Hollywood Prince (Hollywood Royalty 3)

“You can’t do that,” Erin says. “This is my job; this is your job,” she tells me. “Please. It’s not the time to tell everyone.”

“We have to get inside, or they will close the doors.” Putting my hand on her lower back, I see men look twice when she walks by them, and I want to put a tent around her. We walk down the red carpet. I stop and pose for pictures alone as Erin stands off to the side. I want to pull her on the carpet with me and pose with her. I want them to take pictures of us together.

I’m not able to give any interviews because it’s so close to the doors closing. When we get inside, ushers lead us to our seats just as a loud, booming voice fills the room. “Showtime.” The lights flick on and off, and then all of a sudden, the orchestra starts.

I lean into Erin and whisper in her ear, “You take my breath away.”

She looks at me from under her lashes. “Nice try, Mr. Johnson,” she says, and I shake my head and watch the show. I don’t know how long it is before they come to get me. I get up from the seat and wait for her to get up, but she doesn’t. “I’ll be here when you are finished.”

I nod at her and walk to the back where I see a couple of people I know. I stop when someone calls my name and wave from afar. I walk to the table, and a man hands me the envelope. “Hey, there.” I turn to see that Tyler Beckett is coming toward me, wearing almost the same tux as me.

“Look who it is,” I say with a smile. “The legend himself.”

He puts his head back and laughs. Tyler Beckett is the biggest box office name out there, and he just got married to an entertainment journalist. They hated each other, but thirty days together will change someone. Hell, I changed, and it’s been less than a month. “There he is, the one who is looking to take my spot on the charts,” he says, laughing.

I shake my head. “No way that can happen,” I tell him, and then a producer comes out and tells us to take our place. I walk over and hear the emcee call both our names, and the girl signals us to walk out. The minute we walk out, the girls go wild, and I look over at him smirking while he just looks ahead at the teleprompter.

“What a night it’s been,” Tyler starts, and the girls up in the balcony go nuts.

“It’s been one hell of a night, hasn’t it?” And if I didn’t think it could get any louder, well, the minute I talk, the girls go even more ballistic. Tyler looks at me and laughs.

“Looks like you have a fan club,” he says, and I just nod. “Let’s get to the last award of the night.” Tyler introduces the nominees.

“And the winner is . . .” I say, opening the envelope and reading the name on the envelope, looking over at the person winning. “Kellie Kitch.” Brian jumps out of his seat in excitement and looks at Kellie, who is sitting there stunned. She finally gets up and makes it up to the stage wearing a smile on her face.

She greets Tyler with a kiss on his cheek and does the same to me as I hand her the black and gold award. “Thank you,” she says and walks to the microphone for her acceptance speech.

I wait for her to finish thanking everyone and then walk off the stage. The minute I’m able to dash away, I do and go grab Erin. She smiles at me, and we make our way to the car. She gets in first and then I follow her in. The minute we are in the car, and it’s rolling, I grab her and kiss her, causing her to moan into my mouth. I put my hands on her face and feel her hands on mine. We kiss the rest of the ride home, and I let her go when the car comes to a stop. I watch her walk down the steps toward the front door. She opens the door and walks in, stopping once she gets to the living room, and I see why. The whole living room is gone, and in its place is a round table for two with romantic music playing. “What is all this?” She looks over at me and walks to the table. The only light is from the blazing fireplace.

“This,” I say, putting her bag down, “is a do-over from our first date.”

She smiles at me, and then I play the song “You are the Reason.” I walk to her holding out my hand. “Will you dance with me?” I ask her and she puts her purse down on the table.