Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (17 page)

“You, too, Max.
This is McKenzie Lane. She’s the almost-intern I spoke with you about
yesterday.”

My eyes widened
at his words, but I didn’t have a chance to respond as Max’s gaze settled on
me.

“Nice to meet
you. I was sorry to hear about your accident.”

“I was sorry it
meant I wouldn’t have the privilege of working with you this summer, Mr.
Tambor.”

He glanced down
toward my boot. “How’s the recovery?”

“Better, as I had
both casts removed today, thank you. A few weeks of therapy and, if all goes
well, I’ll be back to normal.”

“I certainly hope
you’ll reapply for a fall internship.”

Oh, wow. I
hadn’t given it much thought, but it was something to consider. “Uh, I’ll be
sure to do that.”

Colby chatted
with him about a couple of other things having to do with a movie soundtrack on
which they were collaborating before it became clear other people were starting
to wait for his attention.

“It was really
nice to meet you, Mr. Tambor. Have a good night.”

He took my hand,
gently giving it a kiss. “You, too, my dear. The pleasure was all mine. Talk to
you later, Colby.”

We walked away,
and I expelled the breath I’d been holding. “That’s why you brought me here?” I
asked in barely a whisper.

“Yes. I wanted
for him to at least meet you.”

“You called and
told him about my accident?”

He shrugged. “Yeah
well, sounds like if you were to apply again for the fall internship, he’d pick
you for sure.”

It certainly
seemed that way. “And you didn’t call in any favors?”

He looked
insulted. “No, but even if I did, they would be mine to call in.”

“I didn’t mean
it the way it sounded. I appreciate you’d go to all this trouble for me.”

He appeared
almost shy about it before abruptly cursing. “Shit. This girl doesn’t give up.”

Glancing in the
direction away from which he was suddenly turning, I noticed Holli with an I
making a beeline towards us.

When she reached
him, her long nails splayed on his chest. “Hey, handsome. I was thinking about
trying out Clive’s hot tub, but only with some company—”

That was all I could
stomach. He may not have slept with her, she might only be flirting, yet watching
it made me want to tip her off her five-inch stripper heels. “You know what?
I’m gonna go check out the view.”

I didn’t bother
to wait for his response choosing instead to quickly make my escape out the
nearby glass door onto the balcony. The stunning panoramic vision over the
hills instantly made me feel as though I was on top of the world and was
definitely a welcome distraction from Colby’s stalker.

“Takes your
breath away, doesn’t it?” A deep voice came from behind me.

Turning, I found
the source of the voice and, wowsers, was he attractive. Like, movie-star
handsome, which made sense considering this was that type of party. I surveyed
the overlook once more, taking in the view in every direction. “It does.”

I sensed him
come up beside me and lean over the rail.

“What’s your
name, beautiful?”

“I’m Kenzie.” I
faced him, realizing that once he was up close, he was even more good-looking.
Brown hair clipped short but stylish in the front, strong jaw, and the most
important criteria when meeting a guy: he was taller than I was, standing well
over six feet.

“Nice to meet
you, Kenzie.” He extended his hand, taking mine.

“You, too, but
you didn’t give me your name.”

“You don’t know
who I am?”

“Uh, no, why
would I?”

His blue eyes
showed surprise, then amusement. “I’m Jordan, and this is refreshing. Let me
get you a chair, so you can get off that boot. What happened, by the way?”

“I got hit by a
car.”

He started to
laugh and, once we sat down, he studied me. “Holy shit. You’re serious?”

I nodded,
thinking the story was definitely a good ice breaker. “It’s true. One minute I
was walking on a sidewalk, and the next a drunk driver jumped the curb and took
out three of us.”

“Damn. Everyone
okay?”

I liked how he
asked this question. “We all made it. Broken bones, but no lives lost,
thankfully.”

“So, you truly
don’t have a clue who I am?” He raised a brow as if to challenge whether I was
playing him or not.

I shook my head.
“Sorry. I’m guessing you’re an actor, but unless you’re on
Walking Dead
or
Game of Thrones
, I wouldn’t know who you are. Even then, with all of
the makeup, I’m not sure I’d recognize the cast in plain clothes, either.”

He threw his
head back, chuckling good naturedly. “I won’t take it personally. And you have
good taste, as I love both shows.”

“Kenz, there you
are.” Colby’s voice came up from behind us. I saw the look of recognition when
his gaze fell upon the younger man next to me. “Jordan, nice to see you.”

“You, as well,
Colby. You two know one another?” he questioned, glancing between us.

I didn’t miss
the possessive way Colby put his hand on my shoulder while standing directly
behind me and I wasn’t having it. Not because I was actually interested in
Jordan, but because I was determined to call Colby out on his indecisiveness.
He didn’t get to have it both ways.

“Colby’s like an
older brother. A protective one at that,” I said, shrugging away from his touch
while giving him a pointed look over my shoulder as if to say,
aren’t you
?

Jordan seemed
relieved, flashing his own version of a PDG in my direction. Not bad, not bad
at all. His eyes then focused on a man who’d stepped out on the balcony and was
giving him a nod. “Sorry, honey, duty calls as there’s a director in there I
need to speak with. You’ll be out here when I return though, right?”

My brow arched
at his assumption that I’d wait for him. “I may or may not be. But if not, then
it was nice meeting you.”

His megawatt
smile faltered. “Uh, I’ll only be a minute. Promise.”

After watching
him go inside, I turned toward Colby, who was frowning at me.

“What the hell
was that about?” he demanded.

“What do you
mean? You’ve never seen a guy hit on a girl and her not make it easy for him?”

Annoyance was
obvious in his tone. “He’s a complete player. Has a new girl every other day.”

