Thinking about it was confusing, so she decided not to think about it. She tried a Tater Tot—yes, she had opted for the broiled fish but had selected Tater Tots for her side dish. Contradiction was the spice of life. No, actually, the truffle aioli served with the Tots was the spice of life.
“You think Allie would be OK with next summer for filming?” Blair asked, taking care that her tone was Certified Nonflirty.
“I’m sure she’d be OK with anything. They don’t use the place that much, and she told me she would put whatever you’re paying her in her daughter’s college fund. But honestly, I think she’d do it for free. She’s a huge fan. I had no idea.”
“A lot of women of a certain age foundHidden Gemsinspiring.”
“Were you offended that she was trying to give you so much credit for it?”
“Not at all. That happens a lot. In the old days, it used to rankle, because I truly felt the credit for a movie should go to the writer, the director, and the producers, in that order. It’s not that I thought or think that acting is unimportant. I was a good actor. But I wasn’t a great one, you know?”
“You keep saying that, but is that true?”
“I’m not saying I wasn’t good. But I was never going to win an Oscar, at least with the kinds of roles I was getting. But probably not regardless. So being awarded ‘credit’ for a movie just kind of made me feel like I wasn’t… doing enough, you know? It’s actually what inspired me to start the production company, and the book club.”
“You were a storyteller miscast as an actor.”
“Maybe.”
She didn’t want him to start in on her about theGreen Lightscript, so she changed the subject. “You and Allie seem tight. You never dated?”
“No,no.”
He sounded a little horrified. “Not even any teenage crushes?”
“No. Our dads were close, and they were both single parents. Well, Allie’s dad was a single parent. My dad was a summer parent. They spent a lot of time together, and we were always tagging along. And we were both bookish only children, so we did our thing while they did theirs. Allie was almost a sister. A summer sister.”
“You have a summer sister and you never told me?” She was kidding, but it had been a little disconcerting to meet someone who had such a history with Jack.
“Do you have siblings?”
“Don’t you think you’d know if I had a sibling?”
“Would I?”
“Well, you know about my kids and my ex-husband. You know about my parents.”
“That’s true.”
“Probably part of the reason my parents were—are—so intense was that I was the sole focus of their attention.”
“Alliewaslike a sister,” Jack said. “I’ve done an abysmal job staying in touch, and I’m ashamed of myself for it.”
Wow. “Well, it’s never too late to start again.”
“True. Plus, being the person who introduced her to Blair Kellermoon will probably go a long way in terms of amends.”
“Ha ha.”
“Anyway, let’s stay a few days.”
“You don’t need to work?”
He snorted in a way that struck her as slightly self-deprecating.
“What?”
“I sound like a fucking broken record, but I should be working on a proposal for my next book, and guess what? I have nothing.”
