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"I'm done," he said, shaking his head. "I can go anytime."
"Can we stop by my hotel room and get my stuff?"
He grinned mischievously at me. "Are you seriously here, Claire? I wanted you to be with me so badly that I think I might've manifested you. Am I dreaming right now?"
"Micah, you're so sweet for saying that and looking at me like you love me even though my face is like this."
"I'm not with you for your face," he said in a matter of fact tone. "Don't get me wrong, I love your face. It's beautiful and certainly a lovely bonus to all this, but I would still love you even if your nose was like… you have other stuff going on here, too, don't you?" he asked, pulling back and inspecting my face.
"My chin," I said, tilting my head up. and letting him see the double-chin thing I had applied to the bottom of my chin and jaw.
"Yeah, that's crazy. And your hair is darker."
I smiled. "Let's go so I can get a shower and be Claire again."
Micah took my hand and held it as we made our way out of the Ryman and to the vehicle that was waiting for us.
Chapter 16
Aiden rode in the back seat of the car with us. It wasn't a limo, but it was roomy enough inside that the backseats had been reconfigured. The back was separated from the driver with privacy glass and it consisted of two rows of seats that faced each other. Micah and I sat in the very back and Aiden sat across from us, facing us. They discussed the show and the tour the whole time. There were things they needed to cover, and I stayed quiet while they talked.
They were still in a deep discussion about Micah's stage monitors when we got to my hotel, so I told them I would go inside by myself. I moved quickly and efficiently. I walked through the hotel lobby as I thought of everything—the music and all the things he had said from the stage. I thought about the policeman taking me to the back room and the way I saw Micah standing there waiting for me as soon as I opened the door.
I grinned at the thought of everything and I was still smiling when I spoke to the person at the front desk. I told them my room number and that I was checking out. It took only a minute or two to wrap that up, and then another five to run upstairs, pack my things, and get back to the car. I had a small piece of luggage and a large tote, and I easily maneuvered back to the car.
The driver was waiting outside the car and he helped me put my things into the trunk.
Micah jumped to the edge of his seat when the driver opened the door for me. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you come out. Let me help you get your things into the trunk."
"No, we already did it," I said, climbing into the backseat.
"That was fast, "Micah said.
I got settled into my seat, and Aiden continued talking. "I'll call Claudia if it comes to it, but I hate to do that."
"I'd almost call the police before Claudia," Micah said. "But it won't come to that."
"A call to Claudia might work. She can control her daughter, maybe."
"I don't know," Micah said, shaking his head. "I don't think it's that big of a deal right now."
"Did you block her number?" Aiden asked.
"Yes. Months ago."
"I don't know why she's following you again. You need to tell Micah to stop getting girlfriends in every town," Aiden said to me.
I had been daydreaming about how beautiful the evening was and how I wouldn't change a thing, and the unexpected turn in the conversation was like a kick to the chest. My confusion must have been apparent because Micah explained.
"Zoey Hendricks," he said. "Her parents own the Paradise Inn where I used to play in Austin."
"You just played there."
"Yeah, in Austin, but I didn’t play at that venue this time," Micah said. "It was a couple of years ago when I played there. It's a smaller place."
"Zoey was cool back then," Aiden added. "She didn’t go nuts until recently."
"She's not nuts," Micah said. "She's just trying to contact me again, and I already—look, it's no big deal. I hadn't thought about her in a couple of years."
