“Thanks for not decking him,” she murmurs, clinging to my hand.
“Don’t be too grateful. I’m going to rearrange his face at some point, just not in front of a bunch of cameras.”
We stop at the water’s edge.
Kevin grabs my shoulder and tries to spin me around. “I was talking to you.”
I clench my jaw and search for self-control. “How long you want to hang around?” The best course of action is to ignore this guy. He wants attention, and so the harshest response is no response.
“We can go actually.” Sadie gives me a tight smile. “I placed my bid, did the photo call, said hello to Ramey. That’s all that is necessary.”
“You sure? We can stay as long as you want.”
“Are you fucking deaf, man? I said—”
I bring up my hands to cover Sadie’s ears and then kiss her again. She doesn’t need to hear this dude’s sewage that he’s determined to spill. He’s not thinking of her now, but his own damned hurt feelings. When there aren’t any cameras around, though, he’s going to pay.
I lift my head and stare hungrily at her cherry-colored lips. “I think we gave them enough material for the day.”
“Yeah.” Her eyes are a little starry, and it makes me hard as a rock.
I tuck her hand in my elbow and move forward, brushing by a frustrated Kevin, whose gums are flapping in the wind. He’s spewing something about how we can’t just ignore him and shit like that. I signal for one of the guards to go get the car and guide Sadie to her friend’s side to say goodbye.
“Ramey, I’ve got to run,” Sadie says, leaning in for an air kiss.
“So soon? You just arrived.” The actress pouts slightly.
“I know, but I’ve got a big day of publicity tomorrow with Charlie for Game Changer, and I can already feel my face getting swollen.” Sadie pats a hand against her slender cheeks.
“You look gorgeous, but I understand. Thanks for coming anyway, and tell Charlie to call. He’s been avoiding me, and you know how that hurts my feelings.”
Sadie laughs. “I will. You know how he is, though, super forgetful and a homebody.”
“That’s why everyone wants a call from him! I swear he does this on purpose.”
At the front entrance, I get the all-clear sign. I tap Sadie’s wrist to let her know we’re ready to roll. She catches on right away.
“I promise I’ll tell him to call you.”
“Thank you!”
As we maneuver through the crowd, there are some genuine smiles from her, but when we reach the SUV, her smile fades, melting off her face like a pat of butter across a hot skillet. This took a lot out of her. Maybe she was serious when she said she wanted to quit. I hand her into the truck carefully.
“Thanks.” She gives me a wan smile.
“Just my job.” I reach across and pull the buckle tight to secure her safely in her seat.
“It is just a job, isn’t it? I forgot for a second, but you were acting back there, weren’t you?”
Acting? “You mean with Kevin? Yeah, I was acting.” I wanted to punch his lights out, hit him so hard his ancestors popped their heads out of their graves wondering what in the hell was going on. Instead, I ground half my molars to dust.
The wisp of a smile disappears. “I thought so.”
She leans her head against the window. “I wish I didn't have to go tomorrow.”
“What exactly does tomorrow entail?”
“It’s an interview with Variety, both print and video because everything has a video component these days. After the interview, we will do a Zoom with the Italian and German press. The opening next week is a worldwide one, so we have to do our foreign publicity, too. My new manager will be there, and I dread talking to him about the whole Randle thing. And he’ll be mad because we kissed at the party. The studio wants to push that Charlie and I are a real-life couple.” She slumps further in her seat.
“Shit. Sorry. I should’ve thought of something else. Bodyguards are a common sight here in Hollywood. Probably no one would’ve blinked an eye.”
“It’s fine.” She pats my hand as if I’m the one that needs comforting. “I know you meant nothing by it.”
Nothing by it? Fuck, I could’ve taken her to the ground if our lips had been locked for a second longer. And, honestly, while we were kissing, I thought she was into it, but I need to remember she’s an actress and a damned good one. I get my head back into work mode.
“What time do we roll out?”
“I need to be at the stylist’s place at eleven.”
“I’ll take care of it. Send me the address so we can scope it out beforehand.”
She fishes her phone out of a small crystal covered bag and powers it on. What looks like a thousand messages rolls by. She closes her eyes and lets her head fall back against the seat, clearly overwhelmed. I grab the phone from her.