Hannah laughed, but she felt a little stab of envy as Lynne slipped into the seat next to her. They’d been able to borrow each other’s clothes when they were in college, but now Lynne was Andrea’s size. Instead of dwelling on the twenty or so pounds she should lose and probably wouldn’t anytime soon, Hannah decided to switch subjects. “I’m sorry you broke up with Ross. I always thought you two were a perfect couple.”

“So did I, for a while. But people grow up and they change. Ross and I wanted different things out of life and we grew apart.”

Hannah was silent. It didn’t seem like they’d wanted different things way back then. Lynne had wanted to be an actress and Ross had wanted to write and produce. And since that was what they were doing now, where did the bit about wanting different things come in?

“I’m really sorry about Bradford,” Lynne reached out to put a hand on Hannah’s arm as she mentioned the name of Hannah’s college boyfriend, the assistant professor who’d started to date her without mentioning that he was already engaged. “I know your father died and that’s the official story you gave for leaving college, but Ross and I figured that Bradford had something to do with it. He’s divorced now, in case you’re interested.”

“Not even on a very lonely night,” Hannah said, leaving it at that. “What did you think of my niece, Tracey?”

“She’s absolutely adorable! Talking to her is like talking to a little adult, and that’s exactly the quality we need in the actress who plays Amy as a child. I told Ross I thought she was perfect for the part.”

Hannah felt a big smile spread across her face. She loved to hear people sing Tracey’s praises.

“They should be holding tryouts for the speaking parts any minute now. Ross’s down to the last couple of walk-ons, and then he’ll probably do Amy.”

“How many kids are trying out?”

“Three. Ross introduced them to me and, you can trust me, Tracey doesn’t have any competition. For one thing, she has just the right demeanor. The other two are pretty and charming, but they don’t sell serious little girl. You know what I mean?”

“I’m not sure I do.”

“Okay. Let me explain it another way. You should get the feeling that there’s a brain working away behind those pretty blue eyes. The face might be laughing, but the brain behind it is always thinking, always planning, always very careful.”

“You just described Tracey to a tee, except for the last part. That sounds a little paranoid.”