‘Whatever, men always like to see a pretty girl’s legs.’

‘But it’s not an audition.’

I heard the chink of the ice cubes in her glass. ‘Everything’s an audition, Case.’ She was right about that, come to think of it. Her lessons on presentation and acting might have helped me at the trial, had I paid any attention. I should have blubbered more. Prayed in public. Gone back in time and never said anything negative about my nannying charges. But I didn’t know any of that then. I changed into a summer dress, and put on make-up while trying to make it look like I hadn’t. Black-rimmed eyes, Heather-Shimmered lips, my cheeks shiny like a Barbie doll’s. When I came downstairs, holding Carson carefully away from me, David was standing with the car keys.

‘That’s a pretty dress.’

‘Thank you.’ Jenna had been right – men did notice these things.

Carson was still drowsy and silent, sucking his thumb, wanting to sleep again. As I put him in his car seat and settled into the front, I thought that we were almost like a couple, with Carson as our baby. I smiled at David and noticed him glance at my bare thighs as he put the car in drive. It was another beautiful day. The car slid out on to the freeway, moving nicely along now that we’d missed the worst of the rush hour.

‘Music?’ David switched on his stereo and jazz poured out.

The leather was hot against my legs, from where the car had sat in the driveway. Cold air filtered over me, lifting the tiny hairs on the surface of my skin.

‘So what are you working on at the moment?’ I was pleased with the question, sure that I sounded knowledgeable.

‘Well, keep this under wraps for now,’ he said, ‘but we’re getting the rights to that YA series, you know the one about the witches?’

‘Oh! I’ve read that.’

It was a huge series and I’d even picked up the next book in the airport, then put it down because the hardback cost too much. If David was making the film of that, he must really be hitting the big time. Maybe I could even be involved.

He smiled over. ‘I’ll have to get your thoughts on it, then.’ He turned his gaze back to the road. ‘You know, there’s a character you’d be great for!’

I could hardly believe it. ‘Miranda?’ The main character, Miranda, was seventeen in the books, easily within my playing age. A star-making role, and one they might actually cast an unknown in. Best of all, Miranda was British, and had moved to America to live with her mysterious relatives at the start of the series.

‘Sure. Why not?’