Caz’s face stilled and she scooted away. His expression said truce over.

Ashley looked out the tinted window, relieved the strangers couldn’t see in. She’d longed to see Caz, but it had been five months, and he hadn’t called once. It was so easy for him to have a fight with her and write her off, ignoring her attempts to explain like they didn’t matter, like she was a liar. He’d returned for one reason: her sketchpad.

As if reading her thoughts, Caz said, “Your drawings are beautiful.”

Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and felt her face flush.

“Really. The art director gave me the book. He said to tell you they were good. Your sketches are amazing.”

Ashley whispered, “You believe me now?”

“I believe you weren’t writing secret notes about the cast and the set, yeah.”

Her shoulders eased until more flashes came from the driveway. “And the press showing up everywhere? The pills?”

Caz shoved a hand through his hair. “You were my assistant, the only one who knew where we were going to be sometimes when the photographers showed up.”

Her spine stiffened, and she looked at him. “That’s not quite true. You knew. Maybe you wanted more media coverage.” She dropped her arms and scooted forward.

Caz rolled his eyes. “That’s ridiculous. Look, if your dad or the studio asked you to tip someone off, tell me. Just admit it.”

“I didn’t do it.”

“I found the pills in your purse.”

“Then someone put them there.”

His whole body looked tense, as if he was fighting with himself.

“Caz, there’s never going to be perfect black and white evidence or even perfect people. People screw up, but I’m telling you, I didn’t do any of those things, and you have to decide right now. Either you believe me or you don’t.”

He stared.

“Come on, I know you’ve got some instincts left, dig deep. Do you believe me?”

“Yes.”

Ashley sagged against the seat, not knowing why his trust mattered so much, but it did. She nodded then took hold of both of his hands and squeezed his fingers. “Good.” She paused a moment, and then said, “Now, I’m ready for your apology.”

“I want you to go out with me.”

She shook her head and drew back. “That’s not an apology.”

“Ashley.”

The fact that he couldn’t find it in himself to apologize or even seem to recognize what he’d put her through was enough to convince Ashley that they couldn’t be together. She reached for the door handle, trying to speak despite the lump in her throat. “No, trust me on this. We wouldn’t work.” She slipped from the car and ran through the flashing lights of the paparazzi into the house.

***

In the upcoming week, Ashley saw Caz on daytime and late night talk shows. If she missed one, her fellow students were quick to mention the interviews and ask about him. All she would say was that she and Caz had become friends over the summer when she’d been assigned as his gofer, which sounded a lot less important than working as his personal assistant.

“Simply say you went out and broke up, no story,” Marissa said.

Ashley shook her head. “Someone would put it on Facebook or Twitter.” She was determined to salvage her privacy, plus she didn’t want to look back. She wanted to move on.

Chapter 26

Ashley tugged her bag off the carousel at LAX, careful not to let the garment bag she’d carried on hit the linoleum. It held the three designer dresses Dad had sent, and she wanted to send pictures to Powder so she’d wear the right one to the movie premiere.

“Hey, kiddo,” Dad said.

She turned in surprise, and found Dad standing behind her with pink roses in his hand. He held an arm out for a hug.

***

Ashley could not contain her excitement as her dad escorted her down the red carpet on premiere night of Eternal Loss,

Eternal Revenge. They showed their credentials to security and were shown inside the roped-off area that led into the theater.

Dad eyed some other suit-wearers. “I see Russ. I need to talk to him for a second. Want to join me so I can show off my gorgeous daughter?”

Ashley froze. Russ. That was the director. She’d never told Dad about getting fired, and in the back of her mind, she had a real fear that she’d be escorted away from the premiere as soon as an executive spotted her. She turned, keeping her back to the director, and said, “No, thanks. I’ll see you inside.” Ashley tried to keep the squeak from her voice.

“Have fun.” Dad patted her shoulder and headed toward the men.

Ashley swallowed and moved further in. The electric crowd of screaming fans with their flashing cameras was contained by ropes and strategically placed security guards. Ashley snapped their photo from this side of the ropes and forwarded the picture to Mom and Marissa.

A ton of movie stars not attached to the film came to the premiere. While it was fun to see them, Ashley wasn’t starstruck. She’d really met too many actors growing up who’d come and gone in popularity to feel awe.

“Ashley!”

Ashley turned at the sound of her name and saw Powder, standing with her arms out for a hug. Powder looked rock-star in a black and silver gown. Her hair had grown several inches but was still spiked out. Ashley hugged her, and her own dress—white and filmy—swirled around them with the motion and the faint California breeze. “Thanks for helping me choose a dress.”

Powder said, “Your dad knows some killer designers. And you look perfect, very springtime.”

“You look so cool.” Ashley admired Powder’s style. She’d never be able to carry off metal studs.

Powder smiled her thanks then eyed the growing crowd of arriving stars. “I can’t leave Jason or some starlet will make a play at him. Find me later, okay?”

Ashley nodded. On her way up the carpet, she ran into several other people she’d worked with, and they chatted about the crowd and expectations for the film. If they knew she’d gotten fired, no one brought it up, so Ashley relaxed and began to enjoy herself more. No doubt her minor set drama was nothing compared to what they saw every day at work. And Powder had said it had been glossed over.

Ashley knew more people than she thought she would and welcomed seeing most of them. Boomer’s sheer size made him easy to spot, but she almost didn’t recognize him in sleeves. Ashley hugged him and complimented his suit. “Powder told me you got a part in Petra’s next film.”

Boomer looked down and she’d have sworn he blushed. “They came to sign her, and I was doing some sound work nearby. They thought I’d be good for a small part.”

“You’ll be great.”

Boomer grinned and cocked his head, back to his normal, confident self. “That’s because I’ll be traveling with the side arms.” He curled his biceps for her. “Loaded with bullets.”

“Okay, yeah, see ya later.” Ashley patted him on his impressive bicep, and moved a few steps down the red carpet. Halfway down, she ran into the director.

She stopped and her face flushed. They last time they’d been face-to-face, he’d fired her from the film.

Nothing showed on his face but welcome. He pulled away from the couple he was speaking with and leaned down to hug her. “Hi. What do you think of all this?”

Ashley breathed out a sigh of relief. Good. No trouble. She said truthfully, “It’s exciting.”

“A lot of what you did really worked and we used it.”

“Cool.”

“See you inside.”

Ashley took that as her cue to leave. She walked along toward the building, glad they’d come early so she had a chance to catch up with people. This was turning out okay.

Up ahead stood Cutter, hair coiffed in a perfect swoop, wearing a shiny purple suit with trousers cuffed high over brown loafers. Cutter reached out a hand and grabbed her arm. His eyes looked glittery and they shifted around the crowd. He leaned close, and his voice sounded thin, strained. “He’s here, have you seen him?”