I knew that they were going to be presenting a sneak peek of the second Seaside film tonight to ramp up the pending premiere, not to mention that he and Suzanne were up for several awards. She wasn’t a threat as much as she was a thorn in my side. I’d never forgive her for the trouble she caused when Ryan and I first got together, her silver tongue crafting stories, leading me to believe I was just a foolish conquest of his. I’d have to deal with her a few hundred more times, since Ryan had one more film and two press junkets to go through before he was rid of the franchise. I didn’t even want to think about all the interviews and magazine shoots to come.

Before I knew it, Suzanne was standing next to Ryan, pretending to tease him in her own playful way with mock punches. “Hey stranger,” she said on a giggle. Ryan gave her the obligatory distant hug but that was the extent of it. She leaned and gave me a quick shoulder hug as if we were long-lost friends who quite possibly were moments away from stabbing each other in the back. “So good to see you.”

I was shocked by her overt gesture but played it casual. “Good to see you, too. How have you been?” I figured it was benign enough. I could see she was straining to be polite just as much as I was.

Suzanne became animated, displaying exhaustion from an obvious busy career. “I had literally no time to even get ready for this. I just flew in from New York this morning.”

Even though Ryan was involved in another conversation with some man and woman who were blatantly sucking up to him, he entwined his fingers with mine and brought them up to his lips, kissing my left hand while sliding his eyes to Suzanne. I was confused at first until Suzanne scowled, which then had me smiling.

I let her babble on and pretended to be enthralled with her stories even though her presence alone invoked unpleasant memories of my first encounter with this wretched girl. She was the epitome of every diva story you’d ever heard about spoiled rich girls, even going so far as to tell us how deplorable the filming conditions were. If her fans ever knew what she was like in real life they’d probably all stop going to see her movies.

I felt Ryan squeeze my hand twice, a silent reminder that he was paying attention to my situation even though he was busy having his career manhandled by David. His thumb skated over my skin, comforting me with his unspoken acknowledgment. I felt cherished by his private gesture.

“Ryan,” Suzanne interrupted, “we need to discuss what we’re going to do if we win.” A twinge of jealousy struck me as she enthusiastically discussed how to accept their award, thinking of clever ways to act out their “best kiss” onstage. Thinking of him kissing anyone made me slightly crazy. I wanted to grab her by the hair and twirl her around but then what would that accomplish? No. I had to get a grip on my jealousy.

He’s an actor, I reminded myself. Shit.

Small hands wrapped around my waist, startling me. It was such a relief to see Kelly Gael and her husband, Call Reynolds, smiling back at me. I hugged her fiercely.

“I can’t wait for September,” Kelly uttered, bringing up the multi-country press junket for Seaside II. The first stop was Berlin. “I need a partner in crime. Please tell me you’re going with Ryan.”

Ryan leaned back and answered for me.

“She’s going.” And just like that, he resumed his other conversation.

I smiled, slightly astonished that he was even listening, considering all the commotion that was going on around us. Kelly squealed excitedly and clapped her hands, almost springing up and down in her designer pumps. She had just grabbed me to hug me again when I saw another familiar face, though the expression on it appeared sad.

I moved my head to peer around Kelly’s hair to get a better look at Ryan’s co-star from Slipknot— Nicole Devin. I wondered why she was so distraught. Too many people blocked my view, so I stepped back out of Kelly’s grasp and took a few sidesteps to my left, forcing Ryan to release my hand.

Nicole was apparently pleading with someone as if she’d done something that she’d regretted and was beseeching forgiveness, but I couldn’t see who it was. There was so much drama painted on her face that the desire to find out why became a burning need.

If the guy in the dark suit would just move, I thought, trying to will him to obey my mental plea. It shocked me when he turned his head, as if he’d actually heard me.

I squinted, not sure that my eyes were accurate at this distance. He showed more of his profile, and that’s when I fully recognized him. I sucked in a deep breath, hoping my vision was betraying me; after all, I did have several glasses of champagne in me.

He glanced completely around, fortunately failing to connect with my gaze, which gave me a false sense of relief considering that I had no idea why he was here, nor did I want him to see me.

Ryan recaptured my hand, breaking my surveillance. “What are you looking at?”

I wanted him to wait so I wouldn’t lose track of my targets, but he moved in closer.

I looked up into his eyes, which were showing his concern. “Kyle is over there.” I felt him go rigid. “Where?”

“He’s wearing a dark suit. Over there next to the woman in the light gray dress. See him?”

Ryan spotted him and then scowled, none too pleased that he was here. “The guy just won’t go away,” he growled, seething now.

“Nicole is over there.” Some of the crowd moved along and that’s when I noticed who she’d been talking to, which confused me even more. “Is that?”

Ryan drew in a quick breath, exhaling out her name as if to purge his body of toxins.

“Lauren.”

Wonderful. The bitch from Florida, in the flesh. “Are they arguing?”

“Appears so.”

Now I was even more curious, like watching one of those pathetic reality shows where the drama is over-the-top, but for some reason you just can’t shut it off. “I didn’t know they knew each other.”

Ryan’s hand tightened on mine, almost to the point of pain. “I didn’t know, either.” It obviously bothered Ryan to see them all interacting, although judging by the way Kyle glanced around, he seemed bored with the whole thing. I watched as Kyle’s gaze lingered on the very short dress and long, bare legs just a few feet away.

Lauren seemed to be making a point, trying to placate Nicole now. Apparently the heated conversation had taken a new turn.

Lauren pulled Nicole in for a hug. I was shocked by their overt friendliness; Nicole had her face pretty much buried in Lauren’s neck, and then for a moment I swore they were about to kiss.