He was definitely looking directly at me. Or behind me? I checked. There was nobody else. I was in a cubicle with my back to the wall. Well, crapola.
His mouth gently parted as though he was about to speak. Why was he looking at me like he recognized me? Or was this me projecting my hopes onto a man who definitely just found an obsessive fan eavesdropping on his personal conversation? Was I about to be escorted out of the hotel before I even made it to the meet and greet?
I needed to leave. I needed to explain.
I opened my mouth to speak.
You know what, on second thought, I should definitely go.
I turned and smacked right into Pete. He grabbed my arm. “There you are.”
Pete looked up and saw Charles Downing, who was now playing on his phone, before turning back to frown at me. So maybe I had imagined all that?
“Is that why you left early? To come gawk at celebrities? Really, Kate. Have some self-respect.”
“Pete,” I hissed. “This is unacceptable—”
“Come on,” he interrupted. “Let’s get you to your party. That’s why you dragged me all the way here, isn’t it?”
I was humiliated. Ashamed. There was no defending what Pete saw because what had I been doing? Trying to ease my nerves? Or just trying to play out some secret fantasy where Charles would see me and fall instantly in love with me.
I really was hopeless.
When I looked up again, Charles Downing was gone, and I wondered if I had imagined the whole exchange.
Pete put his arm through mine. “Let’s go.”
I nodded but turned back one time to see the actor about to turn the corner, watching us with clenched fists.
Great. He definitely thought I was some weirdo fan. So much for a solid first impression.
* * *
Charlie
Emma,Harrison, and I were stationed in the middle of the crowded banquet hall in a slow-moving processional. A couple other cast members were lined up too, but Intrepid Trio was clearly the bride and grooms of the event. It seemed as if the whole party was lined up to meet us while munching on snacks and sipping drinks from the open bar.
Kate hadn’t come in yet.
I was still shaken from my first sighting of her. I had a plan for how I would act. Well, sort of. Really, my only plan was to say something witty and have her taken aback by my utter charm. I hadn’t exactly worked through the details yet. But even that miserable plan immediately went out the window the second I spotted her. It was so unexpected. I’d felt someone watching me as I talked Agata down from making Nugget into soup. I’d been preparing to growl at the interloper to bugger off, only to find Kate standing just a few feet away. She stood with hands clasped and her mouth rounded in surprise. Her beautiful full cupid’s bow mouth pursed like she’d wanted to say something. Had she heard my conversation? Had I given something away? Then that bloody arsehole showed up and the moment was stolen from me. It all happened too fast. Almost like I had imagined her.
Pete had looked pissed, and she was surprisingly cowed by his unexpected arrival. But when he tried to loudly shame her, I was two seconds from punching him in the face. Yes, I was aware of my anger issues. Ididn’tpunch him in the face, so that was progress. My therapist would be proud.
No matter how hard I tried to focus on the guest I was being introduced to my eyes lifted to scan the room every ten seconds like a paranoid bodyguard.
Would she decide not to come tonight after Pete had embarrassed her? He seemed so irritated; I was worried. I would give it five more minutes before I went to make sure she was okay. I really hated that nob she was with.
Emma had seen my desperate glances and had placed a glass of sparkling water with a lime wedge in my hand before a server could come by with champagne or anything else tempting. I’d found it was easier to look like you were drinking than to explain why you weren’t. Or telling people to piss off.
Time blurred in casual conversation with strangers and former cast members. So far, the evening hadn’t been as hard as the funeral. Maybe because Emma and Harrison were here but probably because the run-in with Kate had overrun every other fear or emotion.
All at once, I glanced up just as she entered the room. Like I had a preternatural awareness of her.
Her eyes were shining, and her cheeks were splotchy with a red flush. I glared daggers at the man currently directing her toward the bar. He had made her cry, and for that alone, he should be catapulted into space. My jaw clenched so hard, my teeth ground.
Emma laughed at my side, breaking my rage glare, and I managed to get a hold of myself. I shook a few more hands and said polite words I couldn’t remember until I looked up and found Kate still at the bar.
She was glancing anxiously at the dwindling line of people waiting to meet us. The boyfriend was leaning casually across the bar, completely ignoring her as he cackled at something the bartender said.
