When Raleigh woke up the next morning it was after ten and Dan had been at work for just over two hours already. Rolling over, Raleigh looked out the window, a smile planted firmly on her face. She'd had an amazing night, a delicious three-course dinner - that she was sure Dan had paid way too much for - dancing, spectacular music, and amazing people. It had all been so elegant and it was just a great time. Even with the life she now lead, she still was so used to shopping at the local grocery store, eating at her parents' cafe, dancing at a small club downtown. At heart she was a small town girl with a simple life, so it surprised her that, with how awkward last night could have been, she'd actually had fun. And even if she'd had a horrible time, afterwards would have most definitely made up for it.

Rolling out of bed, Raleigh went into the bathroom to do her morning rituals then ventured out into the bedroom to pick up their strewn about clothes and shoes. She would have to make a trip to the dry cleaners later for her dress. Draping the wrinkled mess over a chair, Raleigh took the rest of the dirty clothes downstairs to the laundry room and put them in the wash. Once that task was done, she stood there, not knowing what to do. She cleaned nearly the entire downstairs yesterday so she supposed she could do the upstairs today, but she didn't feel like it. She wasn't in the mood to stay cooped up in the house all day.

Maybe she'd go to the beach.

Deciding that's what she'd do with the day, Raleigh reached for the phone hanging from the wall and dialed Autumn's number. She knew Autumn had taken off and Matthew would be at school until three.

"Hello, my life sucks." Autumn answered almost immediately.

"Your life does not suck. And even if it does, all the more reason to go to the beach with me!"

"That sounds like a fabulous idea. I need to get out of the house." Raleigh could hear the sadness in her friend's voice and she wondered what was wrong. They'd have a few hours to talk about it.

"Great! I'll be there in like a half hour!" Raleigh hung up with her friend and ran upstairs to throw on her bikini and a pair of shorts and a tank-top over it, threw some suntan lotion, her brush, and a towel into a beach bag then ran back downstairs. Once donning her flipflops and sunglasses, she grabbed her wallet and keys and headed out of the house, locking the door behind her. She was so excited to spend a day with a friend; she hadn’t realized how boring her life had become.

"So what happened today to make you hate your life?" Raleigh asked Autumn as they lied side-by-side on the beach. She heard Autumn sigh before looking at her.

"For some stupid reason it hit me this morning that my father is dying and I got all upset. I mean, there is no rational reason for me to get all teary-eyed when I think about him not being around ever again. He was never around anyway. And when he was around he either ignored me or stopped ignoring me long enough to make me feel like shit. Like my mother didn't do enough of that."

"Autumn, you care because they're your parents. They can treat you like shit and a part of you will still always love them anyway."

"What kind of logic is that? I mean seriously, who came up with it? They're my blood so I have to love them? Fuck that. I mean, sure, I had a kid out of wedlock, I drink, I've done drugs, I like sex. But I also made something out of my life and I take care of my son. I'm not a deadbeat living off wellfare refusing to get a job. I'm not a bad person and they treat me like I'm the fucking plague or something."

"I know. It’s not fair. It sucks but we can't do anything to change it."

"Maybe if I were more like them they'd like me better."

"I like you just the way you are. Remember, you would have nobody, just like them, if you were as cold as they are. They are the ones missing out on how amazing their daughter and grandson are." Turning her head to the side, Autumn squeezed Raleigh's hand and gave her a smile. She was lucky to have such a great friend like her.

They stayed at the beach, sunbathing and occasionally taking a quick dip in the frigid water of the ocean until quarter-to-three. The packed up their belongings, got into the car and headed to pick up Matthew.

Raleigh noticed Autumn was still really quiet so she asked if she was feeling any better about her parental situation.

“Yeah. I mean, I accepted a long time ago that they never loved me and I shouldn’t expect anything from them, but a part of you still craves a simple “I love you” from at least one of them, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s sad to say, but accepting them for who they are, though it might be really hard, is the best thing. You’ll stop expecting even though you don’t mean to.”

“Thanks, Ray. I’m really glad you turned out to be my roommate at school. Even though you slept with the teacher and got him fired and almost died and went back home after only one semester.” Raleigh laughed along with Autumn, agreeing with her, even though it made unpleasant thoughts rush to the foremost part of her mind. Pushing the past back into its tiny closet in the back of her mind, Raleigh changed the subject.

“What do you have planned for dinner? We should have a barbecue. I’ve been craving some good barbecue chicken.”

