There was no judgment in his question, no eye-rolling dismissal of the pretentious people they'd encountered or criticism of her professional choices. She'd learned to read the subtle nuances in his voice over their short time together, and this was simply genuine curiosity about what motivated herdecisions. The problem was, she didn't have a simple answer to offer him.
She inhaled deeply, releasing the breath slowly as the plane leveled off, and her shoulders finally dropped from their perpetual state of tension. "The easiest answer is that it's still part of my world. That is my working world and the home of some people I care about." The explanation felt insufficient even as she spoke it, but she knew Casper would wait patiently for her to find the words she needed.
"Because Christopher has protected my interests so well and Mack manages my finances so competently, I have enough money that I could retire tomorrow and live comfortably for the rest of my life," she continued after a moment. "But I genuinely love writing. I'm passionate about the creative process of transforming a novel into a screenplay or crafting original screenplays from my own imagination."
She shifted in her seat to face him more directly, animated by the topic that had become her life's passion. "Before anything can happen on television or in movies, someone has to create the foundation that everything else builds on. Before actors and directors and producers and studios can get involved, someone has to take a story and transform it into a screenplay. If I can't get the words and emotions and actions onto paper in a way that captures the essence of the story, there's nothing for any of them to work with."
Casper gave her his complete attention as she spoke, and she studied his face with growing fascination. His lips quirked slightly in what she'd learned was his version of an encouraging smile, and she wondered if he ever laughed with complete abandon. She wanted to see the kind of deep, uninhibited laughter that transformed someone's entire face. The thought of witnessing that side of him sent warmth spreading through her chest.
"So even though you've discovered you can do most of your actual work from the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska, you still need those Hollywood connections to make it relevant," he said, demonstrating that he'd been listening with the same focus he brought to everything else.
"Exactly." She nodded, grateful that he understood without her having to overexplain. "In truth, I could probably handle everything remotely through video calls and email. But maintaining a physical presence there keeps my work current and my relationships strong. Eventually, Christopher, Nathan, Mack, and Bernie will retire, and I'll be handed over to newer, younger representatives. I want to make sure I'm not forgotten in that transition."
"You have a lot of friends in that world."
His statement caught her off guard, and she tilted her head as she considered his observation. She could imagine that Casper was selective about the people he allowed into his inner circle, sparing his friendship for those who had truly earned a place in his carefully guarded life.
"It's easy to mistake people we know and interact with for actual friends," she said thoughtfully. "I have people I'm genuinely friendly with and people I care about and enjoy chatting with a couple of times a year when our paths cross. That describes almost everyone we met on this trip."
She paused, organizing her thoughts about the different levels of connection in her life. "Even within friendly acquaintances, there are distinct categories. Some are purely professional relationships with people I like and respect. Others are people I share history with and enjoy catching up with occasionally. Then there are my friends from university, who I talk to almost every week, and when we don't connect, I actually miss them. They're my closest friends. They’re the people whoknew me when I was a young adult figuring out who I wanted to be outside of my childhood career."
“Carlos.”
“Yes… Carlos, Sophie, and James. We video chat often. They don’t need me for anything other than friendship.”
"What about Doug and Becky? You seemed pretty close with them."
She searched his face carefully, almost certain she detected a subtle shift in his tone, but his expression remained as unreadable as ever. "Our connection is based entirely on shared experiences during our teenage years, and those experiences were always work-related. I think of them the way most people would regard high school friends they occasionally run into. They’re good people, and when we see each other, we remember the past and catch up a little."
Her voice softened with memory. "But when things were getting increasingly tense at home with my parents, Doug and Becky and the other people on set often made my days bearable. They were dealing with similar pressures and understood. For that shared support during a difficult time, I'm grateful to see them occasionally."
"What about Aaliyah?"
She sighed heavily. "I'm deliberately trying to keep things professional with her as much as possible. She's doing excellent work for me, and I like her as a person. But I learned a hard lesson with Gloria about the risks of turning a professional assistant relationship into a closer friendship. I don't want to repeat that mistake."
They fell into comfortable silence for several minutes, the steady hum of the aircraft engines and the vast sky outside the windows creating a peaceful cocoon around them. Finally, Casper asked, "What about Nebraska? Do you have friends there?"
"I'm pretty much a loner in Nebraska," she admitted with a self-deprecating smile. "I'm friendly with the lady at the grocery store and wave to my neighbors when I see them, but I can't honestly say I have real friends there. It's part of the appeal… anonymity and lack of social obligations."
"And your publishing world? Your editor and publisher in New York?"
"They fall into the category of very close professional relationships, much like the ones in LA. Would we be friends if I weren't writing books and we'd just met randomly somewhere? Probably not. We don't have enough in common outside of literature. But they love my stories and help make them significantly better. Their encouragement and expertise are valuable to me both professionally and personally."
"You haven't talked much about your novels."
Her smile widened with enthusiasm as she shifted in her seat to face him more fully. "I absolutely love creating stories, building entire worlds, and filling them with characters who feel real to me. Historical romances appeal to me because the research required to create historically accurate scenes and descriptions is endlessly fascinating. I've actually been approached about adapting one of my series into a screenplay. Someone wants to develop it as a limited series for streaming. That’s what has Nathan so excited.”
"Are all your stories romance?"
Her smile grew even brighter as her gaze moved over his face, cataloging the strong jawline, the intelligent intensity in his dark eyes, the way his muscled arms filled out his casual T-shirt. "What would the world be like without love, Casper? What would humans be like if we didn't have the capacity for deep emotional connection?"
She watched his lips quirk in that subtle almost smile she was learning to treasure, and without thinking, she reached outto place her hand over his, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. He didn't pull away or shift to create distance between them. Instead, he turned his hand palm up beneath hers, allowing their fingers to intertwine naturally.
They remained like that for the rest of the flight… hands linked, shoulders touching, existing in a bubble of quiet intimacy that felt both precious and fragile. She wanted to ask him more about his life, his past, his thoughts about everything they'd experienced together. She didn't mind sharing her own story, but the stoic man beside her, who reached for her hand when she needed comfort and held her close when she felt vulnerable, remained largely a mystery.
As much as she'd begun thinking of him as a permanent fixture in her life rather than someone just passing through, she knew there was still so much she needed to learn about the man who was quietly becoming essential to her happiness and sense of security.
The realization both thrilled and terrified her because she was beginning to suspect that whatever was building between them would change everything, and there would be no going back to the careful, solitary life she'd constructed for herself in Nebraska.
