m good.”
Corina laughed. “You’re so sweet when you’re grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy.”
“No? Because the alternative is you’re simply a wanker, Shay, and I’m pretty sure that’s not true. Do you want to take a seat and talk to me?”
Shay chewed on his lip. Corina was a manager—business always came first—but beneath the lists and schedules, the rules and limits, she did care. Would she understand that Shay had developed a monstrous crush on a TV researcher she’d likely been reluctant to let on the tour in the first place? Probably not, but that didn’t mean Shay couldn’t pick her brain.
He flopped into a hard plastic chair. “I like someone.”
Amusement flickered in Corina’s serious gaze. “Is this the part where I have to remind you that you signed a contract with the record company promising not to produce vile headlines for the tabloids?”
Shay rolled his eyes. “Do you have to ask that? You know I don’t shag around.”
It was true. Shay could pull a different face every night if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Casual sex was Jumbo’s jam, not his.
“So what’s the problem?” Corina said. “Have you met someone who doesn’t like you being on tour?”
“It’s not that.” Though maybeOlliehad a girlfriend who was missing him. Huh. Shay hadn’t thought of that.Fuck. What if he’s married?Shit like that had put him off hooking up with blokes in the first place.Goddammit. Shay sighed. “Stuff it. Never mind.”
Corina studied him over the rim of her cool AF red-framed glasses. “Fair enough, but I’m going to say one thing to you, Shay, and that’s don’t let what’s going on in your professional life keep you from having a personal life that means something. You’re a young man now, but one day you’re going to wake up and be a forty-year-old spinster, married to nothing but your job, and trust me, it’s not fun.”
“I wasn’t saying I wanted to get married. Blimey.”
Corina laughed. “Good. You’re too busy for that nonsense right now.”
“Is that your way of giving me the most mixed message ever?”
“Of course,” Corina said. “I’m not your mother. And seriously… you’re coming to me for romantic advice? I can’t even figure out how Tinder works.”
The conversation was going nowhere Shay wanted to be. Corina was a beautiful, intelligent woman, and he’d drunkenly told her a million times to put her iPad down and find someone who’d tell her so every damn day. But they’d reached the point in their unique bond of friendship where she’d probably deck him if he told her again. Instead, he took a chance. “How much do you know about Ollie?”
Corina’s expression didn’t change. If she’d figured out why he was asking, it didn’t show. “A bit. I checked him out before I approved him joining the tour.”
“Why didn’t I get to check him out too?”
“Because you had other things going on. Why? Is there a problem?”
“No! No… uh… not at all. I just wondered about him, that’s all.”
Corina stared at him, a tiny crease crinkling her brow. “Listen, I know I gave you a hard time about this project, but if it’s stressing you out, there’s probablysomethingI can do to get it canned. I’d probably have to use your diabetes as an excuse, but—”
“Jesus-fucking-Christ.” Shay banged his head on the table. “Just forget it, okay? Forget this entire conversation.”
He started to stand up. Corina grabbed his arm and yanked him back down. “All right, all right. Calm your tits. You want to know about Ollie? Fine. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Walk away, walk away.But the temptation was too strong. Shay sat down again. Leaned forwards and dropped his elbows on the table. “I’m listening.”
