She wrapped her arms around me. “Get what?” I laughed as we carefully hugged, not messing up any of the stylists’ hard work.
“Oh, you’ll see,” she said ominously. She linked her arm through mine. “Let’s head down, shall we?”
Only a half hour late, we made our way downstairs to Charlie and Harrison.
Charlie spotted me the second we entered the living room. He ran a hand over his face, his eyes moving all over me, never settling on one area.
He moved closer yet stopped a few inches in front of me.
“You look absolutely breathtaking,” Charlie said.
“You look great too,” I said, admiring his all-black fitted slacks and tight button-up shirt. The clothes molded to his sculpted form. “Nice pants,” I teased. I wondered if he too remembered every conversation we’d ever exchanged. The reality that Charlie was my RC was starting to settle in, and between that and the glam look, I was flying high.
He made a low growling sound. “Maybe later,” he said.
I bit my lip as Emma and Harrison made their way to the door. “Are we ready?” Emma asked, bright-eyed.
“Limo’s here,” Charlie said.
My jaw dropped.
“I heard you liked your last trip in one. Thought you better have at least one more,” he said.
I smiled up at him in delight even as my heart clenched, remembering that our days were few. It wasn’t clear how much more time Sally would need to film. It felt like we’d done more than enough to fulfill our contracted quota. At this point, I’d probably sign on for another month if it meant that I wouldn’t have to leave Charlie. But I couldn’t think about that now. I just wanted a night on the town with this gorgeous man and his two best friends.
* * *
The perksof celebrity life had not been exaggerated. The limo was even nicer than the one that picked me up from the airport. I had gone from never being in a limo to discerning the qualities of different types. Yeesh, look at me quickly adapting to celebrity life. There was a bottle of champagne I’d only ever seen in rap videos waiting on a miniature sideboard when we got in. Without a word, Harrison handed the bottle to the grinning driver. “Cheers, mate. Bring that home to the fam as part of your tip.”
After a luxurious but too short ride, the four of us were delivered to a secret back club entrance and directed straight to the VIP area. The club itself was unlike any place I’d ever seen: jam-packed with the world’s most beautiful people, velvet couches, dazzling chandeliers, and servers who looked like they’d been pulled straight from the movies. Actually, they were probably trying to become actors considering where we were. We had a private room offset from the crowded dance floor, where we could watch the crowds, but they couldn’t see us. Several gorgeous men and women made eyes at Harrison, Emma, and Charlie as we made our way to the room, but nobody dared approach.
“What do you think?” Emma asked after an hour or so on the shared dance floor.
I had decided before we left that I wouldn’t be drinking tonight. Not just for Charlie, but because I didn’t want time to go even faster. I wanted to remember every detail. Okay, and to be fair, I still didn’t feel great after the two drinks last night.
She sat next to me on a small couch, Harrison and Charlie across from us. Charlie sat with one strong leg crossed over his other knee. His muscular thighs were close to busting the seams of tight-tailored pants. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me tonight, and it made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. Catching me ogling him, he tugged at his ear with a coy smile. I raised a teasing eyebrow at his call for help. I wanted nothing more than to cross the small table between us and straddle him.
“Earth to Kate?” Emma playfully shouldered me.
Oh yeah, she’d asked me something. I brought my focus back to her and blinked slowly. “I think I could get used to VIP treatment.”
She laughed with an elegant toss of her hair.
“This is amazing,” I added. “Thank you so much for bringing me.”
I would never forget this night as long as I lived. I found myself trying to keep track of details and only realized later that I’d been subconsciously documenting everything to share with RC. The understanding hit me so hard that I almost felt dizzy. I wouldn’t have to remember to tell him everything because the real Charlie was here at my side. Wouldn’t it be amazing to never have to remember to tell him anything again because he was there to experience it with me?
Harrison squeezed in on the other side of Emma, and they laughed loudly about something I couldn’t quite make out over the thumping club music.
I was debating how to join Charlie, when my eyes drifted to the club beyond our room. Several shiny faces looked familiar, but I couldn’t recall anyone in particular, up-and-comers on a few streaming shows that were taking off.
Then I saw someone I absolutely recognized. Wesley Cole. He’d played the bad boy Max Malachi inTerraFormativeand had been a constant source of antagonism to the Intrepid Trio. I hadn’t seen him in person yet, though he’d been listed on the call sheets. His recording schedule never synched up with ours. Maybe the “bad guys” were being filmed separately.
Wesley had also grown ridiculously handsome with the passing of time. Was that good luck by casting or another perk of money? At a young age, his black hair had developed distinctive silver streaks, becoming his most recognizable feature. His sharp jawline was covered with a hint of a five o’clock shadow and dark circles bruised the pale skin under his eyes. All that, combined with his thick dark brows, always made him appear hard-edged and unapproachable. A dastardly look which drove the fangirls crazy.
Wesley’s eyes moved across the room as he laughed with a friend, as if sensing he was being watched. The moment his gaze landed on Emma, his dark eyebrows furrowed. His gaze raked up and down her body; the raw desire that passed over his features forced me to glance away. By the time I looked back, he’d smoothed his face back to neutral.
So maybe not all the rumors were fake and just for publicity.
