Reid dropped his phone back on the bed and sighed in relief. If anyone could line things up for Chloe, it was Will. Well, Tom could have as well, but Reid didn’t want to involve Tom in his plan to move Chloe to LA. He was already going to catch hell when everyone found out. There were only a little more than two months left in the first leg of the tour, and in that time, he had to convince Chloe to move to LA. He didn’t need the others’ reactions affecting her decision.
Checking the time, Reid grabbed the pillow next to his head and covered his face with a groan. He’d promised to call Jess once they hit the road, but it was almost two in the morning and all he wanted to do was sleep. Not wanting her to worry, he typed out a text instead. It was something he’d started doing more and more lately. He rationalized that it was because the tour was wearing him down, and for the most part, that was true. Most days he wasn’t even sure what country they were in, much less the city. Tonight, however, his desire to sleep instead of talk with Jess had nothing to do with the seven-hour time difference and everything to do with his plans for tomorrow. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth, even as his eyes grew heavier and heavier. Tomorrow, they’d be in Berlin and he had a surprise for Chloe. As his breathing evened out and his body sagged into the mattress, he saw nothing but her smile.
A loud banging sound jolted Chloe from sleep. She blinked, disoriented. Giving her eyes a moment to adjust, she squinted and looked around. It took a moment for her to realize she was on the bus. Pulling back the curtain, she peered up at a very awake, very happy Reid.
“What time is it?” she croaked, hoping she didn’t look as bad as she sounded.
“Are you sick?” He reached out and placed his hand against her forehead then slid it down to her cheek.
Chloe cleared her throat. “I always sound like a sixty-year-old smoker when I first wake up. Supersexy, huh?” she joked.
Reid tapped his forefinger to her nose before removing his hand. “Smokin’ hot.”
“Jerk,” Chloe mumbled as she reached to pull the curtain shut.
“I’m serious,” he argued, grabbing the curtain and halting her attempt to make him go away. “Cruella de Vil was a fox.”
“What do you want?” Chloe groaned, defeated. He clearly had no interest in allowing her to sleep.
“I have a surprise for you,” he answered with a sly smile.
Chloe narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips to keep from smiling. No matter how annoyed she was about being woken up, his mood was infectious. “I’m not sure how I feel about surprises that come with that kind of smile.” A look of hurt crossed Reid’s face. It was so over the top and insincere Chloe couldn’t help but laugh at his foolishness.
“I see nothing funny here. You just insulted me.”
“I did no such thing,” Chloe huffed, throwing her legs off the side of the bed and grabbing Reid’s shoulder to land on her feet. “But if you insist on dragging me out of bed at some ungodly hour, the least you could do is have coffee waiting.”
Reid’s abrupt laughter caused Chloe to look over her shoulder, her eyes following his to a place on her bed. A mound of Starburst wrappers littered the side of her pillow. Chloe shrugged and leaned across him, grabbing a handful of unopened chews from under her pillow before popping one in her mouth, her face unapologetic. “You know what’s up,” she quipped before walking to the kitchen area.
“And it’s not some ungodly hour,” he corrected as he followed her down the stairs.
“I wasn’t awake yet. In my book, that’s considered ungodly.”
“You sound like Greer,” Inky said with a yawn as she passed Chloe a cup of coffee.
“It’s a bit early for insults, isn’t it?” Reid moved to the seat beside Chloe and turned to Inky with his brow lifted in challenge.
“That wasn’t an insult,” Inky replied with a shrug, her expression nonchalant. “If I wanted to insult her, Greer isn’t the person I’d choose.”
Chloe looked from Reid to Inky over the rim of her coffee cup, her eyes wide. She wasn’t sure what happened from last night until this morning, but clearly they were at odds about something.
Beside her, Reid’s jaw ticked, his body taut. “Well then, Inky. Who would you choose?”
Inky let out an incredulous laugh and set down her coffee. “Are you sure you want to know?”
Chloe took a sip of her coffee, wanting nothing more than to disappear. Whatever was going on between them, she didn’t want to end up in the middle. It wasn’t until she felt like everyone’s eyes were on her that she made herself look at Reid. When she did, she wished she hadn’t. His expression was torn, desperate. He looked so lost that it caused Chloe’s chest to ache.
“No,” he whispered, his eyes locked with Chloe’s. “I know.”
Chloe couldn’t bear the intensity of his stare any longer. She blinked and looked away, her gaze moving to Inky. What she saw there wasn’t much better. Inky’s expression was sad and laced with regret.
“Good,” Inky mumbled, grabbing her cup. “Have fun today, Chloe.”
Before Chloe could find her words, Inky had disappeared to the upper deck of the bus. Bewildered, she turned back to Reid. “What the hell just happened?”