Chapter 5

She was a friend, now. And a mentor, and the director who’d chosen to cast him, Jason, alongside Colby Kent. He owed her more than he could ever express.

Next to her, Sophia Valentine was a tall dramatic spike of dark rock-and-roll style: long black hair, smooth brown skin, glinting piercings in ears and an eyebrow and her nose, older than the teenage rebel she’d once been but still vibrantly herself, still vividly recognizable. She was looking at Jill with such fondness that even the metal of her jewelry went soft and tender.

Colby hadn’t wanted a big New Year’s Eve gathering, though they’d had invitations to dazzling parties, A-list events, and everyplace crowds and cameras would congregate. The world wanted stories about Colby Kent and Jason Mirelli, about on-set romance and injuries and falling in love.