Jake rolled his eyes and walked down the hall. Sean followed.
“You’re usually chomping at the bit to get to the bus to relax. So tell me what’s really going on.”
“Nothing is going on. I just want to help Miranda out.”
They turned the corner and stopped at an open door. Miranda was still tucking items Claire was handing her into the wardrobe closet. Sean let out a low whistle under her breath that only Jake could hear. Jake threw Sean a dirty look.
“Now I know why you wanted to come here. Is that Claire?” Sean whispered.
Jake threw an elbow into Sean’s broad chest, who only chuckled in response before stepping into the room.
“My stuff hadn’t been picked up yet, so I thought I’d save you a trip.”
Claire gave Jake a shy smile. Miranda walked over to Jake and took the clothes from his hands before depositing them in a large clothes bin.
“Thanks. But you didn’t need to do that. We still have to run down that way to get the clothes from the other guys.”
Jake shrugged and tucked his hands into his pockets before rocking back on his heels.
Sean’s eyes bore into him, but he promptly ignored it as he tried to find something else to say. Miranda glanced back at him.
“Is there something else you need?”
Jake looked at Miranda and then over at Claire, who was pushing an item into the rolling wardrobe with her back to them.Miranda looked over at Claire before looking back at Jake. Her eyes softened, and she winked.
“Hey, Claire. Why don’t you head back to the bus with Jake? I can handle the rest of this, and you really should rest, anyway.”
Claire turned toward them and frowned before glancing over Jake’s shoulder out into the hallway.
“I should probably wait for Ben.”
“He’ll be fine knowing you’re with Jake. It’s not like you won’t be without security.”
Claire’s eyes briefly met Jake’s before flitting past him. She cast another worried look over Jake’s shoulder. “I should wait for Lonnie, though. He told me not to go anywhere without him.”
Sean took that moment to step into the room and held out his hand. Claire shook it.
“You must be Claire. I’m Sean. I usually follow this pretty boy around.” He thrust a thumb over his shoulder at Jake.
Jake rolled his eyes and a small smile touched Claire’s lips.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said.
“I can get you and Jake over to the bus if you’d like. I’ll radio Lonnie first to make sure he’s good with it.”
Claire glanced at Jake before looking back at Sean. “Yeah. Okay, thank you.”
Sean stepped into the hallway and pulled out his radio while Jake and Claire waited in the wardrobe room with Miranda.
A moment later, Lonnie appeared in the room.
“Let’s get you two to the bus.”
Claire looked back at Miranda and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Get some rest.”
8