“That sounds wonderful. Do you think Dan will mind?”

“Of course not, he loves having you two over.”

Pulling up to the elementary school, Raleigh put the car into park and turned off the ignition. Getting out with Autumn, they walked to the end of the sidewalk that led to the school's entrance and waited for the school to be let out.

"He's going to be so excited we're going over for dinner. He's been talking about nothing but going over to Uncle Dan's house. I'm pretty sure he's his hero."

"We love having you guys over, you know that. You don't have to wait for an invitation."

"I know, but I never know if you guys have plans."

"Autumn, we never have plans." Raleigh let out a laugh just as the school's bell rang and all the kids began walking out, running to their parents. Raleigh noticed Matthew walk out and look around, trying to find one of his parents. As soon as he found his mommy his entire face lit up and he ran full force at her. Raleigh couldn't help but to smile. She'd never seen a kid who loved their mother more than he did.

"Wow, I missed you too." Autumn laughed, hugging her son tightly. "How was school?"

"Good."

"Good. Look who's here." Matthew let go of his mother and turned, smiling when he saw Raleigh standing there. He immediately jumped into her arms, giving her a big sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Auntie Ray! What are you doing here?"

"I've been with your mama so I drove her here to pick you up. And guess what?"

"What?"

"You're eating over my house tonight."

"Yes! I drew a picture for Uncle Dan in class today. I think he'll love it!"

"I'm sure he will." Raleigh laughed as she watched the overly excited child bounce up and down and jump into the car, waiting for his mother to buckle him in, chattering their ears off all the while with tales of what he did in class. Not once did she have to pretend to be interested in what he was saying, she loved hearing him talk.

Upon their return to the house, Raleigh noticed a package on the front porch. Scooping it up, she unlocked the door and laughed as Matt pushed passed them and ran into the house, heading straight for the room they reserved for the days they watched him. It was full of toys just for him to do with whatever he pleased.

"What's that?" Autumn asked, motioning towards the package Raleigh held as she set down her beach bag.

"I don't know, it’s not marked. Do you think its anthrax?" Raleigh smiled as she tore into the side of the large envelope.

"If it is I'm sending it to my mother. Do you want a drink?"

"Sure." Pulling out what was inside, Raleigh became confused when she realized it was a script entitled "Never My Forever." Turning to the first page, her confused expression turned to one of anger when she saw the note scribbled there. Closing the script, she slammed it onto the table beside her and stormed into the kitchen where Autumn had disappeared.

"So? What was it?" Autumn asked as she handed Raleigh a glass of juice.

"I might need something stronger than grape juice. It was a script with a note on it. "Please don't say no until you've at least read it. Call me when you're done - Jerry.""

"He does know you're trying to plan your wedding that's in a few months, right?"

"He knows. I just don't think he cares."

"You gonna read it? What's it about?"

"I don't know. It's called Never My Forever. I didn't read the summary. Didn't care to either, Jerry's really pissing me off. I've been working non-stop for four years straight, do you think he can give me six months off? No, of course not." As Raleigh lifted her juice towards her mouth, Autumn snatched it out of her hand.

"You're right, you need something stronger." Going over to the liquor cabinet, she located some vodka and poured some in her glass before handing it back to her. "Cheers." Raleigh laughed before taking a big gulp of the liquid.

"I feel better already." The two women laughed together for a moment before heading back into the living room. Autumn picked up the script and sat down with it on the couch. Curling her feet beneath her, she opened up to the summary. As soon as she read it she wanted to know more, so she went on reading as Raleigh checked on Matthew to make sure everything was all right, he was strangely quiet.

"No wonder he's so quiet. He passed out on that big teddy bear in there." Raleigh laughed as she shook her head at the sight she'd seen. Looking at her friend she noticed how intense her face looked. "What are you...you're seriously reading that?" Raleigh rolled her eyes as she grabbed her glass and plopped down on the couch next to Autumn. "Is it any good?"

"Yeah, it actually is. I thought it was going to be just another stupid cheesy teen movie, but its actually well written and thought-out." Raleigh noticed how she bit her lip, almost as though she were debating on saying something. Finally she held the script out to Raleigh and met her questioning gaze. "Read the summary at least. I think I know how you got this."

