At his words, gratitude and an emotion Sasha absolutely refused to name washed over her. They hadn’t put a label on their relationship, nor had they admitted to what each of them felt for the other. Sasha understood his need to protect himself from her given their past, and she couldn’t make promises while her career and decisions were so up in the air. She had a film to focus on right now. Choices would have to wait.

“I’m going to shower and make myself presentable. If there’s anything either of you needs, let me know.” Xander strode off and Sasha watched him go.

Her mother’s prolonged sigh broke her focus. “What?” Sasha snapped, tired of the judgment.

Her mother glanced at her, eyes wide. “I don’t appreciate your tone, Sasha.”

“And I don’t want to hear another lecture on choosing my career instead of a man.”

Did it have to be an either-or situation? Could she make movies and be a part of Xander’s more solitary life? She didn’t know. And a big part of her was afraid to find out.

A little while later, she walked her mom out and shut the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. Annika was hard to deal with on a good day, and today hadn’t exactly been one of those.

She walked into the bedroom to see Xander in a pair of jeans, his top bare, those gorgeous muscles on display. He reached for a tee shirt in a drawer when she spoke.

“Hi.”

He turned, shirt in hand. “Hi,” he said, his gaze sliding over her, obviously gauging her mood. “That bad?” he asked, reading her correctly.

She gave a little shrug. “As good as it could have been, I guess. My mother’s not about to change now.”

“When is she going back to LA?” he asked, sounding eager for her to be on her way. Not that she blamed him.

“A week. I think she plans on coming by the set on Monday. Then she’s going to visit some friends in Nantucket.” She bit her bottom lip. “Is it awful to say I’m relieved she’s not staying in the city?”

He let out a laugh. “Not at all. She’s not easy.”

“I want to say she means well, but… she just wants to control me so she can say, Look at my daughter, living the life I could have had if I didn’t give up everything to raise her.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to dwell on it, okay?”

He nodded just as her phone rang from the nightstand where she’d left it, and she walked over to answer. Cassidy’s name flashed on the screen. “Hey, Cass.”

“Hi! How’d it go with Mom? Anything I can do for you? Get you?”