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Sterling paused. “Reese is coming with me.”
Morgan tensed, but her face gave little away other than a curiosity. Reese must not have told her. Interesting.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay.”
Morgan unfolded herself from his bed and stretched with a forced casualness. “See ya, big guy.”
Sterling flinched at the nickname, one she had started using back in junior high when she had been taller than him. It bothered him, but she teased him until it didn’t anymore. Or until he got taller and filled out. Closing his eyes, Sterling put his face in his hands. This was all such a mess.
He was about to head home to surprise his mother and May for an intervention. He was fake-dating his best friend, which was putting an actual strain on their friendship. And he could not keep his thoughts from gravitating toward the woman who was pulling the strings on the whole fake relationship. With all this, Sterling couldn’t decide if the trip with Reese was going to be amazing or an epic disaster. Either way, he was simply excited to spend time with her away from all this.
Chapter Sixteen
“You’re not nervous are you?”
“Nervous?” Reese stared at Sterling, wondering how he could know that just sitting next to him made her entire body go haywire. Was it that obvious?
It took her several seconds to realize he meant about flying. She began to laugh, drawing attention from other people in the premiere club. Sterling turned his head slightly away from the room. They were seated on two tall chairs at a small table away from the bar. If she was nervous, Sterling was downright paranoid. He was hardly recognizable in a hat and glasses and casual clothes, but he kept his head down when he walked and let Reese do most of the talking.
They had entered the airport from a back entrance. Apparently even smaller airports had the ability to sneak celebrities inside and through a smaller security and check-in. Then it was straight to this premiere club, which was mostly empty. Though she had been on tour with him for almost two weeks now, this was the first time Reese had really experienced his celebrity perks.
“No, I love flying,” Reese said when her laughter died down. “I’ve never ridden first class, though, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint. If it does, I might have to switch seats with someone in coach mid-flight.”
Sterling smirked. “Trust me. You’ll never want to go back to coach.”
“Are you about to ruin me for flying normally? Maybe this is a mistake. I’ll switch seats before we even board. I’m sure someone else would take my seat.”
She began to hop off the tall chair and Sterling grabbed her arm, holding her in place as much with his smile as his hand.
“You’ll do no such thing. I paid for that ticket. I want your company.”
“Now I feel kind of dirty. Like a friendly escort.”
Sterling made a choking sound. Glancing around the room, he spoke in more quiet tones. “I know we’re a little sheltered in here, but you still can’t talk like that.”
Reese felt a jolt as she realized that she had completely lost sight of who she was and why she was here. It was not for a vacation with a friend or a guy she really did—but had to pretend not to—like. Even if this trip was completely personal and not at all about his career, she was still on his payroll. Flirting with him or drawing attention to him in the airport could only end badly. She looked down at her shoes, which reminded her of Morgan and only intensified her guilt.
Sterling had obviously told Morgan that he and Reese would be traveling together to LA. Morgan hadn’t said anything and tried to smile when they left for the airport. But her eyes had been flat, her smile forced. The whole fake relationship had been clearly wreaking havoc on her. It had brought her feelings bobbing up to the surface where they couldn’t be ignored. Though it was clear that Sterling was choosing to ignore them. Going on this trip with him felt like twisting the knife in her back.
“I’m sorry,” Reese said.
She almost fell off the high stool when Sterling touched her hand. “Please, don’t be sorry. I love when you talk to me and joke with me. I just don’t want to draw attention. Not here. And not using words like ‘escort.’ Please. Once I’m recognized, it’s hard to escape and we have a flight and another airport to get through. Now, tell me what kind of flyer you are.”
Reese met his gaze and wanted to melt at the look in his eyes. It looked tender. And much too intimate. “What kind of flyer am I?”
He leaned back, taking his hand away. She ached for that touch to stay and had to stop herself from reaching for him. “Do you sleep on the plane? Do you prefer window or aisle? Do you read? Make small talk with strangers? Keep earphones on to avoid that? I want to know how you fly.”
This was not a deep question. But his interest in even this small thing thrilled her heart. Reese wanted to press a hand to her chest to steady it. Instead, she sat on her hands. “Well, first, I generally fall asleep before takeoff.”
Sterling laughed and looked at her with wide eyes when she did not. “Before takeoff?”
“Before. I wake up for the drink cart and order a coffee with one cream, no sugar. Then I might read for a while or journal. There’s something about writing in the air. I love it. Usually I fall asleep again and wake when we’ve touched down. That jolt usually does it. I don’t care about window or aisle, but middle is bad. I usually fall asleep on someone I don’t know, which is a little embarrassing.”
“That’s … a lot of sleeping.”
Reese laughed. “I know. It’s weird. Flying does something to me. It’s soporific.”
