Vaughn slid his phone back into his pocket and protested, “Hey, now. Don’t lump us all together like that. I definitely would’ve mentioned the win if I’d been given the scoop on their relationship.”
“Sorry.” I dropped my phone into my wristlet and offered him an apologetic smile. “It’s just super frustrating that she’ll be known more for dating Gage than kicking ass in Dimming Her Light. Morgan worked hard to move her career to the next level, and she deserves to be recognized for it tonight of all nights.”
“From the little bit of the press conference I just saw, it seemed to me that she felt like she was on top of the world when she announced to the world that Gage was her boyfriend and the relationship was serious.”
“Yeah, I guess I can’t argue that, but I really should go find her to make sure she’s okay.” I gulped down the rest of my champagne and set it down on a table nearby. “Sorry, best friend duties and all that.”
I hurried away, anxious to find Morgan but also disappointed to leave Vaughn behind. Luckily, it didn’t take me too long to find her and Gage. I had perfect timing because his agent and publicist were walking away as I walked up and poked my best friend in the arm.
Whatever they had to say couldn’t have been too bad since she was smiling as she turned to face me, and said, “Hey—”
“Yeah, hey.” I let out a little laugh-snort, highly amused at her lackadaisical greeting—as if tonight was any other night and she wasn’t plastered all over the world kissing Gage. “Girl, you’re national news right now and not only because you just won an Oscar.”
“How bad is it?” she asked, cringing.
“Scale of one to ten?” She nodded, so I gave it to her straight. “Twenty-two.”
“Shit,” she sighed. “Really?”
I hated to be the bearer of bad news on such a special night, but it had to be done. “In the past ten minutes, I’ve watched the footage of you two kissing your way into the press junket no fewer than forty times. You’re breaking news on CNN right now.”
I barely held back my snort of disbelief when Gage reassured Morgan by saying, “It’ll be okay, beautiful. We’ll deal with the paparazzi together. I’m sure we’ll be old news in a hot minute.”
The only way their relationship would blow over would be if something major took its place. One of Hollywood’s golden couples would need to break up, or someone needed to get knocked up in a major scandal. Actually, I was pretty sure Brad Pitt could run George Clooney over in the parking lot, and the press would still choose to focus on Gage and Morgan.
The look Morgan gave me made it clear she was well aware of the fact that press interest wasn’t going to die off anytime soon.
Our silent conversation—something only the very best friends could accomplish—got sidetracked when Vaughn joined us. He stopped so close to me that I could almost feel his body heat. “Gage, my man. I just saw the footage of you in the pressroom. Are we getting a new addition to the casino night crew?”
Gage confirmed that Morgan would be there, but with the way Vaughn’s hand glided against mine, I had a feeling that he was hoping that I would be joining them too. I flashed him a wicked grin and rubbed my hands together in excitement. Little did he know, I had grown up playing five-card draw with my dad every weekend.
I wasn't going to say I was at a professional level, but I definitely was a bit of a card shark. I was looking forward to being able to show off my poker skills and maybe impress Vaughn.
Vaughn leaned in close to me, pressing his forehead against mine. “It looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together in the future.”
His lips were just a hair’s breadth away from mine as I whispered, “What makes you say that?”
“Because my friend—and neighbor— has finally made a commitment to a woman, and it's your best friend.”
“Hmm, I thought maybe there was another reason.” I pulled my head back about an inch before his hand slid up my spine to wrap around the back of my neck.
“Probably because you strike me as being damn smart.” His fingers slid into the back of my hair. “And if things go my way, we’re going to spend time together separately from them, too.”
“I could get on board with that plan,” I agreed.
His hold on me tightened briefly, and his eyes flared with male satisfaction. “What are you doing for the rest of tonight?”
“I'm sticking with Morgan since it's her big night and I promised her that I was all hers.” My gaze slid over to where she was still busy kissing Gage. “Not that she necessarily needs me to stay close to her as much as she thought she would since Gage surprised her by being here. But where she goes, I go. At least for tonight.”