Page 54 of The Reunion

“I’ve gotten really into dough,” he says, like it’s a secret he’s admitting to. In a way, it is: I imagine the list of people who get to see inside these high walls is very short. Me, and—I assume—Gemma, before.

“It’s relaxing,” he goes on, “and the possibilities are endless. There are so many different kinds of dough, and to do it well requires this weird and precise mix of science and intuition. Don’t even get me started on sourdough.”

I laugh. “This is really amazing, Ransom. I mean it.”

“Only downside to learning how to bake is that the craft services croissants now feel barely edible in comparison.”

“They’re not the best,” I agree, an understatement. They’re actually kind of the worst.

A fly buzzes near the rim of his wineglass; he swats it away.

“So it was tense on set today?” he asks.

“Let’s just say I’m very much looking forward to doing scenes with you and Ford over the next few days. The whole Sasha-Kate and Millie dynamic is exhausting.”

“Yeah?” He’s thoughtful for a moment. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Why is it never enough for Sasha-Kate to just, like, appreciate the love she gets from her fans? And why can’t she just be happy for people when they do well? It’s like she needs to be loved themost, and make everyone else as unhappy as she is.”

Ransom’s heard me vent about Sasha-Kate more times than I can count. More times than either of us probably even remembers.

“How has she been around you?” he asks.

I shrug, my mouth full of pizza. “The usual,” I say a moment later. “A little better than usual, actually—she’s used to competing with me for the spotlight, but Millie becoming a massive star overnight wasn’t really on anyone’s radar, so I think she’s preoccupied with that right now.”

It’s like I’m watching a brand-new feud sprout up right before my eyes—I can tell our original distaste for each other still has roots, too, though, like a weed looking to take over everything good.

Ransom sips his wine, studies me. “How was Millie in the scene today?”

“Better than before,” I say, but then I remember everything Attica brought up at dinner yesterday and make a face. “My publicist heard a rumor that they’re thinking about making Sasha-Kate and Millie more prominent in the reboot.”

Which would make me less.

“I… hmmm,” he says, several questions crossing his face. “I’m struggling to find a nice way to say, ‘They want to give Milliemorescreen time? Really?’?”

I laugh. “My thoughts exactly. She did pretty well today, though, actually.”

“You think you’ll still sign on if they go in that direction?”

I wrinkle my nose, not sure how to tell him I’m on the fence about signing on at all, especially since that decision will affect him, too—what would happen to his character if mine wasn’t in the show?

“I have a lot of potential projects in the works,” I say carefully. “Another film with Vienna Lawson, maybe also an adaptation of one of the books I read recently.”

He has a thoughtful look on his face, one I can’t quite read. “Would those shoot here in LA?”

“The Vienna project is set in a remote cabin in the woods, and she said last night she wants to shoot on location, so I already know I’d be traveling for that one. And the Emily Quinn novel is set in Antarctica—so—yeah. Even if a lot is shot on green screen, I imagine we’ll need to do some stuff in the actual ice and snow.”

“How would those fit withGirl? It seems like they’ll green-light us any day now.”

I know he’s right. My social media following has been growing by the hour, and word around set is that our old episodes are shattering records left and right among Fanline’s streaming catalog.

“I’m honestly not sure,” I admit. “Mars assures me it’ll all work out, if I say yes.” I sip my wine, glance at the glittering blue water of his pool. “I haven’t really told anyone this, but I’m having mixed feelings about returning to the show… like… at all.”

“Oh, wow, Livvie, that’s huge.” He goes quiet for a moment, the look on his face unreadable.

I take another sip of wine, give him some space.

“The reboot wouldn’t be the same without you,” he finally says.

---