Griffin Draper had come in with Megan, and now he rolled his eyes. An up-and-coming voice actor and web series creator, Griffin was extremely talented, but also self-conscious of the scars he'd received after being burned as a child. Megan, Amanda knew, had become one of his closest friends.
Megan ignored Griff's reaction, pushed a lock of dark hair off her forehead, and nodded in solidarity with Amanda. "Seriously hot," she agreed.
"Honestly, if this were a bachelor auction instead of a calendar contest, I think I'd have to bid." Amanda started to fan herself, but when Megan clapped a hand over her mouth in an obvious attempt to hold back laughter, she turned around--only to have her eyes fly open at the sight behind her.
Parker was there, yeah. But she wasn't embarrassed by what he might have overheard. For one thing, it was true, and he was surely used to being fawned over by women by now. For another, she barely even registered Parker.
No, what had her eyes going wide was the man with Parker--Derek. What on earth was he doing there tonight?
She heard the others talking, but she was too shocked to process words, so she didn't clue back into the conversation until Megan spoke up. "Who's your friend?"
"Sorry," Parker said. "Everyone, this is Derek Winston."
Everyone started introducing themselves and shaking hands. And then it was Amanda's turn. She met his eyes, and she knew hers were full of questions. Some of her friends who came to The Fix knew they were acquainted, of course. But Brooke wasn't around at the moment, and so right now it just seemed easier to take his extended hand, ignore the ever-present zing of connection, and mutter her name in introduction.
She was certain that everyone could read her face and figure out what was going on, but no one seemed to notice her at all.
"You're Winston Hotels, right?" Griffin asked. "Nice properties."
"Thanks," Derek says. "It's a family business, but I've taken over as the director of North American operations. I'm in town visiting the Austin properties. Since Parker and I go way back, I thought I'd come watch him shake his groove thing up on that stage."
"If my groove thing does any shaking it won't be on that stage," he said. And although it might have been Amanda's imagination, she could have sworn he looked at Megan.
"There you are!" Taylor D'Angelo hurried forward, her ponytail bouncing. She shoved her way through the crowd, then grabbed Parker's arm. "You're supposed to be in the back. It's almost time for the show to start."
"See you all later," Parker said as he was dragged away.
About the same time, Megan headed toward the stage, leaving Derek and Amanda alone, with Amanda gaping at the man. She was trying to gather her thoughts, when a familiar looking man approached, and she remembered him as the guy sharing a table with Derek that very first night they met.
"Hey," the man said, "I didn't expect to see you here."
"I came to see Parker humiliate himself."
"Didn't we all? I'm Landon, by the way," he added, thrusting his hand out for Amanda. "An old friend of Derek's."
"Oh. Right. Well, I'll leave you two to talk. It was great to meet you."
She saw Derek's eyes go wide, but she didn't hesitate. Just cut through the crowd and headed to the back of the bar. In all the time
they'd been together, they'd never come to The Fix. They'd never talked about it; it seemed to be an unspoken rule.
So to see him here now was strangely upsetting. No, she thought. Not upsetting. It was confusing. Because as much as she'd wanted some time to think, she also couldn't deny an almost overpowering urge to sit with him at a table in the back, their heads bent close together as they watched the contest. And that desire--that craving to have more of him than she already had--had been growing constantly for months.
And, yeah, that scared her.
Frustrated, she dragged her fingers through her hair. Bottom line, she wanted Derek. Heavy underscore beneath the bottom line? She wanted all the parameters tailored to her convenience.
Well, hell.
Fortunately, he hadn't pushed her to change the status quo. And surely tonight was just a coincidence.
In fact, he was probably just as surprised as she was, which accounted for whatever odd vibe she'd picked up.
Biting back a grin, she eased toward the back of the bar. If she slipped out through the back exit to the alley while the contest was going on, no one but Derek would miss her. And he'd undoubtedly know to look for her at his condo.
She eased through the crowd and was just about to slip into the hallway, when she heard the familiar voice calling her name.
"Amanda."