Page 63

Twenty

Maddie tooka sip of rosé wine as she scanned the doors of the Buell Theater lobby for the millionth time. Still no Micah. Who made up the stupid rule that actors were supposed to show up to charity functions so late anyway? Probably the same person who decided that production crew had to show up ontime.

God, she was nervous. She had thought about texting Micah to tell him she was coming, but she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be. At least she looked good. Even though she wasn’t a girly-girl, she could clean up. The silver organza baby-doll dress Bree had sent her hit mid-thigh and, thanks to running, she had nice legs. The sweetheart bodice embellished with rhinestones did awesome things for her boobs and matched the rhinestones that decorated her black stilettos. Yeah, she looked damngood.

“You have to try these crab cakes.” Joe balanced a handful of hors d’oeuvres he had swiped from one of the trays.

“I’m not really hun—” He popped one in her mouth before she could finish. The cake melted in her mouth and surprised her at its deliciousness. “Okay, that was good,” she said after she swallowed. Truth was she hadn’t been able to eat much of anything. She was too anxious about the evening, about spending the night with hundreds of people she didn’t know and the one person she was starting to know pretty damn well. Especially because she had to pretend she didn’t know that person sowell.

“The bruschetta is awesome too,” Joe said around a mouthful of crab cakes. “Grab some when the next tray comes along.”

Maddie felt a hand at the small of her back and she turned, hopeful, to face the owner.

“Wow!”

Sam. Not Micah.

If Micah had arrived, there’d be more buzz. And he wouldn’t touch her in public. He didn’t on set, and he definitely wouldn’there.

“You look stunning.” Sam’s blue eyes sparkled, not in the lustful way that Micah’s did when he looked at her, but in a way that spoke volumes about his admiration forher.

She blushed, unsure how to handle his crush. “Thank you. You look great in atux.”

“Ah, this old thing?”

He said more, but Maddie didn’t hear it over the commotion at the front doors. Cameras flashed and people pressed against the ropes that created a mock red carpet for the VIP attendees to enter. She had a good view from where she stood at the bar, and crowds began to gather around her as Heather Wainwright made her entrance.

Maddie tensed. Fudge walked in wearing black sunglasses in full-out bodyguard mode. He held the door open for Micah, who strode in with a beautiful brunette on his arm. He was as handsome as ever in his black tux and tie. He seemed untouchable and Godlike. Like the president or a celebrity.

Of course that was exactly what he was—a celebrity. Sometimes Maddie forgot.

It wasn’t hard to forget now. Micah posed and waved as he walked down the carpet, his smile wide and his eyes twinkling. Lulu stepped aside with Fudge to let Micah have his glory alone, though Heather stood by him in many of the shots. She looked beautiful at his side, her blonde hair standing out against the red floor-length gown that hugged her tightly around her curvy parts.

Maddie felt an undercurrent of jealousy sparking under her calm exterior as she watched the spectacle over Joe’s shoulder, despite all that she and Micah had worked through. Their tryst in the woods had worked to make filming the sex scene a non-issue. Maddie knew she’d had the real deal and that everything on set was acting.

But she couldn’t say that now, because even though Micah had brought his mother, Heather was the one who got to walk down the carpet with him. Heather was the one who could lean over and whisper in his ear and laugh at some interviewer’s question, her arm casually resting on his shoulder. Heather was the one who could be photographed withhim.

Maddie got to admire from a distance. Like a fan. Like a mistress.

“Hey, was that shrimp cocktail?” Joe followed the caterer, stepping out of Maddie’s sight line, giving her a clear view of the man she was fucking on a regular basis.

She recognized the minute he saw her. He was joking for the press with a fellow actor, when he stilled mid-laugh, his brows raised in surprise, his stare piercing her like a hot laser. Jaw set, his eyes swept up and down her body, devouringher.

She straightened as the electricity that passed through his heated gaze ignited every nerve in her body, warming her. Her face flushed with desire, her lower belly tightened, and she’d bet money he was hard under his black pants.

But it wasn’t just sexual energy that passed between them. It was more—something intangible and impossible to name. The lobby that had held hundreds of people just a moment before now held no one but him and her, and the raw emotions that encompassed them. It frightened and excited her, that he could affect her so with just a look, that she could affect him in the sameway.

Then a flashbulb went off and the spell was broken. Micah was back in character, charming and charismatic for the crowd.

“It seems the talent has arrived,” Sam said leaning into her so she could hear over the din. His body heat lacked in comparison to Micah’s penetrating eyes and she shivered in their wake. “For once I think the crew got the better end of thedeal.”

“Hmm, what?” She was distracted. How did Micah confound her so completely? How could she feel totally bereft of him one moment and then consumed by him thenext?

And she still didn’t know if he was glad to see her there. How had he seemed? Surprised. Appreciative of her attire, maybe. What else, she couldn’t guess. And she wouldn’t be able to find out for hours, probably, since she couldn’t have a real conversation with him until they were alone at their hotel.

Yeah, the secret thing sucked.

But if they decided to keep seeing each other, eventually it wouldn’t be secret. And then Maddie could walk in with him, though she’d likely still have to watch him pose with his costars while she stood off to the side as Lulu did now. No two ways about it, dating a celebrity was tricky.