Page 37 of Wrapped in You

"Right?" Sophie laughed. "Dad's one of the guys."

Cindy explained that Annie had been sick lately, and now Peter had whatever Annie had. "It's a nightmare at home," she confessed. "As soon as I get back tonight, I told Vic he could go out for a few hours to meet his friends, too. We have to take turns, pushing each other out of the house to maintain a semblance of sanity."

"A semblance of sanity," Mike piped up from the other side of the table. "That's what Sophie brings to set every day!"

"I don't know if that's sanity," Isaac said. "She's clearly insane about Christmas. But Mr. Director is insane in far more sinister ways."

Sophie grinned inwardly and took a sip of wine. She wanted to drag Cindy to a private corner to tell her what had been going on—that Derek had eaten and fallen in love with her pancakes, that he frequently looked at her a little too long with a little too much urgency in his eyes, that her invitation to the Christmas Festival had turned his face gray.

But already, Cindy was finishing her drink and saying, "I'd better get back. Vic sent me a HELP text message." She sighed and hugged Sophie from the side. "Have a great night. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She wagged her eyebrows.

Sophie realized that Cindy thought she and one of the sound guys would wind up together.

But Sophie thought of Mike, Isaac, and Beck like chaotic younger brothers.

Her heart ached for the dark and brooding Derek.

She wished she could refute her feelings.

It was just like when Jeremy had broken up with her. She'd willed herself to fall out of love with him. But her love for Jeremy had been too powerful. It had swallowed her up.

Cindy buttoned her coat and opened the bar door. The bell jangled overhead. "Oh, sorry. Hi." Cindy's voice wavered.

Just as Cindy had tried to leave, someone else was entering the bar. Sophie turned to see Cindy's curious, smiling face.

The man on the other side of the door was Derek Brownlee. He held the door open wider for Cindy, who blushed as she thanked him, then turned to make eye contact with Sophie. Sophie could read her mind: The Grinch is here!

Sophie thought she might faint. Derek Brownlee closed the door against the chill and unbuttoned his coat as he strode toward the bar. It seemed as though he was making a conscious effort not to look at Sophie or the sound guys. Mike’s, Beck’s, and Isaac's faces were difficult to read.

"Hi, Alan," Derek said. "Can I get a whiskey on the rocks, please?"

Sophie felt flushed. She could feel her father's eyes on her. She sipped her wine and tried to think of a way to enter Joe and the sound guys' conversation. But they were chatting about a nineties band she didn't know anything about.

And then, Derek hovered over the table like a shadow. The sound guys' conversation with Joe became more forceful. They didn't know what to do.

It wasn't like Derek to want to join in on the fun.

Sophie felt anxious. Her palms were sweating. Finally, she got up the courage to raise her chin, look at Derek, and ask, "Do you want to sit down?"

It was a normal thing to ask. A typical thing you might ask a colleague. And what was Derek if not their colleague?

"Thanks," Derek said. He sat across from her and raised his glass of whiskey. She clinked, and the sound guys and Joe followed suit.

Derek looked out of his element. The sound guys waited for a few seconds, maybe thinking he had something to say to them. But when Derek remained quiet, Isaac launched back into the nineties band topic, and Joe said, "You know, I saw them live in LA in 1997."

The sound guys were impressed.

Sophie forced herself to look across the table at Derek. Did she have anything to say to him? Anything that would save them both from silence as the sound guys and Joe went on and on?

Already, Mike was ordering the sound guys and Joe another round. They were caught up in their night.

Why had Derek come out tonight? Usually, he escaped set and went to his cabin and remained alone till the next day. Usually, he kept to himself.

"Mike said he worked with you earlier this year," Sophie said. Her voice was high-pitched and strange. "A crime drama thing?"

Derek's face relaxed. He looked grateful she'd taken control of the conversation. "That's right. It was just a little indie film thing. We had a tiny budget. But sometimes, I think a tiny budget is more interesting to play around with. You can only do so much, and you make do with what you have."

Sophie smiled. "Maybe it's kind of like cooking, then. You can make incredible meals with only a few cheap ingredients. That's why I never believe people who say they can't afford to cook well."

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