Page 13 of Cast to be Mine

Victoria snorted. “Nice. Not a word I would use to describe him.”

Once upon a time, Victoria had gone to an awful dinner meeting with Jack Montana, but it had ultimately led to her and my oldest brother, Callum, getting together. So the night hadn’t been a total bust.

“He’s also box office gold, so I’ll deal with it,” I said.

Dad sighed. “You know I want to be supportive, Micah. I do. But you’re working for the competition, so I’m torn.”

We all laughed, but I could see the genuine frustration behind his eyes. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

“None of my kids want to work for me,” he continued, gesturing around the table. “I built this whole empire and you’ve all gone off and done your own things.”

“Dad you raised us to be independent,” Jeremy said.

I took a breath and decided to extend Dad an olive branch. “Tell you what. If Breathless does well, I’ll do my next movie with you.”

Dad’s head snapped up. “You mean that?”

“Yeah, I mean it. One condition though. I still get final cut. But I’ll bring my next project to Blackwell Studios first. If this one succeeds, you’ll know I can deliver a hit. And then we can work together on the next one without everyone doubting me.”

The tension drained from his shoulders. A slow smile spread across his face, like I’d just made him genuinely happy.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he said, pointing his fork at me. “And when Breathless tops the box office, I’m going to remind you of this conversation.”

“When, not if?” I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were skeptical.”

“Oh, I am.” He chuckled. “I think I made five films before I finally got a good one.”

I groaned. “Great.”

Dad raised his wine glass. “To Micah’s first big studio picture. May it be everything you hope for.”

Everyone raised their glasses. This was what I needed, my family behind me, even if the path I was taking wasn’t the one they would have chosen.

“To Breathless,” I said, clinking my glass against Dad’s.

Mom beamed at both of us, clearly pleased that we’d found some middle ground. “Now, can we please eat before everything gets cold?”

The conversation shifted to lighter topics. Everyone checked in with one another. Callum and Cleo’s wedding business was doing amazing. Drew had been working on the family investments, making all of us richer without having to lift a finger. And Hollis was making a killing with his healthy shakes and meatless burgers.

Beau was working as an entertainment attorney now that he had passed the bar exam. And Jeremy was doing some modeling for the New York cousins at Blackwell Couture.

As everyone chatted, I couldn’t stop thinking about the next two weeks. The rehearsals were going to be key to making the shoot go smoothly.

And Grace Stone didn’t know it yet, but her life was about to change completely.

Mine too, hopefully.

5

GRACE

Ipunched in the gate code, still riding the high from Becky’s impromptu celebration. We’d only had one drink. I wasn’t about to show up at my parents’ house drunk. But the adrenaline coursing through my veins was better than any alcohol.

I felt like I’d swallowed twenty Red Bulls.

The massive iron gates swung open, revealing the long driveway lined with perfectly manicured hedges. I’d grown up in this house, but it still took my breath away sometimes. The sprawling Mediterranean-style mansion sat on three acres in the Hollywood Hills, a testament to my father’s success in a ruthless industry.

One of the pitfalls of Hollywood included making people ridiculously rich, putting you up on a massive pedestal before knocking you down and taking it all away. My father was one of the few success stories. He still sat on top.