“Yeah. Here on Saturday night.” Normally their get-togethers were on Sundays, but since Xander’s movie began filming in the city on Monday, he’d switched up the day.

Xander’s family were a tight group, cared about what was going on in everyone else’s lives, and made it a point to get together often. Linc, the oldest, liked to think he’d taken over the paternal role since their cheating father had been emotionally absent, but the three Kingston brothers, their sister, Chloe, and newly found half sister, Aurora, looked out for each other. Always.

Xander pushed himself off the counter. “I’m going for a run. You sticking around?”

Dash shook his head. “Nah. I think I’ll head back to the guys. See what we can make work in the studio.”

Before Xander could reply, his cell rang and he grabbed it from his pocket. His agent’s name flashed on the screen. “Raye,” he mouthed to his brother.

Raye Douglas, partner at Douglas Talent Management Group, had represented Xander ever since Dash had convinced his manager there to ask the best literary agent to read Xander’s manuscript five years ago. Raye, the daughter of the top agent at the firm, had been curious, poached the script from her dad, and she’d been impressed.

Xander had been equally taken by her unwillingness to settle or take no for an answer. She’d pushed hard for him, and Xander had ended up in a bidding war that culminated in both publishing and movie rights being sold, making him a proverbial overnight success. After a grueling four years in the Marines, that is.

He accepted the call. “Hey, Raye.”

“Good news. We have an actress to play Amanda,” she said of Xander’s protagonist’s love interest.

His military thrillers were focused on a fictional character, Gavin Steele, a Marine in a special unit. In a prior book, Xander had killed off Steele’s wife, and in the current novel and script, the new character of Amanda would be first an adversary, then Steele’s love interest in what Xander planned to be an increasingly larger part.

The original actress slated to play Amanda had backed out at the last minute, and with filming set to start next week, the studio had been scrambling. They didn’t want to settle but knew it would be tough to obtain a big name. Besides, Xander would be around to help her get into character.

“Who’d we get?” He glanced at Dash, who raised an eyebrow, clearly interested as well.

“Sasha Keaton,” his agent said.

And with those words, Xander’s brain short-circuited, and as he processed the news, his heart beat harder in his chest.

“Fuck no.” He didn’t have final say in casting, but he was allowed reasonable input, and he did not want the woman who’d put her career over their relationship and broken his heart working on his movie.