Okay, Lorna was about to flip her lid. Then again, Chase didn’t have to say anything to her mother about ducking out of the audition. In fact, she didn’t have to tell anyone anything. If Chase had learned anything over the course of the last few months, it was that she was in charge of herself, her decisions, her body, her mind, her gifts, her time, her every-freaking-thing.

She walked over to her mother’s car and climbed inside. “I’m done.”

“So how did it go?”

Chase shrugged. “Different than I thought, but I feel good about it. I feel really good.”

Lorna looked over and smiled at her. “Well, that’s great news, Chase. I honestly think this was merely a formality and you already have the part. Conrad had to toss the investors a bone and say he was looking at other actresses, but remember, he wanted you from the beginning. I mean, he paid Olivia to get you straight. So this is very good news on top of selling the Malibu house. That’s going to put us into the black.”

Chase resented the fact that Lorna’s main concern was what this would bring her . . . but then again, it wasn’t going to bring her diddly-squat. Still, her mother didn’t know that. “What if I don’t get the part?”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry. You will, but just in case, I’ll talk to Marshall, and we’ll see what he can find. For the first time in a long time, I feel good about your future.”

Chase smiled. “Yeah, so do I.”

Lorna’s pleased expression reminded her of Sylvester in the Looney Tunes series when he tied on a napkin and sharpened his knife over poor little Tweety. Lorna thought she was about to eat. “Are you going back to the Malibu house?”

“Just drop me at my apartment so I can grab some things I want to take with me. I’m essentially done with Square One and will see Olivia only once a week at her office for the next few months.”

“Until you go on location.”

“Yeah.” Chase shrugged and averted her gaze so her mother wouldn’t see that she knew she wasn’t going to the UK to shoot the Santos film.

Lorna turned on the radio and opened the sunroof. California sunshine poured in as the wind blew their hair. Chase savored the calm before the storm, and, of course, she had to figure out her entire life. Just a little thing.

That thought made her laugh.