Today's Reading
"She won't do it again," Harper says to Shawna. "I promise."
"I can speak for myself."
"I know. That's the problem."
"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"
"You'd think a girl whose book is being made into a major Hollywood film would be happy."
She's right. Because Harper's the one who always calls me on my shit. And I was happy. I am.
When my film agent, Rich, called a few days after we'd returned from Italy to tell me the When in Rome film was finally happening, I'd been over the moon. After the book was optioned7 ten years ago, it had lingered in development8 for years, and I'd given up hope of it ever seeing the screen.
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7 Hollywood doesn't buy the rights to your book until they're making the project. Instead, they "option" it, paying the writer a fraction of the eventual purchase price to hold on to the possibility of making it.
8 Hollywood speak for "Don't call us, we'll call you."
But all of the publicity surrounding my almost-murder in Italy had revived interest in the project. They already had a script and they wanted to rush it into production.
I'd whooped in delight and spun Harper around the kitchen, and then Emma had called, brimming with excitement. They'd offered her the part of Cecilia Crane! We were going to have so much fun!9
It seemed like a dream, especially when it was confirmed that Connor was going to be played by Fred Winter.
The Fred Winter! One-time Oscar-winner, big-time movie star.
Emma's had a crush on Fred since high school, when he burst onto the scene in a schlocky surf movie that showed off his, well, assets. Ever since she disclosed that in an interview at the beginning of her career, people have been fan-casting them in movies.
And then there was the location. I'd been worried we were going back to Italy, which seemed like a bad idea with one of the people who tried to kill me still on the loose. But they'd decided to film in California. I could visit the set as often as I wanted, and Instagram about it to Harper's content.
It all seemed too good to be true.10
"I'll keep quiet," I say to Harper, and I feel bad for embarrassing her. This was supposed to be an amusing day for us, being extras in one of the last scenes, which calls for Emma and me to share a moment of eye contact, like she is looking at her future self—and, of course, she is!11 "I didn't mean to ruin the day."
"One minute to slate!"
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9 For the record, Emma speaks in exclamation marks, not me.
10 Which, of course, it was! Okay, yes, I do use exclamation marks sometimes. Sparingly.
11 Did you notice how my best friend who's my 'exact' same age is playing me 'ten years' younger?
"It's fine," Harper says. "They always do several takes. Simone will get over it."
"Right," I say, but somehow I doubt it.12
I try to make eye contact with Simone to calm the waters, but she's deep in her clipboard. Plus, trying to speak to her would involve everyone hearing what I had to say, which I'm sure neither of us would appreciate.
She's probably heard this entire conversation, anyway. Of course she has. I never turned my mic off. Amateur mistake.
Oh, well. Maybe I'll find time to talk to her at the wrap party. Though, I don't know what the wrap party's going to change. But I can always hope for the best.
Hope for the best and expect the worst, my mother used to say. And then she got hit by a drunk driver and died way too young, so I guess she knew what she was talking about.
Sorry about that. That got dark for a minute.
We are at the beginning of a murder mystery, though. You should know it's going to get dark.
"Places!"
I snap away from my memories and glance over at Emma's table. A makeup artist is touching her up while the continuity girl refills her glass to the level it was at the beginning of the scene.
Emma seems so serene and calm, and then Fred13 reaches across the table and touches her hand briefly. An intimate gesture that makes her beam.
They began dating right after they met in pre-production. They kept their relationship under wraps for the first month, but then it burst out of them after they filmed a particularly dramatic scene, and the cat, as they say, was out of the bag.14
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12 News flash: Simone does not get over it.
13 Imagine Captain America with a smirk. Dark blond hair, steely blue eyes, a strong jaw, and a hint of something underneath.
14 This is an unfortunate expression to use for reasons that will become clear later.
And I'm happy for her. I am. I mean—Fred Winter!
Everyone says they're perfect for each other, and I think so, too. I've even been taking credit for their match because, hello, if I never wrote the book, they never would've met.
So that's all of us.
Am I forgetting anything? Oh! Emma's note.
I slip it out from under the place setting and unfold it in my lap.
"Quiet on set!"
I glance down at the note. Instead of Emma's handwriting, it's written in letters cut out of some publication like a newspaper or a book.
SomEonE Is GoiNg To Die At The WedDinG.
Ah, hell.
"And...action!"
This excerpt ends on page 16 of the hardcover edition.
Monday we begin the book A Shipwreck in Fiji by Nilima Rao.
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