WHEN JOHN WALKED OUT of the hotel, the night sky was clear, stars shining in the darkness. It reminded him of the drive with Anna. He smiled at the thought. The two of them did well together when they were far removed from, well, all of society in general, he guessed. So all they needed was to be far away from Hollywood, ex-husbands, movie shoots, and producers, then they would be fine. He could take her to his cabin. She would like it there, he thought. She would like the quiet and the view of the mountains. They could finally sleep, and he would convince her to go on a hike every other day and spend the rest of their time together in bed. It would all be worth it if they could finish this thing.

If Melton was really messing with the shoot this way... John knew the man was vindictive—everyone in the industry knew that—but sabotaging this shoot all the way from his office in Los Angeles just to mess with his ex-wife was something else entirely. John scrubbed a hand down his face. He needed to talk to Anna, and he needed to explain. First, though, he needed to get out of the option that he’d granted to Melton.

Clara picked up on the second ring.

“Remember when you said you had a friend who was a lawyer?”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“Hello to you too, best friend.”

John sighed. “Are you going to tell me I told you so?”

“I’m strongly thinking it, and I’m pretty sure you can read my brainwaves from across the Atlantic.”

“I might have made a mistake.” That mistake might have been bigger than he’d even guessed. Considering that among the other lessons he’d learned during this shoot, he was beginning to believe that his deal might have been for naught. Watching Anna helm this picture, he realized that he might not be the best director for his script. He might have been pursuing the wrong dream.

“I’ll send you her number,” Clara said. “How are things going over there?”

“The story got picked up, so I’m sure you’ve seen it by now.”

Clara huffed. “I don’t care what Twitter says. I care what you say. How are you doing?”

John paused. How am I doing? Everything had gone from simple to complicated in such a short amount of time. One minute, he and Anna were running around without a care in the world, trying to finish this movie, and the next, they were being sabotaged. He thought of that look on her face, though, when she asked to read his script, and it still warmed him from the inside out.

“It’s worth it.”

“That’s new,” Clara said.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” John admitted. A long while. He didn’t need to add that—Clara understood.

“Is she worth it?”