Anna didn’t know either. Maybe their age difference had been harder on her than she’d thought. “It would affect his career too. He might not get taken seriously.”

“He’s an adult who can make his own choices,” Jenny said. “And he can apparently wrangle spreadsheets into submission sufficiently to appease you, so he might have what it takes.”

John could wrangle a lot of things, but Anna was trying to stay level-headed. She snuggled under the blankets as if to protect herself from her own question. “When did I stop taking chances?”

“I don’t know, friend, but it’s not too late. It’s never too late. Besides, we need some good stories for when we end up in an old folks’ home together, eating mushy peas and racing in our wheelchairs down the hallway.”

Anna laughed, realizing she might have tears on her cheeks. “We’re going to need someone to keep track of our bets, and I want the window bed.”

“No way. Remember who got stuck with the top bunk sophomore year? That window is mine.”

Anna wiped the tears on her cheeks. “John and me, it could get complicated.”

“Look, the past week, you two have been nothing but professional together. The press are always looking for a story. You can’t stop them. And John likes you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The way you look at him.” Jenny rolled over, tucking herself into the blankets. “Before you freak out, everyone is so tired that no one’s noticed. This might be the time to take that chance.”

Jenny fell asleep soon after, and Anna stayed awake, staring at the ceiling.

Anna felt untethered. The compass of her life had always led her to the next obvious step in her career. Moving to Hollywood, dating Tom, and marrying him. It had all looked like it was supposed to—she looked like she was supposed to. Tom had looked at Anna like she was a business transaction, but she could admit that she might have done the same with him. She had liked the certainty that as long as she was with him, she had the safety of his sure position in the industry. All the little things were taken care of. She must have truly craved a kind of refined respectability to have spent so long with him.