To her shock, they’d fallen into a relationship, but Sasha had dreams, the main one not to give up herself and her career the way her mother had, to follow her musician father around wherever a gig took him.

And then came Xander.

Knowing she’d gotten lost in the past, she glanced at Cassidy. “I need to see him before shooting starts. To clear the air if nothing else. I can’t show up the first day I have to be in character and have the pressure of dealing with him hanging over me.”

Even if the thought of meeting him face-to-face for the first time since they’d broken up turned her stomach. “Besides, if there’s an author for the story and they’re an on-set consultant, you know I like to get their take on the character I’m playing. It makes it easier to get into their skin.”

Cassidy’s expression grew serious. “Are you over him? Because this can get messy. I worried when you took the role and—”

“I love Isaac Reynolds,” she said of the director. “The last time I worked with him was a dream. They lost their leading actress, and the movie is a guaranteed blockbuster. Every Steele movie is.”

But Cassidy pursed her lips, studying Sasha intently. “You didn’t mention Xander in your reasons, and I don’t believe for a minute that seeing him again didn’t factor into your decision.”

Sasha clenched her hands. “So what if it did?” She’d never forgotten him and had always wanted the chance to make things right.

“There’ll be more Steele movies. This character is a long-term commitment,” Cassidy reminded her.

Sasha’s stomach clenched. “I’m aware.”

“So you wanted to see him again. And again and again?”

Sasha picked up a pillow and tossed it at her friend. “Stop. I just need to know he doesn’t hate me.” And maybe she still wanted him to have feelings for her, too.

She didn’t know and wouldn’t until she saw him face-to-face. Not that it mattered. He wouldn’t want anything to do with her beyond the movie. She’d hurt him badly in so many ways.

The truth was, she’d been all of nineteen, new to Hollywood, wanting to make it big, and had both her agent and her co-star pushing her to do things that would keep the media focus on them. Make them look important. Help them become hot commodities.