My justification for intervening is that I’m worried he’s going to fall flat on his face if he keeps this up. It’s been a long day, and the man has barely gotten any food inside him today, claiming he couldn’t stretch out the fabric of his borrowed suit or get it dirty.
Before I can, another person slides up beside him, and I slink back into the shadows to give them space. Milo’s already smiling toward the newcomer before we can really see who it is. His smile freezes when the man who’d been sitting beside him during the show pulls him into a hug before he can react.
My guard is instantly up, but I keep my distance. Sometimes intervening too soon can make things worse, so I wait for a signal from Milo.
“Lance, fancy bumping into you here again,” Milo says, flashing his smile like a weapon.
Even from here, I can hear the fakeness in his tone. Either Lance is oblivious, or he’s ignoring the obvious, but his smile remains easy, almost a little sleazy.
“Why wouldn’t I be here when you are?” he says like it’s an obvious fact.
Milo laughs despite the dude sounding like a stalker. “I didn’t realize you were spending your days as a pap these days? Are you giving up acting to follow other celebrities around?”
Lance chuckles and shakes his head. “You’ve always been a jokester, Milo. You know I don’t care about the others. Just you.”
Fuck, this guy is even sleazier than I imagined, and he’s clearly unable to read the room. Milo could have received the best media training in the world, but this situation is clearly proving impossible for him to keep a straight face. Anyone with eyes can see that Milo is uncomfortable.
“Yes, as you’ve made it clear,” Milo grits out, not even trying to hide his annoyance now. “I was surprised to find you seated beside me earlier. I thought the front-row seats were only for the VIPs.”
Lance laughs again, like he wasn’t just snubbed. “I managed to pull some strings,” he says with a smirk.
“Really? Whose strings might these be? Youmustshare.”
“My lips are sealed,” Lance replies with a wink. He takes a step forward and lowers his voice when he adds, “But I might be persuaded. Let’s say tomorrow night?”
Milo steps back, thank fuck, because I’m two seconds from putting my body between Milo and this fucker.
“Let’s say never,” Milo shoots back. “I don’t date, and especially not you.”
Milo turns to walk away, but this man must have a death wish because he puts his hand on Milo.
“C’mon, man. You don’t know what you’re missing until—”
“Is there a problem here?” I step forward and interrupt whatever batshit-crazy thing was about to come out of his mouth. I pull his grubby fingers away from Milo while I’m at it too.
Lance doesn’t even attempt to conceal his sneer. “Who the fuck are you? Why are you butting into private business?”
He tries to size me up and look intimidating, but it’s hard to feel intimidated when I’m a head taller than him and double his size. I cross my arms over my shoulders, causing the suit I’m wearing tonight to strain. The action makes my forearms look extra huge.
I have to give Lance kudos for not backing down, but judging by the stink of alcohol on his breath, I’m guessing that has more to do with liquid courage than anything else.
“Listen, I don’t know who you are, but you should go back to where you came from like a good boy,” he growls like an angry Pomeranian and tries to scare me by jabbing a finger into my chest.
His touch barely tickles, and it doesn’t take much force to push him back out of my personal space.
He almost stumbles on his feet, but manages to catch himself upright with a curse and a glare that’s burning with fury. “Whyyou—”
“I think you need to get some water and cool down,” Milo interjects. He comes between us and holds a hand up, the palm facing Lance as if that would stop him from advancing.
I’m frustrated that he thinks he needs to protect me, or maybe he’s just trying to de-escalate the situation. Either way, that’s supposed to bemyjob, not the other way around. I try to gather Milo safely behind me, but he gives me a look that says he’s determined to see this through. So the best I can do is look like a menacing force who’s got Milo’s back.
Milo leans into Lance’s ear and whispers low enough that I can barely hear him despite being this close to them.
“If you don’t want to cause a scene and lose your chances to be in that movie you’ve been bragging about to anyone who’ll listen, you’ll walk away.”
Chills go down my spine at the ruthlessness in Milo’s tone. It says he’s done with the games and won’t take any more nonsense. It’s fucking sexy as hell.
“Are you threatening me?” Lance asks, eyes wide at Milo as if he’s seeing him for the first time.
