“Emma Volant’s next book. I got a sneak peek at the rough draft last night, and it’s got the potential to be an even bigger hit than this one. Easier to shoot without all the period costuming, cheaper too, but every bit as beautiful. She’s not even done with it yet, and I offered to buy the rights off her.”

Sophia shook her head. “Not so fast. I offered to buy the rights off her.”

“You want to do the screenplay?” Talia asked incredulously.

“No, I want to direct.”

Caroline laughed. “I don’t even know what it’s about, but with you two and Emma Volant, I want to be the intimacy coordinator.”

“It’s a contemporary romance, and you’re hired,” Talia said. “If we’re indulging fantasies, Addie’s hired to do costumes, and Lila Wilder’s doing the score.”

“Wait,” Caroline said excitedly, “if it’s a romance and Sophia’s directing, who’s going to be the female lead?”

Sophia’s and Talia’s eyes met, and they both said, “Cobie Galloway.”

“I love her! You’ve got a writer, a director, a star, the start of a creative team,” she said as they pulled onto the street leading into Penchant Castle. “And if it’s an Emma Volant book, I bet you’ve already got a connection to some perfect places to film.”

Sophia’s chest tightened as she stared up at the battlements and towers up ahead, then turned away only to see the expanse of green fields in the distance. She could follow the picturesque landscape all the way to the sea, and it wouldn’t change a thing. All of it led right back to Vic. The one place she absolutely could not go, not even in her dreams. “We have a lot of little pieces, but none of the big ones.”

“All of the knowledge and none of the money or the clout,” Talia agreed. “You can’t produce a movie worth making without a producer, and none of the big studios are going to hand a blank check to a first-time director and the writer’s best friend.”

“But you two aren’t nobodies. You’ve had big careers with big hits,” Caroline pushed.

“We could certainly get something low-budget,” Talia admitted. “We could have our way with an art-house piece.”

“If only we would dream smaller and know our place,” Sophia added over the bile rising in her throat.

“Or maybe you need a sugar daddy,” Caroline offered, then snorted in disgust.

“Or a rich actual daddy,” Talia offered. “That’s how Brian got his start. Lord knows, he didn’t establish himself on talent. It’s all in his last name.”

“Yeah, well I’ve got none of those things attached to me or my name. No daddies of any kind.” Sophia made a little gagging noise.