In Your Eyes (Man of the Month 6)

Megan was about to ask who the man was, but Griff spoke first, his words directed to Parker. "Looking forward to tonight?" he repeated. "You mean the contest?"

"Of course," Parker said, though he was looking at Megan and not Griffin. "What else?"

Griffin didn't answer, and Megan didn't look at him. But she could feel his gaze boring laser-like into her skull. "Who's your friend?" she asked Parker, mostly as a diversionary tactic, but also because she was genuinely curious.

"Sorry," Parker said. "Everyone, this is Derek Winston. Derek, this is Megan, Griffin, and Amanda."

They shook his hand in turn, although Megan noticed that Amanda hesitated, then pulled hers free a tad too early. An odd reaction considering Amanda was the last person Megan would expect to be intimidated by a good-looking guy.

"Winston Hotels," Griffin said, the comment shifting Megan's attention from Amanda and back to Derek. "Nice properties."

"Thanks," Derek says. "It's a family business, but I've taken over as the director of North American operations. I'm in town for personal visits to the three Austin properties. Since Parker and I go way back, I thought I'd come watch him shake his groove thing up on that stage."

"If my groove thing does any shaking--" Parker glanced so swiftly at Megan that it might have been her imagination, "--it won't be on that stage."

"There you are!" Taylor's familiar voice fell over their group, and then the woman herself shoved her way through the crowd, saving Megan from another round of questions from Griffin.

Taylor grabbed Parker's arm, and a swirl of jealous soup curled in Megan's gut, even though she knew perfectly well that the gesture wasn't intimate but was instead the stage manager's method of wrangling one of the contestants back stage.

Not to mention the fact that Megan could hardly feel jealous about a man she had no claim over in the first place.

"See you all later," Parker said, speaking to all of them, but his attention on Megan.

"Good luck," she called. She expected Amanda to say the same thing, but she was focused on her phone, though Megan had the distinct impression that the device was a prop, and Amanda was really in massive avoidance mode.

But who--or what--was she avoiding?

That, however wasn't something she could think about at the moment. "I need to go check on Beverly," she said, pointing to the emcee, who was signaling for Megan to come to the stage. "Nice to meet you, Derek," she said before hurrying toward the stage, with Griffin at her side.

"You want to tell me what's going on with you and Parker?"

"No," she said simply, to which his eyes widened. She paused long enough to draw a deep breath. "I mean yes, but later. Drinks tomorrow night?"

He looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded. "Fine. I'll go grab us some seats at the bar. You do your thing and meet me there."

She nodded, then hurried over to Beverly, passing Taylor on her way back. "I swear it's like herding cats," the stage manager said, making Megan laugh.

"You're in a good mood," Beverly said, as Megan did a quick touch-up on her make-up. The show was being filmed so that segments of the contest could be edited into The Business Plan, the reality TV show that centered on the remodeling of The Fix. Because of that, Megan knew that Beverly was hyper-conscious of her appearance on that stage. Not that she had reason to be. Bev hit all corners of the celebrity triangle as far as Megan was concerned. Natural beauty, genuine niceness, and natural talent.

"Perfect," Megan said. "Now go."

"Thanks," Beverly said. "Time to break a leg."

Megan laughed, then turned to head back toward the bar and Griffin. She didn't make it, however, because she caught sight of Jenna and Reece standing at the edge of the stage.

"Hey," Jenna said, waving her over. A wide grin lit her eyes as Megan approached. "Good job turning a screw-up into a victory."

"Thanks. I won't deny it was stressful."

"But you pulled it off," Reece said. "Congratulations."

He had his arm around Jenna, who was leaning against his broad chest, looking a little tired.

"You okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Fine," Jenna said. "Just wiped."

"Do you want me to grab you a chair?" Megan asked. She was certain that Jenna was pregnant, but she and Reece had still not officially said anything to their friends.