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And Lily held firm to that. She logged in once a day to that e-mail account, just as she always had. Day One found her in need of detox. She didn’t give in to her urges, but she was jonesing for a hit. Instead, she channeled that frustration. Her other in-boxes had never been so organized. Day Four was a small breakthrough. She had logged in, responded to her messages and hadn’t even glanced at the one she swore was taunting her. By Day Ten, she’d broken free of her addiction. In fact, she didn’t check that account at all, thanks to an earlier and busier than usual day at work and dinner plans with Colette and Maggie.

Day Eleven started out much the same as any other. Lily sipped a cup of coffee and absentmindedly munched on a piece of toast as she hurried to log in before leaving for work. And there it was.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Your review of my review

Lily,

Don’t worry. You didn’t disappoint me at all. In fact, I think that’s the most stroking my ego has had in quite some time. (This time, you can’t see my smirk as I type this. But it’s there. Trust me.)

In this business, it’s hard to believe what people say about you. Who knows if they’re saying nice things because they really think that, or because they want something from you? But, for some reason, I do believe you.

Sorry it took me so long to respond. The international press tour has kept me pretty busy. How have you been?

DB

Lily blushed. Her coffee was cold, and her toast sat long-forgotten on a plate beside her keyboard. She glanced up at her clock and decided that being fifteen minutes late to work was worth it.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Your review of my review

Daniel,

So glad to hear you’re not disappointed. But I promise you, I wasn’t stroking anything. If I were, you’d know it. (Go ahead. Smirk. I am.) Honesty in my writing is something I take very seriously. I wouldn’t have said any of that if it weren’t how I felt. And it makes me happy that you believe me. Thank you.

I’m sure the tour has been hectic. And I’m also sure you handled it brilliantly. I’m doing well, thanks for asking. You?

Speaking of honesty, I have one more question. How do I know this is actually you?

Lily

This time, Daniel’s response came much faster. Three days passed before she heard back from him.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Your review of my review

Lily,

You don’t. But you strike me as the kind of girl who would be willing to take a leap of faith. And by the way, you’re welcome. Your honesty is refreshing.

I’m good, but I’ll be better once this is over. It will be nice to have some time off before starting the next project. And I’m hoping you’ll stay in touch.

DB

Before going to bed that night, Lily wrote him back.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: RE: Your review of my review

Daniel,

A leap of faith, I can handle. It’s the too-good-to-be-true thing that I’m not sure about.

I was hoping the same thing. You (obviously) know where to find me.

Lily

Until this point, Lily hadn’t said a word about Daniel’s e-mail to anyone. It was her secret, and she wanted to keep it to herself.

But after her last question to Daniel, and his response to it, Lily needed another opinion—or rather, two. She was curious about how her best friends would react to the situation and decided to plan a ladies’ night. She’d make homemade pomodoro sauce with angel hair pasta, served with a couple of bottles of her favorite red wine. Lily rented a couple of movies, knowing that they would probably choose reality television over them anyway. Besides, she was pretty sure they’d both be overshadowed by deep discussion and speculation. After all, she needed the girl talk.

The girls arrived at Lily’s apartment at seven o’clock. Dinner was almost ready, so Colette poured them each a glass of wine while Maggie tossed garlic bread into a basket and took it to the table. They caught up over the meal, taking turns filling each other in on what was going on in their increasingly busy lives.

During dessert consisting of sweet cream ice cream and fresh strawberries, Lily cleared her throat. “So. You know I love cooking for you. But the real reason I asked you two over is because I wanted to tell you something.”

Maggie and Colette mirrored each other’s quizzical expressions as their spoons clanked into their almost empty glass bowls.

“Lil, what’s wrong?” Maggie’s expression filled with concern.

“Oh! Sorry! It’s nothing like that. Nothing’s wrong. I just . . . don’t know where to begin. And I’m afraid you’re going to think I’ve lost my mind.”

Her friends laughed, knowing that they’d never think that. Lily’s instincts were usually right on target.

“Just tell us!” Colette exclaimed.

“Actually, it would be better if I showed you.” Lily grabbed her laptop and brought it over to the table, motioning for them to come closer so they could see.

She logged into her e-mail and clicked on the last message she’d received from Daniel. She scrolled to the bottom of the message history and then got up from her chair. Maggie sat down in Lily’s place as she and Colette read through the e-mail.

“Well . . .” Lily said, biting her thumb nail nervously.

Colette and Maggie glanced at each other before erupting into squeals.

Maggie turned in her chair and grinned up at Lily. “That is . . .
amazing
! Daniel freakin’ Brighton is e-mailing you! How incredible is that?”

Colette laughed. “You must have made quite an impression on him at the junket.”

“Yeah, what exactly
were
you doing in that fancy hotel room, Lil?” Maggie asked with a wink.

Lily grinned and rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Seriously, though, we talked for a few minutes. And then there are these e-mails. I’m having trouble wrapping my head around this—it’s all pretty . . . unbelievable.”

Maggie snorted. “Yeah—unbelievably awesome!”

A small smile began to form on Lily’s lips. “So you do think it’s him?”

Both girls nodded their agreement.

“Why would anyone try to fool you?” Colette asked.

Maggie agreed. “I mean, that would be an awful lot of trouble to go to. And what would they gain from it?”

Lily sighed. “I know, it’s just . . . you know me. I had a hard enough time believing he wanted to talk to me in Los Angeles. And now he wants to what . . . be friends? E-mail pen pals? Something else?”

