Page 106 of Shattered By the Currents

“Now isnotthe time,” Ryan pushed, looking a step away from running onto the stage and physically grabbing the guy.

Ferris cleared his throat. “Ryan, you and I will discuss this later.”

“Do they need extras?” Anika Sharapova called out from the front row.

“Oh, I could be an extra,” Maureen added.

“Wait until they try my pancakes,” Basil said, clearly thrilled.

As locals buzzed with excitement, Raven’s gaze went back to Ryan. He was so visibly angry, he looked like he was carved from stone. Either that or he was going to combust.

Finally, Ferris called an end to the meeting. As Connor led her out, she noticed Ryan storm across the room toward the mayor.

She waited until they were in the car to ask what was probably on everyone’s minds. “Why was Ryan so angry?”

“He’ll probably tell Ferris it’s because the movie will create an influx of tourist foot traffic in town, which will increase our team’s workload.”

“But?” Because there was a but.

“But, my guess is, he might be wondering who’s been cast.”

“Why would he care about that?”

“Have you heard of Emily Prior?”

Raven laughed. “Everyone’s heard of Emily Prior. She’s one of the biggest stars in America.”

“Five years ago, just before her career took off, she and Ryan dated.”

Raven’s jaw dropped. It dropped so far and for so long, she struggled to pull it back up. “No.”

“Yes. But it was a hard breakup. It probably won’t be her, but she’s in a lot of thrillers, so until he knows for sure, he’s probably going to be on edge.”

“Wow. Emily Prior. This probably makes me selfish, but I would love it to be her so I can meet her.”

“She’s nice.”

Her head swung back to Connor so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. “You’ve met her?”

“Only once.”

“Only once? I would die to meet her ‘only once.’ Why have you never told me?”

“Because it wasn’t important.” He pulled into the driveway. “Come on.”

“No, I want to keep talking about your brush with fame.”

He waved a hand like she was making a big deal about nothing. This was not nothing. This was huge.

Outside, he slipped an arm around her waist. “She wasn’t famous then.”

“You still met her.”

They stepped inside.

“Was she as pretty in person as she is on the screen?”

He closed the door. “She wasn’t as pretty as you.”