“Just a sec.” A few more clicks on his keypad, and then he gave her the URL.
The Via Belle Literary Foundation had a website, but it contained neither a physical address nor phone number. Only a contact form to fill out and send. Which meant, if Finn Sterling oversaw Olivia’s literary estate like he did her property, she’d somehow have to persuade him that she was the right person to adapt a book.
But why would he want to contract with her after he’d accused herof trespassing? She’d have to help him see the possibilities of what might happen to Via Belle’s collection of books if one was turned into a movie.
Her phone chimed, alerting her to a missed call.
“I got your script,” Sissie said in her voicemail. “And Kelsey was right. You know how to write decent dialogue. Better, in fact, than that whole mess we sorted through at Evan’s house. Put some skin on that idea of yours and let’s talk Tuesday.”
Harper paced across the patio floor, the phone in her hand.Decentwas a high compliment coming from Sissie. She’d wear it like a badge.
She waited for the panic, the fear of overpromising something she couldn’t deliver, but all she wanted now was to work out an idea that Sissie would love. Tomorrow was Friday. If she was going to adapt a book, she needed to get permission from Via’s foundation right away so she could spend the weekend writing.
Somehow she’d have to convince Finn that a movie option was good for both of them. She’d have a great script idea, and if Sissie directed it, the foundation would have a flood of book sales. Olivia’s books would be displayed beside The Book Barn counter instead of gathering dust in the attic, finding their way into a whole new generation of readers searching for stories with heart and soul.
Surely the foundation would want that.
Harper filled out their online form, and as she waited that evening for a reply, she picked up her newly acquired copy ofSilver Summer. Boss Man sat on the edge of her bed, watching as she read.
The story was utterly fascinating. A Cinderella plotline with a sweet twist and love-conquers-all end. Harper could springboard from the original concept, leaving all the nostalgia intact while updating the dialogue. If Sissie was intrigued enough to option it, Harper would write an unforgettable story with a romantic ending that would win over anyone who ridiculed love.
And the marketing potential. Honey for a bear. The media wouldn’tbe able to resist the unsolved mystery of its original author. The studio would garner articles and interviews galore about the novelist who’d long ago disappeared.
Even after the story ended, Via’s characters continued chattering in her head.
All she and Finn had to do was partner together to create a new story.
19:Olivia
OCTOBER 1941
The doorbell startled Olivia from her sleep. Pushing herself up from her desk, the typewriter carriage knocked against her arm. Sometime during the night, she’d stopped mid-sentence, her body spent.
Without Hattie’s endless pots of tea, the late nights were much shorter than they used to be. And her office—her entire house, actually—was a disaster.
Warm light pooled over her desk from the morning sun. Or was it afternoon?
The desk clock read nine-nineteen.
Was Simon supposed to visit today? Depending on his class schedule, he drove over about once a month now, patiently awaiting her reply to his proposal, but he wasn’t due back until Thursday. If she had the energy to get herself properly dressed, he was going to escort her to the first showing ofSilver Summerin Lancaster.
Several times since she’d returned from California—eight months now—Simon had shown up at the house to surprise her, reminding her that he still wanted them to marry. Then he would chide her for not getting enough rest.
His interruptions irritated her when she was trying to write, but she always calmed her temper before speaking. She couldn’t tell him that she wasn’t in her right mind. While Hattie had passed in February, a dull fog continued to plague her, clouding even the ache in her chest. Unlike the years after Graham’s death, a story flowed in her aunt’s absence, but her once orderly routine had completely unraveled.
Hattie had acted as Olivia’s personal clock, keeping up with the rhythms of life. A basic schedule that most people took for granted: breakfast and lunch, bedtime and wake, Sunday services and Wednesday nights. Now everything blotted together in the ink spilling over Olivia’s life, impossible to tell black from white. Everything in her mind, in her life, was mixed up.
When she left for Los Angeles in January, things had been hard between her and Hattie. More than anything, she regretted the anger between them. The harsh words and frustration over Simon. Everything had happened so quickly with Olivia swept up in the idea of marrying a charming, eloquent gentleman who pursued her like one of her imaginary heroes. She should’ve slowed down. Given Hattie more time to adjust. Even if she disagreed with her aunt’s assessment, Olivia should have listened.
She never told Hattie about Simon’s proposal. She’d merely kissed her cheek, said she loved her, and boarded a transcontinental flight to spend six weeks in California.
The sun had boosted her spirits, and while she missed Haven House and her quiet lake, part of her wanted to invite Simon out west for a few weeks so they could enjoy the ocean together.
When Jillian called her with the horrific news that Hattie had died in her sleep, her world shattered. There she was in Hollywood, so wrappedup in a world of make-believe that she hadn’t even known her aunt was ill. Old age, Dr. Blackwell said, but sixty-seven hadn’t seemed old.
The studio purchased a ticket for her immediate return, and Simon had grieved with her. He didn’t press her again for an answer to his question—not until the summer—but even though the autumn months were upon them, she still wasn’t ready to marry.
The doorbell chimed again, and she reached for her robe. As she descended to her bedroom, her feet felt like bricks—heavy to lift but necessary to keep her grounded. She plodded past the photograph of her and Graham on their wedding day. Past the Bible verse embroidered by Hattie:Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.
