Page 72 of Never To Be Mine

“Holy shit,” Juno whispered.

I bit back a grin.

Jack strode across the sound stage like he owned it. Micah met him halfway, and they clasped hands like old friends.

“Jack, thanks for doing this,” Micah said.

I walked forward, trying to play it cool even though I was internally freaking out. Not because I hadn’t met all the big names before. I’d grown up around them. But he was here to pitch my shakes. “Thanks for being here.”

Jack shook my hand. “No problem.”

“This is Juno Young,” Micah said, gesturing to where Juno still stood, looking slightly shell-shocked. “She’s Hollis’s business partner.”

Juno stepped forward, and I watched her pull herself together in real time. The shock disappeared, replaced by her professional mask. She extended her hand. “Mr. Montana, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Please, call me Jack.” He shook her hand, flashing that million-dollar smile.

“Great, now we can get started,” Micah announced, clapping his hands together. “Everyone let’s gather around. I want to walk through what we’re doing today.”

The crew assembled in a loose circle around Micah. I moved closer to Juno, standing beside her but not touching. I could feel the energy radiating off her—excitement mixed with something else. Nerves, maybe. Or the same disbelief I was feeling.

“I forget you people are connected,” she murmured.

“You people?” I asked with a small laugh. “And this is all Micah. He’s using this as an opportunity to show people what he can do.”

“How?”

“He’s directing whatever this is,” I said and waved around the space. “It’ll be part of his resume.”

She nodded. “I guess that’s good for us. We’ll be getting his best. Do I want to know what this is costing?”

“I don’t know. I’m starting to worry about that too, though.”

She looked around the massive stage. “This is wild. Where movies are made.”

“Yep.”

“This is probably an average day for you,” she said. “Movie set with an A-list celebrity.”

“Not so much these days, but our parents did take us on sets when we were younger.”

“Definitely more exciting than an office,” she said.

I laughed. “Exciting is one word. Getting to watch grown men throw tantrums is interesting to say the least.”

23

JUNO

Iwatched from the sidelines as Jack Montana settled into the makeup chair. The energy in the room had shifted completely. All very professional, but different than it had been fifteen minutes ago. This was a real production, not some quick social media content.

Hollis excused himself and made his way across the sound stage to where his brother stood reviewing something on a tablet. I couldn’t hear them from this distance, but I could see Hollis gesturing animatedly, clearly asking the same question that was burning in my mind.

How the hell did he get Jack Montana for this?

Micah’s response made Hollis throw his head back and laugh. They talked for another minute, both of them occasionally glancing toward where Jack sat getting his face touched up by a makeup artist who looked focused. Actors didn’t get much more famous Jack Montana and doing his makeup wasn’t just another day at the office.

As good looking as Jack Montana was, Hollis was hotter, which was crazy to realize. The Blackwell DNA should be studied. The gene pool that created those divine creatures could be bottled and sold for millions. Hollis glanced over and caught me staring. That familiar heat spread through my body.