One Wild Night (Hollywood Chronicles #1)(3)

My agent has spent thousands on dialect coaches, telling me it'll make me more marketable when I'm able to ditch that light Southern drawl, but I know when to use it, and when I need to turn up the charm. I hold my hand out again for her to take and she hesitates for just a moment before sliding her soft hand in mine.

Kaylee is adorable and horribly uncomfortable, and I can't help but find it perfectly amusing. She nods her head frantically as her eyes dart around me and toward the large theater doors she was so adamant to get to when she fell face first into me.

Pulling her hand from mine, she fakes a smile. “Nice to meet you too,” she mutters as she scurries away, glancing back over her delicate shoulder at me.

“Enjoy the movie, Kaylee.” I laugh openly as she hurries inside.

“What the hell was that?” Philip Montes asks as he sidles up next to me, sipping a glass of champagne. He's breaking public relations cardinal rule number one; don't be photographed with alcohol. He catches me looking at the crystal glass in his hand and shrugs before taking a sip of bubbly.

“I'm not entirely sure, but I'm about to find out.” I see the large double doors close behind her.

“She's not Hollywood,” he scoffs and steps aside as Jenna Berg and Ashton Walters make their way toward us down the red carpet.

“No. No, she's not. Which makes me all the more interested,” I reply, also stepping aside. Jenna and Ashton are the new “it” couple in Hollywood. Cameras flash, blinding me. I take this as my cue to get the hell inside and away from this red carpet.

“I give them five months,” Philip says under his breath, his eyebrow rising as we watch the power couple work the red carpet. “I'm ninety-nine percent sure he plays for both teams.”

I openly laugh, because I'm ninety-nine percent sure Philip is right.

Philip has been my best friend and confidant in this wild business. We've co-starred in three movies together, and both of our careers took off simultaneously. We've been dubbed the modern-day Matt Damon and Ben Affleck—a whole lot to live up to, but we're definitely up to the challenge.

Philip and I follow the growing crowd toward the dark theater. After we check our phones in, protocol for all screenings and premieres, we find our way toward the assigned seats that await us in the front row.

It's hard not to notice Kaylee, sitting in the roped off area just across the row from me, where typically only actors, directors, and producers are allowed. She sits with her legs carefully crossed and her hands resting on her knee—so proper.

It's when I see Roger Ward, our director, approach her with a smile before leaning down and pulling her into an embrace that my curiosity is even more piqued.

She knows Ward.

Interesting.

Ward’s wife, Lindsay, also greets Kaylee warmly. All three share in conversation, laughing before Roger Ward points to the seat next to Kaylee. A moment passes between them before the smile suddenly falls from Mr. Ward’s face. It’s a look of disappointment. I’ve seen it many times, only this time it’s not directed at me.

Kaylee cringes, as she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ward look upset, but not at Kaylee. A few more words are exchanged and another brief embrace before they sit down in the row directly in front of her. They both occasionally turn around to make small talk before the lights begin to flicker, and it's easy to see Kaylee begin to visibly calm.

Philip and I take our seats as the lights begin to dim and then rise again in an effort to get everyone to quiet down, but I can't help but notice the empty seat next to Kaylee.

A round of applause fills the theater as Roger Ward stands and makes his way to the front to address the audience.

I try to sit still as the movie starts, as the scenes play. It’s impossible. I decide to make my move. I nod my head toward Kaylee and Philip rolls his eyes, but not before he fist bumps me.

It takes me three steps to get to her. Three steps before her bright blue eyes look up at me. Three steps is all it takes for me to decide that this girl is going to be mine.





Chapter 3





Kaylee





That accent.

God.

That accent.

It was nothing less than a weapon, and I couldn’t help but feel as if I’d been slayed. A steel blade straight through the heart. Or maybe I’d been struck by an arrow from one of the super cute cupid bows. With the way things were going down right now? Anything was possible.

I stumbled the rest of the way into the theater. I made sure to keep one eye open, footsteps cautioned, because I sure as hell didn’t need a repeat of five seconds ago. As it was, my insides were already twisted into a million unrecognizable knots, and I was pretty sure there was only one thing that could get them undone.

This mess of embarrassed nerves? They had amplified into a bundle of this throbbing, unrelenting attraction that shivered across my skin.

Of course, I’d known the chances of seeing him tonight tipped the scale to high. I mean, come on. He was the freaking star of the movie.

But I thought it’d be with Elle at my side. Me, the invisible sidekick, the ordinary, plain girl hiding behind her friend’s bold presence like it was a shield.

Unnoticed.

But no. Because it was me, I had to go and trip into the arms of the one man who held the power to make me tremble through the screen.