Page 69 of Bad Boy Done Wrong
He chuckled and kissed her. “I was in the right place at the right time.”
She grinned. “Definitely.”
Just then the door burst open and Hailey sailed in, laughing at something the photographer had said. She was a vision in a lavender cocktail dress with matching heels. The reporter, a woman with a dark cap of hair in her fifties with a killer body in a tight white dress, listened intently to their conversation.
Hailey stopped and looked around for Logan, who made no move to step away from the bar. “I can’t wait for you to meet my boyfriend. He’s a dream.”
“Right here, princess,” Josh said, coming up behind Hailey and dropping an arm over her shoulders. Total stealth move. Carrie hadn’t even noticed him approach.
Neither had Hailey. She stiffened and then pasted on her beauty queen smile.
“Uh-oh,” Carrie whispered to Zach. The entire room had hushed since everyone knew their rocky frenemy history.
Josh whispered something in Hailey’s ear and they headed to the reserved table for dinner with the reporter and photographer.
This night just got weirder and weirder. First Zach went into professor mode at a party, then he gave her champagne but wouldn’t let her drink it, and then Josh became an attentive fake boyfriend. Not to mention her family was here. She went to go say hi, but Zach stopped her, pulling her close and kissing her breathless.
He released her and she wobbled, blinking in surprise at him. He turned her, pointing out the next strange thing. Tuxedoed waiters filed out from the kitchen with trays of hot appetizers. They mingled among the guests, serving them up. This was so much fancier than she thought it’d be just to show the magazine people they had a welcoming community.
Zach held her champagne when she helped herself to a piece of bruschetta topped with diced tomatoes. He left and returned a moment later with a glass of water for her. He ate nothing. Merely stood there holding both of their champagne glasses.
Finally after she’d had her fill of appetizers and finished her water, she got tired of Zach holding her champagne hostage and demanded it back. He turned and crooked his finger at Hailey, who made an eating gesture.
Zach held the champagne flute to Carrie’s lips. “One sip.”
She sipped. “You’re acting very strange tonight. Let’s go say hi to my family.”
“I told them we’d talk after their meal.”
“Oh.” She stared at him, feeling like she was missing something here. Zach watched her with hooded eyes, still holding both of their nearly full glasses of champagne. Now why did he get her champagne if he was just going to hold it hostage all night?
The tuxedoed waiters made another round among the guests, this time with champagne.
“Look,” she told Zach, “everyone’s on their second glass and I’ve only had two sips of my first. I’m completely sober.”
He grunted. “Good.”
Hailey appeared next to her suddenly and snagged two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter. “Hi, Carrie!” she said extra enthusiastically.
“Hi. How’d your interview go?”
Hailey met Zach’s eyes and smiled. “Good. It’s still going a bit.”
“How’s Josh at the fake boyfriend gig?”
Hailey groaned, met Josh’s eyes from across the room and jerked her head in a gesture ofget over here. “He’s laying it on thick.”
Josh headed over and the reporter and photographer followed at a distance.
“So what did he whisper that made you agree to let him stand in for Logan?” Carrie asked.
Josh appeared at Hailey’s side and stood there, listening.
Hailey handed him a glass of champagne. “He said the interview felt like an emergency situation. As in, we only speak during emergencies. Really, Josh. I don’t think they believed a word that came out of your mouth.”
Josh smiled pleasantly. Probably because the photographer had his giant camera with the zoom lens out. “Why not? I do think you’ve done a fantastic job building your business.”
Hailey’s eyes widened. “You meant that? You sounded like you were teasing.”
