“No. A friend of mine was an aspiring actress. She needed a lift one day. She was auditioning for a part.” She remembered that day with vivid clarity. It was the day her world changed. She looked up at Harper. “It was a rare rainy day. Instead of waiting in the car or going somewhere to kill time, I went in with her. There were maybe twenty or twenty-five women in there. Kate went over to join them and I went to get coffee for us.” She shook her head. “I tripped and fell. Tossed two cups of hot coffee on, like, six of them.” She laughed quietly. “It was a little chaotic there for a minute. The next thing I know, I’m being pulled into a back room to read from a script.”

Harper smiled. “That’s how you got discovered? Really?”

“Really. Kate hasn’t spoken to me since.” She took a sip of the whiskey. “I hate it. I hate all of it.” Then she gave a quick laugh. “Well, not the money. I don’t hate that part of it.” Her smile faded. “I hate that I have no life to speak of. It’s not something I ever aspired to do. Growing up, I was rather shy. And when I discovered I was gay, I fiercely guarded my privacy. So for me to have zero privacy now…I can’t continue to live this way. This movie will be my last.” She looked quickly at Harper. “And you’re the very first person I’ve told. I’m going to do this movie, which will be very different from the others that I’ve done. It’s darker, grittier. I don’t play a dumb blond in some far-fetched love story for once. I’m going to honor my obligations, then I’m done.”

“Hoping to change your image?”

“At the time I signed on for it, yes, that was the plan. Now? Now it’s just a means to an end.”

“So you’re going to walk away from fame and fortune just like that?”

“I’m going to run, not walk.”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know. Dye my hair dark. Chop it off. Go back to my real name.”

“Real name?”

“Danielle Stevens. No, that’s not me.” She smiled. “Dani Strauss. That’s my real name.”

“Why Stevens?”

She shrugged. “I was told Strauss didn’t fit me. Besides, I wanted to protect my family and their privacy.” She leaned back and brushed the hair away from her face. “Which brings us back to my stalker.”

“Yes. You hate airports so you drove.”

“I rented a car. Could he have found out from them where I was heading?”