offered me his arm while his hands were still in his pockets. It was such an old-fashioned and sweet gesture it made my heart swoon. I wondered if he’d learned it when he did that remake of Pride and Prejudice. He’d been the absolute best Mr. Darcy.
I slid my arm through his, and as we walked out of the party, I was back to that upscale-zoo feeling. Flashes going off, people looking at us and whispering. “Everyone’s staring at us,” I told him.
“Are they?”
“Yes. And every last one of them is wondering if you lost a bet.”
That got me a real, full-throated laugh again that still felt thrilling, and another part of my defenses melted.
“Not true. They’re all wondering how I got so lucky.”
I let out a grunt of disbelief. I had always been comfortable in my own skin and with my appearance. Sure, there were times I wished my thighs were a little smaller or my boobs a little bigger or that I could tan in the sun instead of frying like a lobster, but for the most part I was okay with me.
But I didn’t have any delusions that I was on the same level with the typical women he dated, because I was not the double-D, fluorescent-white teeth, hair extensions, and fake eyelashes kind of girl. The kind that filled this room.
“More like they wondered how you got lucky when you had that Hannah person as your date.”
“Hannah? That was a setup by my publicist.”
I blinked in surprise. Shelby had called that one, too. “Do you do everything your publicist tells you to do?”
He took a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. “I started out my career on a kids’ show. I played a character named Felix. A lot of actors never overcome that one role they are famous for. It becomes the only way the public can see them. I was in danger of that happening to me, but I have an amazing team who has guided me onto the path I wanted to be on. My agent, Sandy, and Reina are the best in the business. So when Reina said, ‘Bring Hannah Fremont as your date,’ I did.”
“What about tonight?” I asked.
“They said I could make tonight about me.”
The implication was there—that me being with him as his not-a-date was what he wanted. I couldn’t deny what he seemed to be admitting without using the actual words.
When I didn’t respond, he kept talking. “Sandy and Reina are the reason I’m where I am in my career.”
He was really selling himself short, and it made me lay on the sarcasm nice and thick. “Yes, your talent has nothing to do with it, I suppose.”
“Another backhanded compliment. You keep giving me those and I might get a big head.”
“Might?” I teased. “I don’t think you need any help there.”
He laughed again, and the world around me became so dazzling and bright that it took me a second to come back down to earth. So it took me another second to realize that someone was calling his name from a distance. More than one person. But his long legs kept eating up the ground in front of us, and I was glad I could keep pace. “I think someone said your name.”
“A lot of people say my name. I don’t have to respond. I promised you a ride home, and right now that’s what I’m going to do. My debt to this particular society has been paid in full for the night. I’m off the clock now.”
His words made my toes tingle. Why did it make me feel brilliant and special that I was the only thing he was focusing on? That in this moment, keeping his word to me was more important than anything else?
The sea of photographers outside had pretty much cleared out, and there was only a handful of fans waiting near where the cars were picking up people leaving the party. We had to wait only about a minute, and Noah waved to the remaining fans who were calling to him.
I wondered if any of them were going to try to attach themselves to him like a baby sloth, but they were fairly outnumbered by the guards.
The car pulled up, and Noah opened the door for me. I got in, and he slid in next to me.