Page 24 of Wrapped in You

Cara hung up.

Sophie remained behind the trailers. Her blood pressure skyrocketed. From where she stood, she could hear Derek saying, "Come on, Natalie. Put more into that line. You're about to leave the only man you've ever loved for your ex-boyfriend. Think about what led you to this moment. Think about how disappointed you are in humanity and in yourself."

Natalie's small voice protested. "I don't understand why she would go back to her ex, though?"

"Because she's afraid," Derek explained. "And frightened people do horrible things. Frightened people hurt the ones they love, and they hurt themselves most of all."

Just then, Jeremy walked by Sophie in his traffic vest. He waved at an approaching car and bent down to chat with the driver. Sophie could half hear what he said. Something like, "There's a Hollywood film set through here. You have to turn back."

He sounded so self-important.

Sophie's stomach curdled.

Suddenly, Jeremy straightened up and turned back to see Sophie. He smiled, and his smile tossed Sophie back throughtime to high school, when he'd first asked her to be his girlfriend, and to culinary school when he'd driven out to visit her every weekend and listened to her daydreams about her culinary future.

Natalie's voice echoed through her head. Why would she go back to her ex, though?

Rage spun through Sophie. Something took hold of her. She stormed around the line of trailers and sped back to the Culinary Tastings stand. Randy locked eyes with her and grimaced.

"This is crazy," he muttered. "Derek is insane."

But Sophie had had enough of Derek's antics. She didn't care if it cost her everything she'd worked for.

She had to say something.

As Sophie stormed through the cameras, her vision blurred. It was like an out-of-body experience. She felt the eyes of the camera operators on her; she felt confusion shimmer through the air.

And then she was standing in front of Derek, Natalie, and Brent. Her hands were in fists at her sides. Natalie's mouth opened with surprise, and Derek turned to see what she was looking at. Sophie's breathing was ragged.

What am I doing? Have I lost my mind?

"Excuse me?" Derek demanded. His voice was hard-edged. Sophie should have been frightened, but she wasn't. "Is there a reason you're interrupting this extremely important rehearsal? Is there a reason the catering department is on my set?"

His voice dripped with disdain.

Sophie raised her chin. "Don't do this."

Derek looked flabbergasted. "Excuse me?"

Sophie took a step toward him. "You've ruined the script. And you're about to ruin Natalie’s and Brent's careers along with it."

What am I doing? What am I doing?

Derek's eyes glinted with anger. He waved his hand. "I'm going to say it again. Can someone get this catering woman off my set?"

But around him, everyone was frozen. Sophie knew he knew her name; she wasn't just a "catering woman." More than that, she knew she was far more beloved on set than he was. Far more. Which meant that nobody would throw her off set. He would have to do it himself.

Derek stomped toward her. He looked animalistic. "What I do with my script is none of your business," he growled.

"You're going to tank the entire film," Sophie burst out. "It isn't fair to the entire cast and crew. They've worked tirelessly for weeks. They've moved their lives out east for you."

"They're getting paid," Derek said. "As are you."

Sophie flared her nostrils. A moment of silence passed between them. Derek's breathing was rapid and strange.

Nobody on set moved a muscle.

Sophie knew what she needed to say.

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