“Let me guess,
you guys have a special nod or ring that signifies membership in such a club?”

He took the seat
Jordan had just vacated, directly across from me. “He’s me a few years ago, so
believe me when I say I’m aware of the type.”

Interesting. “So
you’re not that way now?”

He appeared
thrown with the change in subject but then went for shock value. “If I was, I’d
have Holli with an I in a closet somewhere right about now.”

“Wow, that’s
classy with a Y.”

He winced. “I
didn’t say I was proud of it. Only telling you how I used to think when I was
Jordan’s age and at one of these parties.”

“Who the hell is
he, anyhow?”

He barked in
laughter. “You don’t know? Seriously?”

“No clue, but
before I go double-booking you with my next date, I figured I’d better find
out.”

“There is no way
I’m letting you leave with him. And he’s Jordan Pratt. One of the biggest
actors on television right now.”

I scrunched my
nose up. “What show is he on?”

“It’s a paranormal
series on Showtime called
Blood Lines
.”

I’d heard of it
but never seen it. Evidently, I needed to branch out from zombies and medieval
times when it came to my cable television choices into vampires. “I thought he
seemed nice.”

“I hate to break
it to you, sweetheart, but he’s way out of your league.”

“Wow, you’re
really bringing your A
for asshole game tonight, aren’t you?”

“It has nothing
to do with how you look. Obviously, you’re gorgeous; rather it’s the fact that
you don’t have the sort of experience…”

I was trying
really hard not to be distracted by the fact that he’d called me
gorgeous
.
“You think I can’t possibly handle my own with a man because he’s a movie
star?”

He sighed. “He’s
a ‘take you back to his place tonight, but won’t call you tomorrow’ type of
guy. And I have no doubt you’re able to flirt and hold your own with college
boys, but this guy has more game than any of those other boys combined.”

“So, let’s make
a bet.”

There was a
competitive gleam in his eyes. “You got it. What’s the wager?”

“He asks for my
number.”

He shook his
head. “Too easy. Let’s go with if you actually hear from him after tonight.”

“Fine. Deal.”

We shook on it.

 “Hm, now what
will you do when I win the bet?” he provoked.

My lips
twitched. “No need to dwell on that because when
you
lose you’re coming
with me next Saturday morning.”

“To do what,
exactly?” His tone was all sorts of skeptical.

“To attend an
orgy. It’s the new rage at ten o’clock in the morning. Bang and Brunch I
believe they call it.”

 He laughed while
shaking his head. “You’re a mess.”

“You’re the one
insinuating I’m trying to get you naked with your tone. It’s the volunteer gig
at the hospital, the one I was telling you about.”

 “Okay, but
you’re coming with me into a recording studio when you lose.”

My eyes widened
with surprise. “What? You know how I am—”

He cut me off.
“I do, however this is simply singing. No one in there but the producer and me.
I’ll even bring the tequila if I need to. Do we still have a bet?”

“Mm-hm, we do.”
It occurred to me I was actually better off losing given his offer, but my
desire to win wouldn’t be swayed. Not to mention, having him come with me on
Saturday morning would be hilarious when he discovered what I had in store for
him.

“Do you want to
go find Jordan? Chances are he won’t come back.”

I lifted an
indignant brow. “As if I’m going to chase him. But when he returns, do me a
favor and excuse yourself.”

He looked amused
up until the point that Jordan Pratt, hot television actor and reputed player,
strode back out onto the balcony with drinks in hand, appearing pleased to see
I hadn’t left.

“Hey, I brought
you champagne, or I can get you something else if you prefer?”

“Thanks.
Champagne is great.” I turned towards Colby. “I’ll find you later.” I
effectively dismissed him, turning my attention towards Jordan.

“Fifteen
minutes, Kenz,” Colby warned, moving towards the other side of the balcony to
talk to someone.

I noticed he
kept me within his line of sight. Did he think I would leave with some stranger
from a party? Annoyed with the distraction of him, I turned my attention back
to the handsome man in front of me. “So, I hear you’re on a little show called
Blood
Lines
.”

He smiled. “Ah,
you looked me up?”

“No, I asked
Colby. I’ve been in school, which means I haven’t seen much on television,” I
said by way of an explanation.

“It’s cool to
have a girl not want to talk to me because of fame.” He winked, making my pulse
flutter a little bit.

He spent the
next fifteen minutes talking about his show and then launched into a
conversation about his upcoming movie, the one he’d been discussing with the
director in the other room. Something told me most girls would’ve been giddy to
hear all about him during this the entire time, but I found myself wondering if
he ever bothered to talk about anything other than himself. He could’ve at
least thrown out a question or two for me to answer, but he seemed content not
to. Scanning the people milling about on the balcony for Colby, I was relieved
when he started walking toward me.

“Sorry, Jordan,
looks like time is up, but I’m glad I met you tonight.”

Disbelief was
evident in the expression on his handsome, movie-star face. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, Colby is
my ride and heading towards us as we speak.”

 “Okay. Here.
I’ll give you my personal number, so you can call me.” He gestured toward his
security-type guy, who seemed to appear from nowhere and produced a card with a
pen. He then wrote down what I assumed was Jordan’s number.

Oh, boy, was it
any wonder I didn’t have a boyfriend when I was instantly annoyed with the
action? I made it a cardinal rule never to call a guy the first time, which is
why I didn’t end up talking to Officer McHotstuff again. I maintained that if a
man was interested enough, he’d want to contact me. Secondly, Jordan couldn’t
even jot down his own number? He had ‘people’ for that? Colby didn’t help
matters by coming up and smirking at the exchange when the younger man passed
the card to me. I don’t know which of them was more shocked when I handed it
back.