A Hollywood Deal (Ryder & Paige 1)

“Did I?” Anthony smiles. “Ah, yes I did, didn’t I? Of course. I have quite a lot to do tonight.” He gives me a bow. It’s perfectly executed and pointedly polite. Somehow he makes it clear it’s all directed at Ryder, though. “Thank you for the dance, Paige. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.”

He leaves, his stride long but unhurried.

His hand still around my wrist, Ryder pulls out his phone and texts. Make sure Anthony Blackwood is gone. If he shows up again, have him arrested.

Once he’s done, he looks at me. He lowers his face so people can’t try to read his lips. “We have to talk.”

Dread unfurls in my belly like poison. “Upstairs?”

He shakes his head. “Not now. After the party.”

* * *

The rest of the evening passes in a blur. The earlier scene scraped my nerves, and it’s hard to pretend I’m enjoying myself, even though I paste on a smile. My parents are here, and they’re watching me. Neither of them is crazy about the idea of me marrying Ryder, and I don’t want to give them more reason to think badly of him.

Ryder, on the other hand, is a champ. He talks to everyone like nothing’s wrong, and nobody mentions the confrontation again, not even Mira, who gives me the Look of Death.

I pull her to the side. “Okay, explain to me what I did wrong.”

“I can’t because I didn’t see what happened. But you should’ve never invited someone you don’t know.”

“He said he was Ryder’s friend.”

“Honey, everyone says that if it means getting into a party.”

“Yeah, I know that. But he owns Z. And his family’s just as rich and well-connected as Ryder’s.”

“I don’t care if he owns the entire city of Los Angeles. This is supposed to be about Ryder’s engagement. Now the only thing people are going to talk about when they get home is how Ryder almost lost it when a guest was dancing with you.”

I cringe. “Maybe Christopher can spin it into Ryder being jealous?” There’s no turd Christopher can’t turn into gold.

“But Ryder doesn’t get jealous!” she hisses furiously. “Ryder never gets jealous.”

She stalks away in her stilettos, reaching into her clutch to pull out her phone. I should count myself lucky she didn’t put one of her spike heels through my eye.

Sighing, I hide in the powder room and sit down. The fact that Anthony lied to get invited to the party upsets me, but what he said won’t leave my mind.

Another Lauren.

So the other man she was dating must’ve been Anthony. But why couldn’t he see that both he and Ryder were the victims of her manipulation? It’s obvious she wanted fame, not either of the two men.

If Anthony was honest about having been Ryder’s friend, doesn’t he understand what a terrible waste it is to throw that friendship away for a woman who was only using him as the lowest rung on the ladder to fame?

It might be years ago and she might be gone, but she obviously still casts a long shadow over the men…and now me. I expected the worst that would probably happen in this fake marriage was getting caught between Ryder and Julian. I never thought I would end up in an old feud over a dead woman.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ryder

Mira approaches with her mouth set in a hard line, cutting through the crowd like a shark in still water. People move out of the way.

I look at her with a small smile even as an internal alarm goes off. She had the exact same look when that tramp released her fake sex tape for publicity. Whatever it is, I’m sure she and the team can handle it, but I still can’t help but feel a little tense. I have a lot more to lose now. I don’t want some bullshit out there to hurt or humiliate Paige.

Mira puts a hand on my arm. Even in stilettos she’s short, so I bend down so she can whisper into my ear. “We have to talk. Private. It’s urgent. Your office?”

I nod, and we go upstairs to my office together. I look back at the crowd below. I haven’t seen Paige since that ugly scene with Anthony, and I hope she’s having a good time with her friends and family.

She closes the door behind us. I lean against the edge of the desk, too wired to sit. “What is it?”