“You definitely are,” I said, laughing, “but I don’t care.”
“Good.” Arms slid around me from behind, a chin finding my shoulder. Bourbon and mint. “My name’s Liam.” His mouth found my neck in a gentle kiss that turned not-so-gentle when he spun me to him. I caught a glimpse of brown hair and eyes so dark I could disappear inside them before he kissed me.
Every cell in my body tingled with attention and energy. There was no questioning or worry. This felt perfect. It feltright.
“I have absolutely no idea what to do,” I said. “This is the last thing I expected.”
“Right there with you,” Liam said. “But we’ll figure it out. We’re not walking away unless you tell us to.”
Instant revulsion swelled in my stomach at the thought. Walking away was out of the question. Just standing here fully clothed was a struggle.
Liam kissed me again, and I melted into it. Everything was effortless. It couldn’t possibly be this easy, right? It didn’t make any sense. I didn’t even know their last names, and now we were wrapped up in each other with no plans to stop.
Where the hell did we go from here?
“After this award, I don’t have to stay,” I whispered. “What then?”
Tyler stepped up behind me, hands on my hips. “We just moved into a new place downtown. It’s still mostly in boxes, but there’s more than enough room. It doesn’t matter. I’ll happily wherever you are.”
He spun me away from Liam as if we were dancing. “I have security. Would it be okay if?—”
“Yes,” Jack said. “Yes to whatever you need.”
I swallowed. “There are many things I need.”
Dylan looked at me like he was trying to figure something out. “The award… holy shit, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”
“I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” I said with a laugh.
The rest of them looked at Dylan, and he shrugged. “Eva May Williams.”
“In the flesh.”
Jack was suddenly next to us, trading places with Tyler. He laughed softly. “We do know who you are. It probably sounds ridiculous, but we don’t have much time for movies.”
“I don’t have much time to listen to music.” I followed my instincts and turned my head to lay it on his chest. “But I feel like that’s about to change.”
Jack began to purr, the sound rich and warm beneath my ear. It was like a dose of pure relaxation. Give me all of it. Right the fuck now.
A knock on the door. Jasmine cracked it. “They’re about to introduce the nominees,” she said.
I forced myself to stand up straight and glanced in the dressing room mirror. The lip line I’d carefully drawn in the car was gone, and my hair looked exactly like they’d all had their hands in it.
Quickly, I used my thumb to fix the smudges of my lipstick and combed my hair into something that looked presentable. I probably wasn’t going to win anyway.
“Do I look okay?”
“Considering none of us can take our eyes off you…” Tyler said.
I flushed as another wave of perfume spilled forward. But I had to go. Just a few more minutes. “This is Jasmine. My manager and a bunch of other things. She’s basically my second brain and knows more about my own life than I do. She’ll help us figure everything out,” I said, giving her a pleading look as I passed. She was already holding back laughter as she nodded.
On stage, the video clips were playing with everyone nominated for Favorite Lead Actress. It was fun to be on the list, and half an hour ago I would have said that I wanted to win desperately. Now I wanted whatever would get me out of here the fastest.
“And the winner is…” It felt like the world held its breath. “Eva May Williams.”
I stood frozen for a few seconds before it sank in. I wasn’t out there to make the walk up to the stage. The cameras would be looking for me. And everything I’d had in mind to say was long gone.
But my feet somehow moved. There was a smile on my face. I waved to the crowd and took the trophy from the attendant. But words wouldn’t come.
