“It’s not going to happen, Riley.”

The bubble popped. “What? Why not?”

David shifted back in his chair at the conference table at Epic. “The A-list is shorter than you think. Someone like Jane Casey’s on the fast track to being a star. She needs to see herself in a role. There are advantages to casting unknowns.”

Despite all the good news David had heaped on me since the start of our meeting—that Epic had started booking some locations, was putting together the crew, had a talented director and a script they knew would be successful—it was this one disappointment I latched onto.

“It can’t be over. Just because she doesn't see herself in it.” I laughed. “Come on. She's perfect.”

I needed a win today, though I wasn’t sure why it mattered so much.

“You only get one shot with someone like Jane, even with her agent on side,” David said, returning my attention to the room. “She’s not convinced an action move is the next stage in her career.”

I thought about what I knew of Jane’s background. “But that’s why she’s ideal. The story isn’t about superheroes. It’s about people. Getting burned to the ground. Rising from the ashes. We live long enough, we all have to do it. It’s why these stories get us.”

David folded his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing. “Jane’s publicist has had her dating our Ninja star. She’s scheduled to be at the premier tonight. I could get you an introduction if you think you can change her mind.”

“Do it.” Adrenaline shot through me. Whether this was about the movie or the frustration where Sam was concerned, I knew I had to fix this or go down trying.

David had given us a magic number to call in case we wanted to wear something other than what we’d packed from home. That was why we were getting dressed at two separate boutiques. I had to admit, the black Boss suit was nice.

My limo pulled up in front of the other store where Sam was getting ready, and I tapped my fingers on my thigh while we waited.

When Sam had shown up at the airport yesterday, I’d felt like the luckiest man alive.

We’d gone to a gallery last night, eaten at a high-end seafood restaurant for dinner, split a bottle of wine and taken a limo home.

But I’d only been half there.

It was fucked. I’d invited her to LA to have a good time. Now I was the one that couldn’t keep my end of the bargain.

Because the entire time I reminded myself, it’s not real.

A flash of movement caught my eye. I lowered the window and my jaw went slack.

The confusion fell away, like fog burning off in the sun.

The black dress stopped high on her thighs, and had me thinking of her wearing less than that.

Her shoulders were bare, the satiny fabric looping around the back of her neck. Sam’s sleek hair was pinned up on one side, left to fall straight to her shoulders on the other. Her lips were painted red. Not a goth red, but bright, like the tulips in the park in spring.

I reached for the handle, pushing the door open for her. She shifted in as I made way. I drank in every part of her until her gaze finally met mine.

“Is it okay?” she asked, playing with the tie behind her neck.

“You are fucking beautiful, Sam.”

Her face flushed at the compliment. “You don’t have to say that.”

I reached for her hand, drew it to my lips before setting it on my thigh. But I didn’t let go. “Yeah, I do. Keeping it inside feels like a lie.”

The car pulled away and I cleared my throat.

“Listen. I know things have been weird this weekend. But I’m not used to someone wanting and not wanting me at the same time. I’m getting whiplash, Sam.” Her lips parted. “Is it really what you want? A distraction? Someone whose name you don’t know, whose face you don’t recognize, to lose yourself in?”

Sam shifted in her seat to face me. “It’d be easier that way. But every time you look at me, it’s like…” she screwed up her face “…I thought I needed to let loose. To get off, to forget everything. And it’s so good, Lee.” Her gaze swept down to the floor of the limo, back up, slow. Her voice had my abs clenching beneath my suit. “But I don't know if it's good because it’s easy, or if it's good because it’s you. Because somehow you know how to touch me. And because I trust you to do things I’ve never wanted to do with anyone else.”

The image of her taking me in her mouth replayed in my mind like a dirty GIF.

Jesus, this girl turned me inside out.

The limo rolled up to the front of the old-style Hollywood theater. We both straightened as the car stopped.

“We’re here,” she murmured.

I held her back as she glanced toward the door.

“Do something for me,” I said. “Before we go out there.”

“What.”

My gaze dropped to her mouth. “Kiss me. Not because I’m going to get you off, or to get me to shut up. Kiss me because you want to.”

