Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
S ophie struggled to get through the rest of the workday without going insane. Every time she heard Derek say "Cut," or "Can you do that a little differently, Natalie?" or "Let's talk about the stakes of this scene, gang!" Sophie fully swooned, remembering the kiss, the way his arms had wrapped around her and the snow had swirled around their perfect love.
Had it really happened? Was she just imagining things?
No, it had happened. She could still feel his lips upon hers. She could still feel the warmth where his hands had clutched her waist.
Love was a strong word. She knew that. But it was the only one she could think of to capture the tremendous yearning in her heart.
Because of the kiss, Sophie was especially bright and happy with the cast and crew. At lunchtime, she cracked jokes and teased, flipped burgers, added cheese, laughed, and smiled. Josiah was still there because he'd fallen in love with movie magic too, and she put him to work, reminding Randy and herself to pay him for his labor when the day was through. Josiah took it in stride, grateful to do something with his hands. He said many times, "What you people do is genius! Don't let anyone tell you differently!"
When he said that again to Mike, Isaac, and Beck, Mike grabbed his shoulder happily, like a brother might, and said, "Josiah? You're doing wonders for my mental health. I'm going to need you to come back to California with me and give me a pep talk every morning."
To this, Josiah chirped, "I'm ready to go!"
It was a huge surprise to Sophie that Derek didn't swing by the catering table for lunch. She'd anticipated him, even set aside the biggest burger patty. She'd imagined how they might look at each other now that they'd finally kissed—their eyes full of secrets and hunger for future kisses. But as soon as the assistant director called for lunch, Derek disappeared into his trailer and didn't come out until Natalie and Brent were ready to set up again. Sophie watched him move through the cast and crew and willed him to look back at her, to give her a sign that he was thinking about her. But already, he was talking to Natalie, and the assistant director was calling for everyone to "take their places."
Sophie felt it like a smack.
He has a job to do , Sophie reminded herself as she cleaned up after the lunch rush and prepped for midafternoon snacks and dinner. And he doesn't want a big scandal, either. We'll find time to talk about it later.
Or maybe we wouldn't even "talk."
Who needed talking when there was kissing to be done?
"Boss?" Randy's voice interrupted her reverie.
Sophie nearly leaped from her skin. "What's up?"
Randy smiled. "Do you want to take the rest of the afternoon off? Fiona and Tommy are both coming in to help with dinner, and I don't think you've taken a single day off since filming began. Have you?"
Sophie waved her hand. "It doesn't matter."
Randy was focused. He was scrubbing the table of a ketchup stain and looking at her at the same time. "It does matter. This is your health we're talking about. We have a heavy couple of weeks coming up."
It was bizarre to Sophie to have someone watching over her like this. She hesitated and even considered telling Randy to mind his own business. But Randy was compassionate. He had that small-town mindset that meant he thought of everyone else before himself.
She couldn't tell him she wanted to "stay on set" just in case Derek wanted to talk to her.
"I'd better get Josiah home, anyway," Sophie admitted. "But I'll be here bright and early tomorrow morning."
"I know you will, boss," Randy said. "Rest up, okay?"
Sophie and Josiah walked back to Josiah's truck. Sophie was mindful of Josiah's hand-eye coordination; she smelled his breath for traces of alcohol. But all she smelled was the lunch's burger and fries.
"That was a beautiful day's work," Josiah said as they crunched through the snow. "I never thought I'd make it to Hollywood. But look at me now!"
Sophie laughed.
Although he seemed more focused and "with it" than he'd been this morning, Sophie still convinced him to let her drive him home. It was a few miles outside of town—a little too far to walk—and when she saw that he was safe and comfortable on his living room sofa, she called Cindy to see if she could pick her up and take her back.
"It's like you read my mind," Cindy said. "I need to get out of the house!"
Cindy pulled into Josiah's driveway twenty minutes later. Annie and Peter were in the back seat—both asleep and terribly sweet. Sophie whispered, "Look at them! Perfect angels!" as she buckled herself in.
Cindy shook her head. "They've been screaming all morning. But driving them anywhere always puts them to sleep."
This was why they decided to keep driving through the forests of Upstate New York, along the highways beneath the snow-filled clouds, through little villages near Willow Creek and beyond. All told, they drove for two and a half hours, whispering to one another as the children slept.
Cindy looked tired but thrilled. She looked over at Sophie as they chatted far more than Sophie thought was safe, and Sophie teased her, saying, "Look at the road!"
Cindy laughed and tossed her head. "I'm sorry! I just can't believe you're telling me all of this!"
It hadn't taken Sophie long to explain what had happened on set that day. Josiah had driven his car straight into expensive equipment, Sophie had run forward to save the day, and then Derek had come and planted a world-shattering kiss on her lips.
"It's not even three in the afternoon, and everything has changed," Cindy said.
Sophie wrung her hands. "But he ignored me after that."
"Beg your pardon?" Cindy's tone darkened.
"He didn't come get lunch like he normally does. He avoided my gaze. I don't know. I have a bad feeling."
Cindy sighed. They were stopped at a red light, watching cars whiz past them. "He seems like a complicated man."
Sophie nodded. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she didn't want to let Cindy see them.
"I really don't want you to get hurt," Cindy said finally.
Sophie considered saying: too late. But she didn't want to sound pathetic.
"Is this guy really worth it?" Cindy asked.
"There's something about him," Sophie offered.
The light turned green, and Cindy pressed the gas. Sophie gazed out the window to see a group of mother deer and their babies near the line of trees, peering back at her.
"The fact is," Cindy said, "he's still reeling from the death of his wife. Right?"
Sophie nodded. "I can't blame him for that."
"Nobody should," Cindy agreed. "But maybe we should consider what's going through his head right now. Soon, it'll be the anniversary of Georgia's accident. He's literally making a film based on the script Georgia wrote. He probably feels her all around him right now. And you—beautiful and kind Sophie Masters—are complicating things for him."
Sophie scrunched up her face. "Gosh, I'm so selfish," she offered.
"You're not!" Cindy cried, then winced, checking in the rearview mirror to make sure Annie and Peter were still asleep. She lowered her voice. "You're really not. You're falling for this guy. And who wouldn't? He's shown you he likes you. He's kissed you. He's come over to your house unannounced. And he's handsome and successful."
"He even helped set up Christmas decorations," Sophie said.
"Despite the fact that he supposedly 'hates Christmas,'" Cindy reminded her.
"But he clearly wants space," Sophie said.
"He doesn't know what he wants," Cindy said.
Just then, Sophie's phone buzzed with a text.
"Jeremy's texting me," Sophie groaned.
Cindy grumbled, "I couldn't believe Dad invited him over like that! How clueless can you be?" She eyed Sophie, adjusting her hands on the steering wheel. "Are you going to read it?"
Sophie's heart pattered. "People on set think maybe Jeremy didn't lay the salt on purpose. That he wanted to cause chaos on set," she said. "Do you think he'd do something like that?"
Cindy's eyes widened. "We've known Jeremy since we were kids," she said finally. "I think we have to give him the benefit of the doubt."
Finally, Sophie read Jeremy's message.
It simply read:
Can we talk?