Somethingwas up with the hot stranger, that was for sure. I just couldn’t work out what.
Nate gave a sudden scowl. “Who invitedthattwerp?”
I turned to see where he was glaring, and saw Teddy McCallum talking to the frat-boy types who had taken over the grill. Teddy was the kind of guy who annoyed people, because he wasalwaysasking if he could film them for one or other of his niche-interest YouTube channels. He was also gorgeous in that completely oblivious, nerdy way some guys have. All of that combined made him an easy punching bag for bullies.
I’d never checked out his channels, but I knew one of Teddy’s interests was bad boys. He ran a website calledCute Crims, which I’d never looked at, but Nate assured me wastotally lame. I had a soft spot for Teddy because he still treated me like a Hollywood megastar, even though I hadn’t acted for over a decade. He wasn’t someone I’d hang out with regularly, but he was harmless enough.
And right then, as those big, buff straight guys all laughed at him, he looked like a puppy getting kicked repeatedly.
I had the sudden urge to right a few wrongs, since everything was okay in my world again. I hauled ass out of the pool, pulled my hat firmly down on my head, and went over to the barbecue, where the group of assholes were snickering like morons and asking if Teddy wantedthick sausagesorhot meat. Fair-haired Teddy had gone beet-red and wouldn’t look any of them in the eye.
“Hey, Teddy,” I said, slinging an arm around his shoulders, and glaring at the three guys. “Glad you could make it.”
The assholes had stopped laughing, but were still smirking. “Nice hat,” the lead cook said with a friendly grin. I gave him a cold stare and held out a paper plate.
“Steak. Rare.”
“Uh, here you go, bud,” he mumbled, dumping a steak on my plate.
“Thanks.Bud. You all’ll keep on cooking tonight, won’t you?” I looked at all three of them. “Until everyone’s had their fill of your—what did you call it—your hot meat?”
They chuckled until they saw I was serious. “Yeah, sure, whatever,” the first one muttered.
“Make sure that you do.” They knew from my past performance that I was serious. Either they stayed chained to the barbecue until people were done eating, or I wouldn’t hesitate to kick them out.
That’s what they got for their bullshit today. And when it came time for my next party, then and only then would they find out they weren’t invited.
“How are you, Teddy?” I asked, as we moved away together.
He was beaming with delight at me. “I’m super good, Miller! How are you!” Teddy was also the kind of guy whose every sentence sounded like it ended in an exclamation mark.
“I’m doing great. Sorry about those assholes.”
“Oh, they were just kidding around!”
They really weren’t. But even they couldn’t dampen my newfound joy in life. Annie was fine, I had a long evening of fun to look forward to, and as I glanced across the grounds, the last piece of the puzzle slotted into place.
It was the stranger.
The hot stranger from last night at the bar. I’d swear to it in a court of law, despite his large black sunglasses and the way he kept his head low. He was flanked by two of our rent-a-cops that my Dad paid to wander around the walls of the property.
What the hell was the stranger doing here?
“Hey, Miller, maybe I could interview you for one of my channels!” Teddy was saying eagerly, fumbling with his phone.
“Uh, maybe later. Excuse me right now,” I said. “I need to go greet a new guest.”
I dumped my paper plate of steak into the trash, making sure the frat-types saw, and started walking towards the security guards. Between them, held tight by each arm, the stranger’s body language was relaxed and unhurried, like everything would get sorted out in a minute.
But that attitude changed as I got closer. As he recognized me. I grinned when I reached them, holding up a hand in greeting.
“Howdy, boys,” I said to the security guards, both old enough to be my father. “What do we have here?”
“Sir, we found thisgentlemanclimbing the perimeter at the back,” one of the guards said. They were both grabbing onto the man’s arms pretty damn hard. “Heclaimsto be a guest.”
I gave the guy a long head-to-toe stare. “Well, well, well,” I drawled. “Looking for trouble, were you?”
“As it happens,” he drawled back, “I was.”
