“Can you believe this?” I asked. “It’s really happening. We weren’t dreaming. We’re both nominated for Golden Globes. It’s surreal!”
“I always knew you’d go places,” he said. “It’s why I hitched a ride to your star.”
I rolled my eyes. “We both know that if anyone hitched a ride to anything it was me. Without you, I’d be on my fourteenth kidnapping.”
“Well, without you, I’d be on my fifth wife and my ninetieth amnesia event.”
I snorted and elbowed him in the ribs. “More like the ninety-first,” I countered.
He didn’t get a chance to answer since someone called our names.
“Wow, Morgan! Jasper! Looking amazing together as usual! People will be so excited to see their favorite couple out and about. Can I get a photo?”
I wasn’t surprised that one of the photographers noticed Jasper and I talking. We’d been a mega-couple on our soap opera, the biggest since Luke and Laura. We’d both pushed each other forward in our careers and had taken leaps of faith that allowed us to leave the show at the same time. Our characters were written off in a fiery crash at the conclusion of a three-month kidnapping saga. Eighteen months later, our characters were recast and the difference in appearance was attributed to plastic surgery. Soap operas were awesome for stuff like that.
I smiled as Jasper wrapped his arm around my waist and turned me so we could pose for the photo. As he did, I bumped into something with my hip. I looked over my shoulder and found myself staring down at the most erotically beautiful man on the planet. It took another two blinks for me to realize that the man I was looking at was none other than Gage Ryan.
He was the full package, a legend in his own time. All six foot two inches of him was pure grade A gorgeous. At forty-two, he’d never been married and was on the record as saying he didn’t believe in it. He was also blunt about not wanting children. Many men would’ve come off as douchebags for saying that but not him. Gage was beloved in Hollywood; from actors to directors to producers to people who worked behind the scenes, everyone had something nice to say about him. One of my secret goals was to do a movie with him at some point.
When I met his gaze, it was so electrifying that the little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I felt almost hypnotized by the sensations that zigzagged through my body. His hazel eyes were just about as wide as I knew mine were. Whatever was happening, I believed he felt it too. At least I thought he did. Right until his expression turned ice cold.
I nibbled at my bottom lip as color flooded my cheeks. “I’m so sorry—”
He waved his hand dismissively and turned away from me. “It’s nothing,” he said over his shoulder, his voice stiff.
I frowned, miffed by his rudeness.
“Maybe next time she’ll pay attention to what’s around her,” a snotty voice snipped.
I grimaced as I looked to my right and saw that Kerri was sitting across the table from Gage. “Ignore her,” Jasper murmured, pulling my attention back to him. “Let’s take this picture.”
I nodded as I turned back to the photographer, barely remembering to smile before the flash went off.
After the photo was taken, Jasper and I resumed our conversation, but it was difficult to focus since Kerri was giving me a death glare and I suspected Gage was eavesdropping on us. I swore I could feel his eyes on me, which made me anxious. Unable to keep from fidgeting, I made my excuses to Jasper and then scurried back to my table.
I wanted to forget the whole thing, but I couldn’t because every time I looked up for the next few hours, I found Gage looking at me. He’d look away as if he was annoyed whenever our gazes met, only for it to happen again a few minutes later. When he got up and walked away from his table, I let out my first deep breath of the night.TwoGageI’d expected to have a fairly laid-back night at the Globes since I wasn’t one of the nominees this year, but Morgan Kelly blew any semblance of calm out of the water by capturing my attention when she bumped into me. I knew who she was, Hollywood was a small world, after all, but we’d never run in the same circles. Now that her leading role in Dimming Her Light had garnered her a nomination, that was going to change. She’d proved her acting chops, and it only made sense that we’d be at the same events.
I’d been aware that Morgan was beautiful, with her unconventional combination of dark hair and bright blue eyes, but beauty was the norm with actresses, and I’d spent a lifetime surrounded by them. It took more than that to catch my eye nowadays. What I’d seen of her at a distance hadn’t prepared me for the punch she packed in person, though. My cock hardened the instant her ass touched my side. It wasn’t even a semi, sort of interested in an attractive woman hard-on, either. It was a full-fledged rod of steel.