I expected her to retreat, to push me away. But her face tilted up and after a long moment, her lips brushed mine.

I threaded my hands in the hair at the nape of her neck, careful not to pull out any pins as my mouth opened over hers.

I gave myself a moment to indulge, kissing her like I wanted to leave my mark on her. By the time I pulled back we were both breathless.

I didn’t know what it meant, but it felt like something. Something we both needed, even if we didn’t know it.

“You ready to talk to a movie star?” she murmured.

“Doesn’t hurt to try.” I grinned as I shifted out of the car first, holding out a hand for her to follow.

It was a whole other world. One I’d known existed, but somewhere I never thought I’d be. Filled with glamorous people and champagne and casual elegance that belied the blood, sweat, and tears it took to get there.

There was a red carpet and paparazzi. Then security and a doorman.

I fucking loved it.

Sam nodded her chin and I followed her gaze to find the star of Ninja surrounded by a group laughing and drinking.

We found our way to our seats shortly before the film was slated to start.

Nerves and excitement rushed through me when the screen went dark. The music grabbed me and didn’t let go.

I hadn’t counted on the difference it made watching the film with people who had a stake in it.

I was on the edge of my seat until the final credits. It was amazing. Incredible.

I was strung tighter than the string quartet playing in the foyer as we followed the stream of traffic into a cocktail reception outside.

“Riley. I’m glad you could make it. Who is this beautiful lady?” David asked smoothly, coming up beside us.

“Sam Martinez. She did the art for Phoenix.” Her hand tightened in mine, but I didn’t let her pull away.

“A talented pair. Nice to meet you, Miss Martinez. Riley is one of my new favorite people. In fact, I’d like to borrow him for a second if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll try to keep busy.” She shot me a wink before I turned to follow David through the crowd.

I hadn’t noticed the actress before but when I saw her red hair, I didn’t know how I’d missed her. She had the kind of classic beauty you would’ve expected to be dull, but it wasn’t.

She hovered next to the Ninja star, the two of them part of a tight-knit crowd of well-dressed people.

David murmured something to her and she followed him over to me.

“Miss Casey,” David started, “This is Riley McKay of Titan Games.”

Her smile was wide and genuine. “My little brother loves your games. Oasis is his favorite.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” She lifted a glass of champagne to her lips and I cleared my throat. “I understand David’s told you about our project. I don’t want to waste your time. But I do want to say that you’re wrong.”

A thin brow rose. “Pardon me?”

“Not about wanting to do that movie. That’s your choice. But if you think it’s not up you’re alley…you’re wrong.” Sam would probably kick me if she overhead, but I couldn’t find her in my field of vision. Probably just as well, as I needed to focus. “See, it’s an action movie. And it’s based on a video game. But the premise is as real, as human, as any of the indie films you’ve done. It’s about sacrifice, and facing your fears. It’s about being terrified of what’s being asked of you, and doing it anyway. It’s about rising from the ashes, knowing love has to be enough.”

She tilted her head. “Is that what you believe?”

I stumbled. “It’s what I’d like to believe.”

She studied me over her glass. “I’ve read the script. It’s about a woman who rejects love in order to do her duty. It’s the classic hero archetype that graces countless screens every year, accented with CGI and witty banter. What makes this different?”

“What makes it different is she knows she was wrong. And she regrets it, every day.”

I glanced past Jane to see Sam, talking with David across the room. Her lips curving as she met my gaze through the crowd.

“We think decisions are clean. That when they're done, that's it,” I went on without losing Sam’s gaze. “But they’re not. We re-make them all the time in our minds. We think we know what’s right for us and for other people. But at the end of the day we’re scared. Scared to hurt, scared to be hurt. Knowing you made the wrong choice because you were human…that’s as real as it gets.”

I finally turned back to Jane to find her tilting her head at me.

“Anyway.” I bowed my head. “It was nice meeting you.”

I went back to the bar for a drink, scanning the room for Sam.

