Page 68 of Every Star that Shines

Delanie drew a steadying breath, her stomach curling in annoyance. “My grandmother, actually.”

“Sorry about that. I bet she was a fine woman if she was related to you.” He propped his elbows on the table with his hands folded and studied her as if she were the most interesting woman in the world.

“She was. She’s the reason I became an actress.”

“Is that so?” He arched a brow. “A fine woman indeed.” He paused. “I heard you’ve been talking to Tessa Montague. That’s quite a connection to have.”

“How did you hear that?” Delanie and Tessa hadn’t even managed to make their schedules mesh to have a meeting yet. She couldn’t imagine who would have told Josh that they’d been in contact.

Josh shrugged. “Word gets around. Does she want you for a movie or something?”

“I don’t know yet.”

He grinned. “Well, good luck. And I would love to meet her, if you think to mention me.”

Delanie curled her hands into fists under the table, but kept her tone sweet. “So, Josh, what did you want to talk about?”

“Getting right to the point, I see.” He glanced down, and Delanie was gratified to see she had thrown him a little off-balance. Good. It was time he was the one on unsure footing between them.

He placed his hands on the table. “Well, no sense beating around the bush. Delanie, I’m going to level with you. I missed you. I haven’t been myself since you’ve been gone. I was hoping we could pick up where we left off, before things went . . . sideways.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I wasn’t the one who broke things off.”

“Actually, you were.”

She frowned, remembering. “You’re right. I was. But only after you fired me.”

“Delanie, I told you. That wasn’t my decision. I’m sure you can see why Crystal was concerned about bad publicity tanking the show.”

“I thought there was no such thing as bad publicity.”

“Sometimes there is. People a lot bigger in this industry than you have been fired for a lot less in recent years.”

“I’m aware.” She folded her hands together under the table, restraining the urge to bite her thumbnail. No way was she going to let Josh see how nervous she was. If she didn’t set the record straight right now, she would regret it for the rest of her career—and possibly her life. “But the thing is, I didn’t actually do anything wrong, and no one at the studio had my back—not even you, and you were my boyfriend.”

Josh gaped. “How can you say that? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be back on the show.”

“Convenient that that only happened after Kaitlyn Williams proved her lack of ability to act.”

Though she’d heard a rumour that Kaitlyn had chosen to leave, even though she would have been in breach of contract. Delanie didn’t know if it was true, but if it was, maybe the woman had more self-respect than she’d thought.

He narrowed his eyes and sat back. “I can see you’re determined to paint me as the villain.”

She fidgeted with her roll of cutlery. She had to tread carefully. This man was still her boss, and they would have to work together for a long time. “No, Josh, not a villain. People aren’t so cut and dried as that in real life. I’m sorry for lashing out at you. It was out of line. I’ve had a very trying week, and I’m tired.”

He nodded knowingly and placed his hand over hers. “It’s alright,” he said, his tone magnanimous. “Everyone makes mistakes. Fortunately, I’m big enough to overlook this one too.”

She stiffened, staring at him. Then she tugged her hand from his and placed it in her lap again. This time, her hands were wringing with restrained anger, not anxiety. “Thank you,” she got out.

“That’s just the kind of guy I am. That’s why we work.” He gave her that ultra-charming grin again, and she choked on the words crowding the back of her throat.

Fortunately, they were interrupted by the arrival of their food. Delanie took a swig of water, wetting her dry mouth and trying desperately to gather her thoughts. Maybe Marie was right . . . again. Rejoining the show might have been a bad idea.

Lord, please give me the words.

She must be desperate. She was actually praying. Her mother would be thrilled if she knew.

Josh set to work on his prime rib with gusto, then looked up and noticed Delanie still staring at her plate of red snapper, her roll of cutlery gripped in her fist.

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