Page 82 of Wild

"Yeah. Thanks, Lexie."

"Of course."

The journalist smiled at her before heading off, and Jude waved from the counter when he saw Erin was alone. She got up and walked over with her hands in her pockets.

"I've locked in one more date for the tour—it'll be the last one, but it means your time with us gets extended by a week. Non-negotiable, Dooley," Jude said. "The date, I mean. Violette is working on the contract extension, but if you have an issue with it, tell her and we'll find someone to cover you for that final show. And since you're here, let's use the time to work out the logistics for tonight. For security reasons, Mia's going to need to get to the venue earlier than usual, or we can't guarantee a clean entry without any incidents—"

Erin tuned out somewhere in the middle of Jude's stream of words, which managed to completely ignore Mia's need for rest while hiding behind whatever excuse was handy.

Chapter 30

Despite Mia's wishes, Jude had kept to the original afternoon schedule, so Mia had been forced to do the costume fitting at the planned time—and would have to wait nearly another full hour she could've used to rest before the sound check. That had Erin on edge, especially since she hadn't managed to speak with the singer after what happened that morning.

When the doctor—freshly showered after her workout—went to the singer's room, she found her asleep, so she closed the door quietly and stepped out for a walk with Nell, pulling on a cap and sunglasses at the tour director's suggestion.

"Your face is everywhere now, and those vultures are just as interested in you as they are in her."

Erin had huffed, but she'd also realized Mia hadn't been right when she accused her of having regrets. She didn't. She'd kissed her because she wanted to, and she'd do it again. It was everything that hadn't happened yet that scared her and kept her restless.

"I'm an idiot," she blurted out when both women sat down on a bench after walking through the park in silence.

Nell glanced at her sideways with an amused look and took a sip of her Starbucks coffee while she waited. Erin stretched her legs out in front of her and shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

"Mia thinks I didn't want to kiss her—that I did it in the heat of the moment," she murmured, staring down at the toes of her boots, smudged with dirt.

"Was that it?"

"No. But she thinks it was."

"So why are you here with me instead of setting her straight?" Nell asked, bumping her shoulder.

"I went to see her, but she was sleeping." Erin smiled, burying her hands deeper in her pockets.

After that, she hadn't had a chance to reach her. Mia had woken up around lunchtime, and Noah was with her when the doctor came in to check her vitals. Mia's look hadn't been cold, exactly, but it hadn't been warm either, and the whole thing had been pretty uncomfortable.

On the ride from the hotel to the venue they'd sat together, but talking hadn't been an option since they weren't alone—and now Erin stood near the stage with Noah, going over the press meeting she'd had that morning, while Mia, who'd finished the costume fitting a little while ago, moved around the stage with the dancers, mapping out the space and killing time until the official rehearsal.

Erin checked the time and decided this was the moment.

"Can we pick this up later, Noah? I need to talk to Mia for a minute."

"Yeah, of course. No problem."

The assistant stepped away to wrap up a few things with Jude, and she walked over to the edge of the stage.

"Mia, can you come here for a second, please?"

The singer turned and seemed to hesitate, but finally walked over and came down the three metal steps.

"What's going on?"

Erin took her by the wrist to buy herself a beat—she was suddenly nervous.

"Your pulse is a little low." The doctor frowned. "Let's go to the medical room for a minute. I want to check your blood pressure."

Mia didn't argue. She sat down on the exam table when they walked in and Erin closed the door. She wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Mia's arm and pressed the button, and while she waited for it to finish, she placed a finger under Mia's chin and tilted her head up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and the singer felt her pulse jump.