Page 35 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

“You mean I’m free?”

“You arenotfree. You have several dozen emails awaiting your responses.”

“That doesn’t sound fun.”

She flashed a cheeky smile. “Finish first, then you can have fun.”

Between dealing with his emailsand occasionally checking to see if Rogers had made contact, Billy was kept busy all afternoon. If Stacy hadn’t called him at five p.m. and reminded him to get ready for the cocktail party, he would have still been sitting in front of his laptop.

By six p.m., he was just stepping out of the elevator into the lobby when his phone vibrated.

He checked the screen, hoping for a text from agent Rogers, but it was from Stacy, asking if he was on his way.

The best thing about tonight’s party was that Billy and the others didn’t have to travel anywhere. The event was being hosted by Centurion Pictures and thrown in a banquet room at their hotel. The invited guests were mostly journalists and film people from countries near Italy that theStorm’s Eyepress tour would not be visiting.

There were already quite a few people present when Billy entered. He greeted and schmoozed and made sure the attendees were having a good time. About forty minutes after the party began, the lights dimmed, and selected scenes fromStorm’s Eyeplayed on a large screen at one end of the room.

From the enthusiastic applause that broke out after the last clip had finished, it was obvious the crowd genuinely enjoyed what they’d watched.

No question about it. Centurion had another hit on its hands.

As the lights came back on, Billy sensed someone move next to him.

“Buonasera,”Bianca said.

“Buonasera. I hadn’t realized you were coming to this.”

“I may have used some of my influence to obtain an invite. Though youcouldhave given me one yourself.”

“You’re right. My apologies. I should have thought of that.”

“Yes, you should have.” She pouted and playfully tapped his arm. “Please tell me you have not also forgotten about our date.”

“Of course not.”

Her smile returned. “Good. I would not have taken being rejected two nights in a row well.”

“Rest assured. No rejection will be forthcoming.”

She played her fingers across the front of his jacket. “That is exactly what I wanted to hear.”

He gestured toward the screen. “Did you enjoy what you saw?”

“How could I not? It looks fantastic. I cannot wait to see the entire film.”

“Peter will be happy to hear that.”

“This Mark Weldon, he is a very good actor. So much talent. He did not come on this trip with you?”

“He’ll be joining us at our next stop.”

“That is too bad. I would have liked to meet him.”

“You could always come to Venice and meet him there.”

“That is an intriguing idea. Perhaps I will. For now, though, all I want to think about is you.”

“Then I believe I’m starting to feel hungry. Shall we go to my suite and order dinner?”

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