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“Huh.” My head jerked back, and I turned to look at Morgan, recognizing her tone. I was totally busted. My best friend knew me well enough to know how into Vaughn I was. She was definitely going to question me about it later. I felt heat fill my cheeks and cursed my pale skin because it always showed my embarrassment.
“When are you guys leaving for the Vanity Fair party?” Vaughn asked.
“About ninety minutes,” Gage answered. “Morgan is starving, and Wolfgang’s food is nothing to sneeze at. I’ll get her fed and make sure she gets a bunch of photos with Gloria. Why?”
I was grateful to Gage for asking the question since I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Vaughn yet.
“I told my director from tonight’s show that he’s free to use my limo anytime he wants to leave. I figured I’d hitch a ride with someone else. Allie tells me she’s going wherever Morgan goes. Mind if I catch a ride with you guys?”
I was already nodding in agreement—and mentally doing a fist pump—when Gage answered, “Not at all. You wanna sit at my table with us? I have my usual six-seater reserved at the back of the room.”
Pushing Morgan toward Gage was really paying off for me since he was setting me up quite nicely with Vaughn.
“Perfect,” Vaughn answered. “I could definitely go for some food. Wish it was larger than bite-size, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
Vaughn slid his palm against mine and held my hand as we navigated the labyrinth of celebrities, not letting go no matter who stopped him to say hello. When we made it to Gage’s table, my chin almost dropped to the floor when I spotted the current People magazine’s sexiest man alive choice, Liam Hall, sitting there.
“Hey, Vaughn. Long time, no see, neighbor.” Liam’s gaze slid toward me, and Vaughn tucked me closely to his side. “I heard Gage had girlfriended up, along with the rest of the world, but I didn’t realize you’d found a woman, too. Who’s this?”
“None of your damn business, that’s who,” Vaughn growled.
“I see you’re still being a barbarian then,” Liam chuckled, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I guess since you know where I live, I shouldn’t try to steal her away.”
My cheeks filled with heat again, and Vaughn grumbled under his breath about Liam being a pain in his ass as he led me to an open seat on the other side of the table. Everyone nibbled on food and talked for about an hour before we decided to head to the Vanity Fair party.
Vaughn kept me close once again as we made our way outside, and I was surprised to find his limo right behind Morgan’s. “It turned out that my director didn’t need the car after all. It’d be a shame to waste it, so how about you ride over with me?”
Vaughn Corbett—who seemed to be very much into me—wanted to get me alone in his limo. I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass me by.4VaughnOscar night was a big deal in Hollywood. Regardless of the fact that I’d farmed out the after-party gig, it was completely out of character that I had no desire to check in. It was alarming, but not enough to divert my focus from Allie for more than a few seconds at a time. Even then, I remained aware of her in a way that blew my mind.
I’d spent years working my way up the ladder at my network, doing whatever I needed to prove myself. I’d started as a janitor’s helper and had gone on to become the highest paid and most popular on-air personality. Three years ago, I’d gotten involved in the business side of things, and that had quickly become my passion.
When I was fifteen, James Ryerson, the head of the network, had taken me under his wing. He’d seen something in the snot-nosed foster kid with the bad attitude, and he’d taught me to work hard and set goals. Because he’d pushed me along, I was ready to tackle the challenge of taking over his position when the time came. I was hoping the time was a few years out yet, but since James’s health had taken an unexpected downturn recently, I was more aware than ever that life didn’t come with a map and a timetable.
I’d been tense for weeks, but somehow being around Allie took that all away. Instead of thinking about how worried I was about James or the personal project I was working on, my entire focus was on Allie.
I kept my hand at her back as I guided her toward my limo, nodding and saying hello to about two dozen people along the way. Normally, I’d have stopped to press the flesh, but for once, my career didn’t have top billing.
