Alec turned, nearly eye-to-eye with Brooklyn in her sky-high heels. “Here I am.”
“You don’t look like a dork. I like that sweater. It’s very Mr. Rogers.” Brooklyn had her hair in this retro teased style that made her look like a Bond girl, and her eye makeup was thick and black. She looked dangerous. And not like a woman who wanted to spend time with Mr. Rogers. Even so, Alec couldn’t have been more turned on if he tried.
“Thanks. I think.”
Jason came up behind her, placing both of his hands on Brooklyn’s waist and settling his chin on her shoulder. Alec wanted to kill him. But he didn’t. Murdering the star of the movie at his own fan event was a sure ticket to the slammer. “Alec. Hey. I don’t know why you think you look like a dork.”
Alec had now become an adorable inside joke between Jason and Brooklyn.Great.“Very fun event. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Yeah. It’s so much better than the regular premieres. I get to hang out with my fans,” Jason said. Behind him, a couple tapped his shoulder and asked for his autograph. “Over there on the table are a stack of signed 8-by-10s. You can grab one of those.”
“Is Lela here?” Alec asked, by way of conversation.
“She wasn’t able to come. She and her husband went to Connecticut to visit his mom,” Brooklyn said. “I should probably go pee before the screening starts. I’m guessing it’s going to take me twenty minutes to peel off this thing and jam myself back into it.”
“Don’t be gone long,” Jason said, giving her a little squeeze and making Alec reconsider his vow to not kill him.
“So… you and Brooklyn,” Alec said as soon as she was out of earshot. “Didn’t really see that coming.” Alec hoped he sounded completely nonchalant and in no way paranoid.
“Yeah. You could have witnessed the whole start of it if you’d been there that morning. I was surprised you weren’t there that day.”
“I was upstairs in a meeting. I’m making a move into our news division.”
Jason nodded. “Cool. It wasn’t my idea. But you know how these things go. Somebody in the marketing department comes up with a half-baked idea, but your publicist thinks it could end up being great, and then your manager gets involved and all they care about is the money side, and well, let’s just say that I’m not going to look like this forever. I need to cash in while I can.”
Alec still wasn’t entirely sure what Jason meant, but he had a pretty good idea. And he didn’t like it at all. He looked back over his shoulder and there was no sign of Brooklyn. It was time to put his interview skills to the test. “So they suggested you invite Brooklyn?”
“Turns out the movie has tested through the roof with women. That’s not always the case with these franchises. That’s why we’re doing the sequel about the baby. And that’s also why they asked me to take Brooklyn tonight. They wanted someone who was high profile, but still an everyday woman. Someone other women could relate to.”
Alec choked back his anger, knowing he had to keep it in check. “You two seem to be hitting it off though.”
Jason nodded. “Of course. I get along great with all women. And Brooklyn’s pretty easy on the eyes, if you catch my drift.”
Oh, Alec caught it. He wanted to ball up Jason’s drift and launch it right back in his face. With spikes attached. Also, fire. “Right.”
“Plus, I’m an actor. I can make my way through anything.”
Alec turned back again and this time he spotted Brooklyn walking out of the women’s room. She stopped to take a photo with two teenage boys who needed to put their eyes back in the sockets.
“My agent just got here. I need to have a chat with her,” Jason said. “I’ll see you around, Alec.” Like a superhero, he was gone in a flash.
Alec knew this was likely his only chance to get Brooklyn alone so he could talk to her and warn her about Jason. He hustled over to her and grabbed her arm. “Can I steal you for a minute?”
She glanced over at Jason, who was immersed in conversation with his agent, presumably. “Sure. But just a minute.”
Alec took her hand and led her to the only private spot in the lobby—behind a large potted ficus tree. “I need to ask you one favor. As a friend.”
“A favor? Now? Can’t this wait?”
“No. It can’t.”
A low grumble left her throat. “Your timing sucks, Alec. I’m on a date.”
He was well aware his timing was the absolute worst. It was the one constant in his life. He looked into her warm eyes, his heart beating hard, and decided that he couldn’t hurt her feelings and tell her the truth of what Jason had said. He didn’t have it in him. But he did have to warn her of the one thing she should not do, even when he knew she would be angry with him for injecting himself into the situation. “You have to promise me you won’t try to make a baby with Jason Adams.”
Chapter Fourteen
Brooklyn foundAlec’s plea patently absurd. Make a baby with Jason Adams? Although the idea had crossed her mind for a nanosecond, that was a highly unlikely outcome. “It’s our first date. I really prefer to wait until the second date to get pregnant.”
