Forever Yours

The Gala [40]

"Adams. Ryan Adams."

"Pleasure... I was just offering Maureen here the chance to audition for a role in a film I'll be producing and starring in in a few months. It's called Surrender; high-action, suspense. I suppose you've heard of it?"

"No."

I surreptitiously reached behind me, with all the casual grace of a thief, and slid my hand over Ryan's, squeezing his fingers beneath mine. He leaned closer to me.

"I think you'd be a wonderful addition to the cast," George said to me with that easy smile. "I can pull a few strings at the studio... talk to some people. You're film star material, my dear," he said, laughing lightly- a laugh meant to make me go weak at the knees, I assumed. He held up his champagne glass, indicating my figure. "You got the looks for sure, the smarts and the money to match... you could be the next Marilyn Monroe... though I would suggest remaining brunette. It gives you that dark, foxy look." He winked playfully and Ryan stiffened. I laughed cheerfully and shook my head.

"Thanks, I'm flattered. But I'm not an actress."

He chuckled too and gave me a flirtatious shake of his head. "Sweetheart, I told you before, you must call me George."

Ryan must have decided that enough was enough because he suddenly straightened and said, in no uncertain terms, "Mr. Clooney, if you'd excuse us, I have to steal this girl away for a while-" He looked down at me, his eyes fierce in jealousy and tender in apparent adoration of me, "she owes me a few moments of her time." I gazed back, inwardly confused, but determined to not let on that I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Of course, how could I forget?" I said, smiling sweetly as Ryan's arm twined around my waist, drawing me closer to him.

"It's no wonder the guy can't keep his eyes off you; you're maddeningly beautiful," he whispered.

That turned my face a rosy pink and I let Ryan pull me into his chest, trying to hide my smile as George looked down into his glass of champagne and then looked at Ryan and me, a small smile on his lips.

"Of course. I'll see you later, I hope, Miss Carvelli," he said, raising his glass in salute as he turned away.

"Enjoy the party, George," Ryan called after him, causing me to erupt into giggles.

"You're so bad," I flicked his suit jacket with my finger. He grinned, stealing another kiss.

"You're just lucky I didn't cause a scene."

"Jealous much?"

He rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed. "And there goes Captain Obvious, strutting her stuff..."

I flicked his chest again and it was then that he suddenly looked at his watch, his manner becoming twitchy as he shook his head. "I could've sworn..."

"What?"

"No, nothing. Wanna dance?"

I frowned but let him lead me to the center of the ballroom.

He had been glued to my side all evening after that, up until the time where he suddenly expressed his unquenchable thirst and went off in search of cold drinks. (Even though there were butlers and waiters posted every ten feet surrounding us and he could have asked one of them.) That was three quarters of an hour ago. I wouldn't have minded, but it wasn't the first time today that he did something weird... It wasn't like Ryan to be checking his phone every other minute, suddenly becoming twitchy when he had a text. I didn't know who he was texting and he didn't tell me. He also had seemed to develop a strange obsession with knowing the time. He seemed on edge, nervous, brooding about something... I had asked him if he was alright twice and he flinched, as if terrified that I had noticed anything amiss. I didn't know what to make of it but I had left it alone, since he obviously didn't want to talk about it. He'd tell me when he was ready, I knew. He always did. I smiled to myself.