“You have balls for days.” David materialized at my elbow. He nodded and I followed his gaze to where Jane was on the phone in the corner. “You know who’s on that phone?”

“Spielberg,” I deadpanned.

“Her agent.”

“She’s going to do it?”

“I don’t know. But she’s intrigued.” He studied me, and for the first time, I got the sense he actually saw me. David cocked his head. “Everyone in this town says they started on the movie lots. I started at GE. Sold refrigerators for five years, and now I’m here.” He barked out a laugh. “You ever think of trading in Titan for Hollywood?”

“Can’t say I have.” I shrugged even as my heart beat harder in my chest. “I figured Hollywood was somewhere you needed to get an invitation.”

He grinned. “Consider this yours.”

My hand stilled, the drink halfway to my lips. “Excuse me?”

“Come to LA. If you need a title, you can be a consultant. Those are just details. What we need is more of that fresh thinking.”

I studied his face. The usual smile was there, but now that I’d seen him a few times, I was starting to be able to read him. To know his reactions.

“I’m flattered. But I have a company to run.”

“Look around. Everyone has a company to run. You think that stops them from taking opportunities?”

I glanced past him at the well-dressed people, laughing easily over never-ending glasses of Veuve.

I turned to find Sam at my my back. “How’d it go?”

“I need some air.” I grabbed two drinks and Sam snatched some hors d’oeurves, and we took off toward the Exit sign.

“What did she say?” Sam asked as she followed me through the fire door and up the stairs, her heels clicking on the concrete.

“Nothing. But David says she’s thinking about taking the part.”

Sam laughed. “That’s incredible.” The door that said “Roof Entrance” had us busting through it. “You really could talk anyone into…”

She trailed off as the view hit us. There were no high rises between us and the ocean and only a few taller buildings in the LA skyline.

The setting sun drenched the entire West Coast in brilliant colors that seemed to hang in the air, painting the buildings in the light.

I crossed to the edge of the roof and leaned over the metal railing. Sam pulled up next to me. Sounds from the streets wafted up from three stories below.

“Doesn’t this remind you of high school?”

I snuck an amused glance at her. “I bring you to LA for New Years, and you think it’s like home.”

“Not the Hollywood part. You. Me. The rest of the world falling away.”

I shifted closer to Sam.

There was no one I’d rather share this moment with. Being here, with her, in the place dreams came true? It was everything I could’ve wanted.

And it’s about to end.

Our flight would leave in the morning, and would have us into Logan by late afternoon. I was surprised by how much the thought saddened me.

“So what do you think. Any resolutions?”

She screwed up her face. “I need to figure out what I’m going to paint next. It’s hard and I don’t know why. I never had issues creating before. When my mom died I couldn’t do anything but draw.”

“You think you create from pain?” She nodded. “No, that's not it. Even in your darkest moments, you create from love.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was always drawn to you. It wasn't your pain I was drawn to, Sam. It was your capacity to love. The way you can create something beautiful from nothing for the people you care about. For your dad, by taking care of him when he was sick. For Titan, when we needed concept art. For me, when I sold my car. I don’t know many people who’d step up like that so selflessly.”

Her eyes searched mine, emotion filling them. “No one has ever said that to me. I always feel like I’m a beat behind. Playing catch-up in some game everyone else is winning.”

“There’s no game, Sam. No winners and no losers. You get knocked down seven times, you get up eight.”

Sam exhaled, her smile fading as she scanned the horizon. “So what now? Does it all disappear tomorrow?”

“What do you mean.”

“It feels like we’re in some alternate reality that’s going to fall away when I wake up.”

When I’d asked her to kiss me in the car, it’d been an impulse.

The way she’d done it, like it was a stolen moment, an intimate one. The feel of her lips on mind was like a brand, and had left me both gratified and longing for more.

“LA falls away,” I said finally. “You and me… we don’t have to change, Sam. We don’t need rules or definitions,” or an expiry date, I wanted to say. “It’s a new year. We can be anything we want.”

She turned back to the view and leaned her head on my shoulder, her hair sliding against my cheek.

But she didn’t answer, and the question hung between us like one more color in the twilight sky.