“How can I help?” She wanted to work with him again. That was where she had been happiest. Her heart tugged at the thought of not being with him, but she didn’t deserve that after this mess.

“We want to hire you to direct our first feature.”

“Holy shit! Are you sure? What is it?”

“It was going to be a script that Frank had his eye on, but now it might be something else.” He glanced at the pile of papers. “You’re going to have to help me persuade Frank not to cut the budget.”

“You would trust me with your movie?”

“If I learned one thing in Rome, I learned that I don’t want to direct anything, ever. I want to produce, and I want to write. I don’t care if I’m looking out at the ocean or the traffic in the Valley. I want you to direct this thing, and we can let Frank worry about the money.”

“That’s his favorite thing to do.”

“It really is.” John smiled.

Anna didn’t know what to say, but John trusting her again meant more than anything. She should probably be thinking about business, but all she could think about was how kind and sweet he was and the fact that she wanted to be with him always.

“We’ll start in a couple of months.”

“Oh my God, we will.” Tears welled in her eyes.

John put his arms around her. She could feel him nuzzling her hair with his cheek, and it was possibly the softest thing she had ever encountered. She looked up at him, and he held her face in his hands. She couldn’t look away.

“Anna, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about the deal with Tom.” John’s voice was low and serious. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but I didn’t know how, so I waited, and then I thought I could fix it and get away with not telling you.”

“I get it,” Anna said, and she did. “I get why you couldn’t tell me.”

Anna rested her forehead against his. She wasn’t sure she deserved it, but she wanted him. She took a deep breath. “The stuff with the press and running around and not wanting anyone to know, it’s not that I’m embarrassed about you.”

“Then you gotta tell me what it is,” John said, nudging her gently so she couldn’t hide in his shoulder. “Because I want to be with you, but I want something real. I’m not a vacation.”

“I didn’t want to suffer the jokes and comments. I thought I didn’t have the strength to weather it, but you taught me that I did.” Anna paused, trying to find the right words. “You’re talented, and I don’t want me or us or what people say to hold you back.”