Bella waited for her to get to the reason for the call.

“So, that’s why I’m calling. I know you wanted a few weeks to decide, but there’s a bit of a wrinkle. There’s another actress they are considering. Someone they didn’t think they could get, but it turns out she’s read the book, loves it and reached out to them.”

Bella felt a wave of disappointment and realized she really wanted the chance to do this movie. “So, that’s it then? They’re going with her?”

“Well, not yet. You’re still their top choice, but they don’t feel comfortable letting this other possibility go without having a commitment from you. They’re afraid if they wait, they risk losing you and offending her.”

“So, they want a decision now? I say I’ll do it and it’s mine?”

“Yep. If you say you’re in, they’ll just tell her it’s filled. But they need to know asap. By tomorrow—what do you think?”

Bella smiled. “Tell them I’m in. But I can’t start until my two months are up. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Excellent. I’ll tell them. Congratulations, Bella! This is going to be huge for you.”

Chapter 10

The next morning, after dealing with a few pressing issues, Paula and David met in Paula’s office to go over ideas for the Taste of the Town event.

“We can use the same tent people we use for our weddings, so that’s easy enough,” Paula said.

“And I like your grandfather’s suggestion to reach out to that liquor store and have them handle the wine vendors. It will be worth their while with the sales it’s likely to generate,” David added.

“Peter’s a nice guy, too. I’m happy to give him the business. He’s run these types of things before.”

“Do you have some restaurants in mind?” David asked.

Paula nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that. How many do you think we want to limit it to?”

“I’d say somewhere between twenty and thirty would be good. Not everyone will say yes. It is an expense for the restaurants in terms of food and staff to attend. But it’s great advertising.”

“Especially if they win one of the ‘best of’ awards. I don’t think I’ve seen one of these done on Nantucket before. Closest thing is the wine festival.”

“Do you think there will be interest from the local restaurants? Maybe they will feel like they are busy enough and don’t need to do this in the summer?” David said.

“I think if we can lock down a restaurant or two before we approach the others it might help. I was thinking we could ask Mimi’s Place first. They just reopened a year or so ago under new management and might still be interested in getting the word out.”