“I am not into gossip.”
Now I was confused. “Then why have we been doing that for the last half hour?”
Despite me calling him chill, the fiery intensity in his eyes was anything but. “Because you like it.”
That made the air between us feel heavy and I meant to say something in response, but we were interrupted by a director that he’d worked with a couple of years ago who wanted to say hello. That continued happening for the rest of the evening—Noah would give me the 411 on everybody around us, and then there would be a steady stream of industry types who all wanted to chat with Noah and shake his hand.
Not that I could blame them.
When he stood up, I noticed his socks. They had pictures of his dog, Magnus, on them. Too cute.
During one of the breaks, I texted Shelby, because the only way he could have known about my love of all things gossip was from my best friend.
I glanced up, wondering where she was. I was about to text that it was fine but hesitated because it was kind of a lie. Things were going much better than fine, but I didn’t want to encourage her.
I was about to tell her to be herself and have fun, but she would have told me that she couldn’t do both. She was going to spend her entire evening stressed out of her mind and trying to figure out new ways to gain Harmony’s approval.
Then it was time to announce the winner in Noah’s category, Best Actor. I tried my best to look neutral and lean out of the camera frame when they called his name, even though my heart was fluttering in anticipation for him. I was hopeful he’d win even though all those betting websites said that there was no way he would. I wanted to tell him good luck, but I was still a seat filler and probably shouldn’t be caught on camera saying something like that. I wasn’t Noah’s date.
Even if it kind of felt like I was.
Sure enough, Chase Covington’s name was called as the winner. He kissed Zoe, and she stood up and loudly cheered for him, ignoring the cameras that were capturing her every move.
When the applause died down and Chase began his acceptance speech, I said to Noah, “I’m sorry you didn’t win.”
Then I did something that shocked me. I rested my hand on top of his to comfort him. It was something I would have done for Shelby or my mom if they’d just lost a contest. It was just a natural reaction.
But then he put his other big, warm hand over mine, and it caused my stomach to hollow out and my galloping heartbeat to thump so hard in my throat it felt like it would strangle me. What was I doing? I counted out my breaths, inhaling one, two, three and then exhaling one, two, three before carefully extricating myself. I didn’t jerk my hand away, which I thought was pretty impressive, given all the rampaging and conflicting feelings that were happening inside me.
Chase ended his speech and exited the stage as the music played, and the lights went down. Zoe jokingly told me to save her seat, as she was going to find a restroom.
“Tell Chase congratulations from me when you see him,” Noah said, and she smiled and promised she would.
I thought that was very big of him. “I wouldn’t have guessed that you’re a good sport. I bet you’re that guy that every time you have a game night you lose friends.”
He blinked slowly, as if considering what I said. “In this situation it really is an honor just to be nominated.”
“But you would have liked winning, right?”
“When you join the army, there is no such thing as losing or defeat. My company used to say we were only doing a tactical retreat. So yes, it sucks, and I would have much preferred winning.” That sly smile of his played at the ends of his mouth.
“How competitive would you rate yourself? Like, on a scale of one to five?”
“To be fair, it would depend on what I’m doing and how much it mattered, but in general I’d say I’m maybe like a three.” He paused. “Or a five-plus all the time.”
I laughed at this, glad to know that Noah Douglas wasn’t perfect and might actually have some flaws.
“Same,” I told him. I’d always hated my sense of competitiveness, and it was a relief to find someone who operated on the same wavelength.
Somebody called his name, and Noah said hello to an older man. I briefly wondered what he did for a living—studio executive? Producer? Director? Screenwriter? As I ran through potential jobs for him, it occurred to me that there was only one more award to be given out, Best Picture, and then this night would be over.
I felt a twinge of sadness at the idea this whole thing was coming to a close. I pulled up the Uber app to see if I could schedule a ride when we finished here.
“That’s not going to work.”
The feeling of him so close to my neck did funny things to my gut, but I didn’t even scold Noah for looking over my shoulder. “Why not?”
“The streets are all cordoned off for blocks. Only cars with permits are allowed in. And then once you get past all of the barriers, nothing will be available nearby. There’s too many people affiliated with the show who don’t have limos and will need rides.”
He turned out to be right. Every ride I tried to schedule for my location canceled after I’d requested it.
“Great.” I sighed. “I don’t have a way of getting home.”
“I could give you a lift. I just have to go to this one little thing first, if that’s okay.”
I should tell him no, thank you. I could figure this out on my own. I also felt bad about him going so out of his way to take me home. “I’m in Pasadena. It’s not nearby.”
“We’re in LA. Thanks to traffic, nothing’s nearby.”
Wrestling with the decision, I blurted out, “That would be great. Thank you.” And it actually was great. I didn’t want tonight to come to an end just yet.
And even though I knew very little about men and their emotions, the look on his face made me think he was feeling the same way.
CHAPTER NINE
The Best Picture winner was announced, the final speech was made, and everyone started to leave.
“Stay close,” Noah told me. For a second it seemed like he wanted to take my hand.
And for a second I almost let him.
But he put his hands in his pockets as I followed behind him. Thankfully he was tall and broad enough that it was easy to pick him out in the crowd. Everybody wanted to get his attention or touch him as he walked past. And these were his colleagues and employers. I could only imagine what it would be like if he were walking through a crowd of fans. They’d probably dismember him. By accident, but they’d all want a piece.
We went into a hallway, and he came to an abrupt stop. I nearly smacked into his back.
“And who is this?” the woman in front asked. She looked very confused. I saw her glance down at my sneakers, and I tried to hide them beneath the hem of my dress.
“This is Juliet. Juliet, this is Reina, my publicist; Morgan, her assistant; and Annie, my groomer.” I figured it was a mark in his pro column that his whole team was made up entirely of women. Both Reina and Morgan seemed on the shorter side, but that was probably only in comparison to Noah. Reina had beautiful, waist-length chestnut hair and Morgan sported a bright smile. Annie was taller, with a blonde pixie cut. All three women were dressed in black, just like me.