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I couldn't help but smile at her words. "They're definitely groovy," I agreed. "Yeah, I'm with the tour. I'm just a publicist though, nothing important or interesting."
She leaned over and patted my hand. "I used to work in public relations, dear. People like them would be nothing without people like us. Well, maybe not nothing, but we make their lives a lot easier. Without publicity, how would anyone know if a new thing is out there for them to find? The Internet is all very well, but you still have to know what questions to ask. Just a wild guess here, but word-of-mouth isn't going to sell out a world tour, no matter how famous the band is."
"That's true," I agreed. "Even social media is limited in its reach." Even those artists with a heavy social media presence to promote their new material, had a team to plan that strategy. Nothing happened by accident. Not usually anyway. Yeah, I appreciated the irony in this line of thought. Although, when it came to the baby, I preferred the word, ‘surprise,’ to, ‘accident.’ No one wanted to come into this world thinking they weren't loved or wanted.
"Very true," she agreed. "But it's a great tool for getting the word out there."
For a woman I guessed was at least in her mid seventies, she seemed very tech savvy. I hoped to be at least as cool as her when I was her age. Tech savvy, reading smut and listening to the latest rock music sounded like a good way to live the later part of your life to me.
"It really is," I said. I seemed to spend half my life on social media, working and learning the ins and outs of every new platform that popped up. Fortunately, I liked most of them so it wasn't a chore. Besides, people were fascinating and did all sorts of strange and hilarious things on camera to get famous.
I would never tell anyone, but I could watch videos of people dancing, for hours. There was something strangely mesmerizing about it. And of course, I had to keep an eye out for any copyright breaches if people used the Rock Dragons music without permission. The guys were pretty chill about it, but the label was very protective of their intellectual property. Fortunately, they had licensing agreements with various platforms, so people could dance to their music as much as they wanted.
"What does your boyfriend think about you traveling the world?" Edith asked.
"I don't have a boyfriend," I said quickly. I'd managed not to think too deeply about Axel until now. His words were in the corner of my mind, along with the expression on his face as we were talking and then he walked away. The conversation was the hardest one I ever had. It was breaking me up inside, bit by bit. It was becoming more and more difficult to remember why I thought not telling him was a good idea.
It was also getting harder and harder to deny what I felt for him. I was in love with him. I think maybe I was before that night. Probably a long time before. Watching him with other women, enjoying his life, I hadn't let myself think or feel too much. That was nothing but a recipe for heartache. There was no way in the world a guy like that would look at a girl like me.
And then he had and I'd run like a scared rabbit. Like the kid in my dream who wanted some stability, even though being with both my parents was fun, for the most part. Even though I adored my stepmother.
It wasn't just about the potential of us breaking up, it was also about missing him when he was away on tour. But then when he was away, he would always come back. Why was I denying myself the good times, just because I was worried about spending time by myself? I spent plenty of time by myself. I liked it. So he'd be away once in a while, so what? When he was home, I’d get to be with him. Wasn't that better than never being with him at all?
"Are you sure you don't, dear?" Edith asked. "You have that look on your face. Like a young woman in love."
Did I? Maybe I did. For once in my life, I was done running and hiding. It was time for me to stand up and grab on to what I wanted. Take a risk. If things worked out, they could just be beautiful. I wouldn't know until I tried.
I looked back at her and smiled. "What I meant was I don't have a boyfriend, yet. Things have been complicated, but I think it's time to simplify everything. I love him. I'm pretty sure he loves me. What else matters?"
She grinned. "Not one damn thing." After a moment she added, "Is he on this plane, by any chance?"
"Yeah, he is," I said.
"Is there any chance he is tall, has dark hair, a lot of tattoos and a cute smile?" She seemed to be looking past my shoulder.
I blinked. "Yeah…"
When she grinned again, I slowly turned my head to look behind me.
Axel was standing in the aisle, that very same cute smile on his face. "Hey," he said softly. "I have a little surprise."
24
Hayley
"You do?" My heart fluttered with nerves and a little something else. The same butterflies I got every time I was around him. Whenever he smiled or just looked at me.
"Yeah, we do," Strike said from behind him. He peered over Axel's shoulder. "He had to have some help because he can't sing for nuts."
Axel looked back at him. "I'm not that bad, I'm just not as good as you. But I have this." He held up his phone.
"You don't have to do this," I protested. "I—"
"Yes we do," Strike said. "We've already psyched ourselves up for this and Axel's been working for the last," he looked over at the phone, "five hours."
I looked at Axel, who nodded. Then shrugged.
"I might have put a little something together to tell you how I feel."
