‘Last I saw her she was heading for the bathroom. She was looking a bit green.’
Thirty seconds later, Sam was barging his way into the women’s bathroom. There were two girls at the sink, gossiping wildly, though their mouths stilled as soon as they caught sight of him in the doorway.
‘Oh!’ Shock was immediately replaced by interest. The girl nearest him smiled, her eyelashes fluttering. ‘I think you may have the wrong room.’
‘Can you give me a moment?’ Sam inclined his head to the door.
‘You want us to leave?’
‘My girl isn’t feeling well. I want to check if she’s OK.’
The woman next to him sighed. ‘Isn’t that the sweetest? Why can’t we find one of those, Marie?’
‘Because they only exist on the stage?’
The two of them left, still arguing over whether Sam was real or not. He swallowed a smile, then walked towards the occupied cubicle, pausing to knock on the door.
‘Cesca?’ He kept his voice quiet. ‘Babe, you in there?’
A shuffling came from inside. ‘What are you doing in here?’
‘I came to find you. David said you weren’t feeling well, I wanted to help.’
‘You shouldn’t be in here. Imagine if anybody gets a photo of this. You’ll be splashed all over the tabloids like some kind of sexual deviant. You’ll be The Jackhammer all over again.’
Sam laughed. ‘It’s hardly deviant to be in a bathroom with your girlfriend. Especially when she’s not feeling well.’
‘In a public loo . . . ’
‘Sweetheart, I really don’t care if I’m the lead headline, I’m not going anywhere. So come out and let me take care of you.?
?
‘I’m just being stupid.’
‘You and I both know you’re anything but stupid. Come out, let me hold you.’
The lock clicked, and the door opened inward. Cesca was sitting on the closed toilet seat, her elbows on her legs, her face propped on her hands.
‘You know there’s about a billion germs on those things?’
She looked up. ‘I’m living life on the edge.’
‘Come here.’ He held out his hand. She took it, allowing him to pull her up and into his arms. She melted against him, her body soft against his. He ran his palms down her bare shoulders. ‘Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?’
‘Says the man in the dinner jacket.’
‘This dress, it does things to me,’ he whispered in her ear. She shivered beneath his touch. ‘It will look even better when it’s on the floor.’
‘Dirty boy.’
‘You know it.’ He chuckled against her ear. ‘So why aren’t you out there celebrating? Everything went so well tonight. The reviews are good, the audience loved it. Didn’t you see the standing ovation at the end?’
‘I was hiding in the foyer by then.’
He stepped back, still holding her shoulders. A quizzical expression formed on his face. ‘Is there something wrong? I thought this was all you ever wanted. Did something happen you haven’t told me about?’
She licked her dry lips. He followed her movement. ‘I’m just . . . ’ She took a deep breath, refusing to meet his gaze. ‘Scared, I guess.’