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He headed to the bar as Amelia hurried across the room and pulled me into a hug. Ash followed in her wake, shooting me a wary look but he kept his mouth shut. I could play nice as long as he did.
“Amelia, this is Martin,” I said, introducing her to the heartthrob of her teen years.
Martin kissed her hand like a proper gentleman. Ash clenched his jaw.
I patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
“What do you mean?” he nearly growled.
“Martin’s a bigger flirt than I am. I don’t know what’s going on with you and Amelia, but I’d stick close.”
He met my green eyes with a sneer. “I don’t need relationship advice.”
I clenched my jaw shut to keep from letting any vicious words snake past my lips. We couldn’t fight here.
“All right then. Good talk.”
His eyes lifted skyward. “Why do you think I’m here anyway?”
“I have no idea.”
Ash’s gaze was intent on Amelia. “I’m not going to repeat past mistakes,” he said low enough for only me to hear.
I nodded, understanding completely. He’d made every mistake with Lila. Amelia was too good for him, if I was honest, but she was a catch. And he knew it.
Well, that was as much of Ash that I could deal with in one day.
I meandered through the room. It felt good to be in a group of people like this. To be able to just hang out and chat. People I hadn’t seen in so long. It felt like being me all over again.
Martin stayed glued to my side for most of the night. We’d always been close like this when we were filming. Even after the divorce, when it should have been awkward, it had only fueled the chemistry on-screen. We hadn’t even fought when it ended. And now, he was at my elbow like no time had passed at all.
He kept bringing me drinks to, and I’d already had one too many. If I didn’t stop, I’d have to get an Uber home and pick up my car in the morning. I was not looking forward to that. But also, I just wanted to get drunk with my friends and pretend like nothing had changed.
Amelia sidled up to me later while I was deep in conversation with Iris about her latest girlfriend. “Hey, do you see Maddox sneaking out?”
My head snapped up, and I followed her line of sight to the entrance of Dub’s. Maddox ran a hand back through his short hair and then yanked the door open. A gaggle of girls pushed in before he could escape.
“He didn’t say good-bye,” I whispered almost to myself.
Amelia gave me a little push. “He was watching you all night. Go after him.”
I didn’t wait to think about it. I was across the room and out the door the next minute. I scanned the street to see which direction Maddox had gone, but I didn’t see him.
“Fuck,” I gasped.
I strode out on the sidewalk and stood on my tiptoes to look over the crowds, but there was no sight of him. I hadn’t been that far behind him. How had he gotten away so fast?
Then, I looked across the street and to the Savannah River. My stomach flipped. Maddox was leaning his arms against the railing that looked out across the river. He hadn’t left. He’d just needed air.
I checked the traffic and skipped across the cobblestone drive. “Hey,” I called as I approached him.
Maddox turned around slowly. “Hey you.”
“You’re escaping the party already?”
He shrugged. “It’s not my scene.”
“You’re part of this movie.”
“Sure.”
“You don’t have to escape the people you’ll be working with for the next six weeks.”
“Yeah. Figured I’d leave you to your many admirers.”
I leaned my hip into the railing. “They’re coworkers. Not admirers.”
“They’re all in love with you.”
“We’re friends.”
He scoffed. “Okay.”
“Is this about Martin?”
“I don’t want to talk about any of this.”
“Okay,” I said. I tipped my head backward, letting the breeze off the river blow the long strands of my black hair. “I always think about you when I’m on the River Walk.”
Maddox was silent for a second before facing me. “Why is that?”
I gestured down the river. “We had our first kiss right there.”
“Yeah. We all know how well that turned out,” he said sardonically.
“I thought the kiss was great.”
“And then freshman year was exactly like that party inside.” He pointed back at the cast party. “You, the toast of the town, and me, ignored in a corner. Same shit, different year.”
“Don’t put that shit on me.” I looked up into his face. “You had as much to do with why it didn’t work as I did.”
“No one could measure up to Josephine Reynolds,” he said, sketching a bow.
“You’re being an ass.”
I tipped my head up to look into those bottomless eyes. Tension bristled between us. Potent and intoxicating. So close that I could steal the kiss that was within reach.
