“I wanted to tell you...” Jenny said.

Anna glanced up at her friend.

“I’m going to London,” Jenny admitted.

“I’m excited for you.” Anna hugged her friend, feeling at a loss for words.

“It’s just for a few months. I can handle the rewrites on my new job from there, and Reed isn’t taking any new work for a bit. We can just be.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“You don’t think I’m being an idiot?”

“I think you’re the smartest person I know.”

“The bar must be low.”

“I told you. It’s not foolishness to admit that you want to be with Reed and be happy. It’s bravery.”

“I’m glad you finally figured it out.”

Anna laughed. “Someday he may even be worthy of you.”

Jenny got a serious look on her face. “What are you going to do?”

“I know what I want, but I’m not sure how to get it.”

“It isn’t that hard to figure out,” Jenny said. “Don’t let your past hold you back.”

Jenny left soon after, Reed’s arm around her shoulder, and she looked so happy. Maybe it made sense to go after what she wanted, to take a risk. For once, Anna wanted to follow her instincts and let everything else fall away. Every calculation, every worry, and every thought that maybe she didn’t deserve it.

#

JOHN SAT ON THE BACK stairs of the hotel. He should talk to Anna. They had avoided any difficult topics over the past few days, behaving professionally as always, but not being themselves.

Anna appeared in front of him. “John—”

“Anna—”

She sat down next to him. “I just had to finish this movie before worrying about anything else. I’m angry about what he did and all the trouble he’s caused, but if I let myself feel it, then I won’t be able to get my job done.”

“I get it.” John leaned back and closed his eyes. “I shouldn’t have avoided you.”

“Me neither.”

“There’s something I need to say—” John began.

“Uh, can I say something first?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Tom and me, that was a long time ago, but he... he has a longer memory than I thought.”

You’re telling me, John thought. The man was either hell-bent on revenge or still in love with her.

“I thought he wanted to be with me because I’m me, but he didn’t. I was an experiment for him, to see if he could mold me into what he wanted. He wasn’t happy when we divorced. I thought he was sad that we didn’t work. I didn’t know how angry he was.”

“That guy can’t stand to lose anything. I would guess he treated you the same.”

“I told you I’m not good at this.”

“You didn’t have to tell me for me to know,” John said gently.