The thought boggled Lily’s mind. Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than get to know Daniel Brighton. But in her head, it was kind of like the rich, hunky football player expressing interest in the mousy, nerdy girl with thick glasses and a ponytail—which pretty much summed up Lily’s oh-so-fashionable high school days. And, truth be told, she’d always assumed he was taken. Whether or not he was with You Know Who, there was no shortage of women ready and willing to fill that spot.

The girls grabbed their wine and settled in the living room.

“Do you think he’s . . . interested in me?”

Colette made herself comfortable on the sofa. “Lil, just relax and go with it. If he is, then he’s given you an opening, so you’d better take it. If not? Well . . . hell. You’ve got a funny story to tell. Either way, you win. So just enjoy this!”

Maggie nodded and propped her feet onto Lily’s ottoman. “She’s right. You know I think he’s with . . . her. But he obviously wants to get to know you. And we expect a full report on anything and everything that happens.” Then she hurled a pillow straight at Lily’s head. “I’m so jealous I can hardly stand it!”

Lily laughed. This was why she loved her friends so much. They gave her much-needed perspective—and weren’t afraid to call her out when she was being ridiculous.

After a refill of their wine glasses, the three women settled in for more gossip and forewent the movies in favor of reality television. They discussed their work and mutual friends before moving on to gossiping about boys—Colette and Lily’s lack thereof and Maggie’s current crush—while a
Project Runway
marathon aired in the background. It was the girl time they’d needed.

Lily cleaned up and then gave her e-mail a quick check before going to bed.
It won’t hurt to see where this goes
, she thought as she settled under her duvet. Besides, she hadn’t had a pen pal since sixth grade.

Chapter Eight

Nate Brennan oozed seriousness. Even in Los Angeles, he consistently dressed in power suits, starched white button-downs, and vivid ties that belonged on the gray streets of New York City. His verdant, green eyes popped behind the stylish, simple black rectangles of his Prada frames, and his dark blond hair was kept in a neat, short cut. His iPhone seemed to be an extension of his hand, and he rarely let go of it.

He’d received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, specializing in marketing. It was there that he became fast friends with Daniel Brighton’s older brother, Anthony, who specialized in finance. Daniel’s acting career was just taking off when they graduated. At the time, he needed some help with the press but not a full-time publicist so Anthony suggested Nate help on a
pro bono
basis. As Daniel’s fame grew, so did Nate’s position—eventually into a full-time job. After relocating to the West Coast, his work for Daniel became noted, and he even took on a couple of additional clients.

Nate knew his clients craved a touch of reality. Acting allowed them to live a charmed life. Daniel in particular could afford to treat his family and close friends well, and he did. But he also refused to get caught up in the stereotypical Hollywood life, clubbing every night or going on revolving dates with starlets and celebutantes. He had no desire to play that game and made sure Nate knew it.

For tonight, though, Nate had convinced Daniel to play along. There was a new club opening in West Hollywood, and many of the industry’s most important people would be in attendance. He knew Daniel needed to be there to see and be seen.

Nate tried to make small talk as the car he’d hired made its way to the club. But Daniel paid more attention to his phone than his publicist.

“Everything okay?”

Daniel’s eyes remained on the small device. “Yeah. Just checking my e-mail.”

Nate rolled his eyes at Daniel’s distracted tone. “You know, you’ve been doing that more and more lately.” He quirked an eyebrow when Daniel glanced up at him. “Girl troubles?”

Now it was Daniel’s turn to roll his eyes. “Nope. No troubles at all. Just e-mailing a new friend.”

“Oh. Well, this new friend must have a lot to say.”

Daniel grinned. “Sometimes. And other times I get to complain about the not-so-fun stuff you make me do.”

Nate chuckled as the car slowed down. “Looks like we’re here, so let’s go get this not-so-fun night over with.”

Daniel took in a deep breath before opening the door to blinding camera flashes.

During the next few weeks, Nate and Daniel attended several meetings with studio executives about the
Borderlines
franchise. They were pleased with the performance of the first movie and decided to give the green light to the next two. The executives put Nate in charge of distributing that information.

Nate was more than surprised when Daniel called him with his own idea of how to release the announcement.

“Let me get this straight,” Nate said. “You want to give some
second-rate
website an exclusive about this rather important announcement?”

“Um . . . yeah,” Daniel said with a laugh.

“Why?”

“Look—that new friend I mentioned to you? Her name is Lily Richards, and she writes for that
up-and-coming
website.”

“Why have you been e-mailing her?” Nate pressed.

“I met her at the
Borderlines
press junket. She was there for FilmInsanity.com. We talked for a little bit, and I e-mailed her when her review came out to say that I appreciated what she said. We kept talking from there, and I have to tell you, it’s kind of refreshing to talk with someone who understands this industry but isn’t in it.”

Nate’s eyebrows furrowed. “Okay . . . but what makes you think you can trust her?”

“Check out the site for yourself. I’ve been e-mailing her for months, and not once has she posted anything I’ve said to her in confidence.”

Nate sighed. “I see your point, but is there anything else I need to know about her? Any reason she might become an issue?”

“I don’t think so. Like I said, I trust her.”

“Fine. But I want her e-mail address.”

“No problem. I’ll e-mail her about this and copy you on it. But right now, I gotta go. Talk to you later, man.”