In my haste to flee, I almost ran straight into the famous actress Dame Helena Lynch. “Oh, do slow down, dear!” she called out.
“I’m so sorry!” But there was no chance of that, even though now I’d nearly taken down a national treasure on the same night I bickered with Noah Douglas and then humiliated myself in front of him.
When I got backstage, my whole body sighed with relief. I was done. Safe. I bet if I asked Allan, he would pull some strings and keep me backstage. I could not go out into the audience again.
Although . . . what did I think was going to happen? What was I feeling so worried about? I’d told myself that it was my concern for Shelby, but nothing had happened. She was fine and I hadn’t been caught breaking any of the rules. So why had my insides tangled themselves up in knots?
I grabbed one of the free water bottles and acknowledged that I was scared that Noah and I had just shared a moment. Of the romantic variety. Which was so dumb, because Noah was dating the Bride of the Mummy, and he would obviously never be interested in someone like me. I was the girl picked last for sports teams. The one who didn’t get asked to the prom. I was always on the outside looking in. Not to mention that we’d just spent our entire evening being rude to each other. That wasn’t exactly a recipe for romance.
Not that I’d go out with him, even if he asked. I didn’t date.
I then reminded myself that he didn’t know my name, so odds were I was getting worked up over absolutely nothing. Plus, I’d be so out of my depth that I would need scuba gear.
But what if . . . what if I could be with Noah Douglas, or someone like him, and not feel terrified the entire time? Wouldn’t that be something?
I approached Allan. “Is it okay if I just hang out back here for a while? Can I be your last resort after you’ve put everyone else to work?”
He nodded, looking concerned. “Sure thing. You okay?”
“Yeah.” I smiled, even though I felt like a fraud because I was still shaken up and was definitely not okay. My pulse had just finally returned to normal. “Everything’s fine. My back just hurts a little.” Along with my pride.
“I’ll let you know if I need you. And if I didn’t say it before, thanks for helping out tonight. You know how much it means to Shelby.”
“I do.” I wondered if he did. If he understood how truly awful his mother was. Because he’d grown up with her, and her craziness probably seemed normal to him, so he wouldn’t be able to recognize how bad it was. But now was not the time to ask him about it.
It was time to hide myself in a corner and watch the rest of the event on the giant monitor hanging on the wall behind me. I found an abandoned folding chair and watched as a few more winners were given their little statues. My ears perked up when the host said it was time for the Best Actor award.
They announced all the nominees and cut to each one of them for a reaction shot. I caught my breath when they zoomed in on Noah, who looked a bit sheepish and was clapping for his fellow nominees.
The envelope was opened and . . . Noah didn’t win. Chase Covington did instead. Noah leaned forward to slap him on the shoulder in congratulations while Chase kissed his very pretty wife seated next to him.
Why did I feel so disappointed? I was being so weird tonight.
I was getting hungry again when Allan stopped by to check on me. I assured him I was still fine, and he handed me a package of M&M’s, which I took gratefully. “Shelby said I needed to keep you well fed.”
“This is why you’re my favorite out of all Shelby’s fiancés.”
That made him laugh, and he put a hand up to cover one of his ears, presumably to hear better. He pointed at his headphones, waved at me, and then went back over to the curtain as another commercial break started up.
The monitor showed the attendees chatting, and I couldn’t help but search out where Noah had been sitting. He was still there, concentrating on his phone, not talking to the woman beside him. It gave me a tingling flush of pleasure that he wasn’t interacting with his date.
I ate my bag of M&M’s while the lights went back up and they announced that they were going to present the award for Best Dramatic Feature. I was interrupted from my visual stalking of Noah Douglas when Shelby joined us backstage. Allan said something that made her laugh, and she kissed him in return. While I was so, so happy for my best friend, I felt an all-too-familiar twinge of jealousy that I had no idea how to be like that with someone else.
And my worst fear was someone finding out the reason why.
It was better for me to put this whole night behind me and just move on like it never happened. Because, logically and realistically, nothing was going to happen.
In what reality would Noah Douglas be interested in someone like me?
They announced the winner, and it was the Peruvian film that had been getting all the buzz. I hadn’t seen it. I preferred romantic comedies and fairy tales.
“How was your night?” Shelby asked when she reached me. She sat in another folding chair behind me, forcing me to turn around in order to see her. “I was seated next to George Wilcox. You know, the composer? He did all of the music for Duel of the Fae. He didn’t win, though. I felt bad for him. But he was so nice to me. It was kind of surreal.”
Ha. She had no idea how surreal I was about to make her night when I told her what I’d been up to. “Speaking of, you’ll never guess who I was sitting with.”
“Noah Douglas.”
“What?” I asked with a laugh. “How could you possibly know that? Did you see me with him?”
Her eyes went wide and she repeated, “Noah Douglas.”
“Yes, I know, we’ve established that I was sitting next to Noah Douglas. And I think I might have completely freaked him out. Like a sewer clown with a red balloon.”
“No, um, Noah Douglas.”
This time she pointed, and I turned to see what was going on. It took me a second to process that Noah Douglas was standing there, holding my clutch, which looked comically small in his hands.
The same clutch that I had completely forgotten on the floor in an effort to escape.
I stood up, stunned. My heart leaped into my throat, almost making it impossible for me to breathe. I wondered if my mouth was hanging open like Shelby’s.
“Here. You left this.” He held out my clutch to me, and I felt both totally weirded out and profoundly grateful. My phone was in there.
“Uh . . . thank you.”
I took it back and just gaped at him, unsure of what to do next. Especially since the logical thing would be for him to turn around and leave. Why was he still here? Did . . . did he want to talk to me? Why? What was happening? This was like something out of a fanfic or a fantasy, and things like that did not happen to people like me.
“Hi!” Shelby stepped around me and held out her hand. “I’m Shelby Farmingham. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” He shook her hand, sounding oh so polite. “As you’ve already pointed out, I’m Noah Douglas.”
That made Shelby laugh, and it was a laugh I’d never heard before. High-pitched and shrill. Like she felt just as hysterical and unnerved as I did.
“So . . . ,” he said, once Shelby had calmed down, “I’m going to this after-party. I don’t know how much fun it will be, but maybe—”