"Um, okay. Autumn, I got this because Jerry is a money-hungry workaholic and he wants me to be the same." Taking the script from her friend, Raleigh read the summary anyway, immediately feeling reality crash down on her. Clearing her throat, Raleigh closed the script and threw it on the coffee table in front of her. "It's just a stupid movie. Dan will be home soon, I should start dinner."

Autumn watched Raleigh walk away and disappear beyond the hallway that led to the kitchen, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Reading what that movie was about had immediately made her think of Josh, she didn't doubt that she was cussing him out her mind either. Try as she might to keep him at arm’s length, it seemed as though the universe kept throwing him back into her life. Knowing it was the last thing she would want Daniel to see, Autumn put the script back into the envelope it came in and placed it inside Raleigh's purse. Ever since the wedding Autumn had noticed how on edge he'd been and she had no doubt it had something to do with Josh, although neither of them would tell her what, if anything, had happened.

Making her way to the kitchen, Autumn asked her friend if she needed help preparing anything and together they set to work, acting as though the script didn't exist.

Daniel walked through the front door just as Autumn and Raleigh were setting the table with the barbecue chicken, baked potatoes and salads - and corn for Matthew. After taking off his shoes and putting them in the coat closet and setting his briefcase on the end table, he headed into the kitchen to see what Raleigh had made for dinner.

"Hi honey, I'm home." He said as he kissed her on the cheek. "Hello Autumn. I didn't expect you."

"Well Ray and I went to the beach earlier then she invited Matty and I over for dinner. I hope that's okay."

"Of course it is, you know you don't need an invitation." Raleigh gave Autumn a pointed look, as if to say 'I told you so.' "Where is Matty?"

"He passed out while playing in the toy room. Would you mind going and waking him up? Dinner's done."

"No problem. Nice job ladies, it smells wonderful." He gave them a wink as he walked off, heading towards the play room.

"Who would have thought how smooth Mr. Cooper could be back when he was just our teacher?" Autumn laughed as she set knives by everyone's plate, except of course her son's.

"I always knew."

"Of course you did." They heard excited chattering coming from the hallway accompanied by rushed footsteps and the girls know Daniel had been successful in waking the child up, and now said child was extremely excited to be with his Uncle Dan. When they came into the kitchen, Dan was holding the picture Matthew had made him and was smiling while he continued to talk his ear off.

"Alright, chatterbox. Time to fill that mouth with dinner." Autumn helped him into his chair and then began fixing his plate, all the while he didn't stop talking to his hero.

Matthew ate nearly an entire piece of chicken, a baked potato and two scoops of corn and still managed to finish before everyone so he went back into the play room with all the toys while the adults cleaned up.

"So you didn't have to work today, Autumn?"

"No, I decided to take off today."

"Thanks to your mother." Raleigh muttered, a little too loudly she realized when Daniel asked what she meant by that comment.

Autumn sighed as she put some dishes into the dishwasher. "It just hit me today that my Dad is dying, that’s all. I got stupidly upset and started dwelling on the fact of how little my mother cares about anything but herself. She doesn't even give a shit that her husband of 28 years is about to die, what she cares about is whether or not I plan on taking any of his money from her when he does."

"I'm really sorry you have to deal with that, Autumn. You know we’re here if you ever need us."

"Thanks, Dan." She smiled at him, truly appreciating his friendship.

They continued to clean up the kitchen together and when they were done Autumn grabbed Matthew and they headed home, Matthew pouting the whole way. After seeing them off, Dan went to grab his briefcase off the end table he'd set it on earlier so he could go over some casting issues when he noticed the large enveloped sitting there beneath it.

"Hey, Ray? What's this?"

"What's what?" She poked her head out into the hallway and saw that he was holding the script Jerry had asked her to read. For some reason she didn't want him to look at it so she quickly walked over to him to take it out of his hands. "Oh it's just something Jerry sent me today. Asked me to read it over and give him a call when I'm done. I've gathered that it’s some new project he wants me on but I won't know anything more until I speak with him."

"That man," Dan gave an aggravated shake of his head. "I swear he doesn't understand what a break is. Do you think you'll do it?"

"I don't know. Depends on what it is I guess."

"Well you get to reading and find out and I will go do my own homework, okay?"

"Sure." Raleigh smiled, reached up on her toes to give him a kiss then watched as he went into his study, closing the door behind himself. When she heard soft music begin to play from his stereo she knew he was going to be in there for while, so she grabbed a bottle of wine out of the kitchen and curled up on the sofa. After taking a couple large sips of the sweet liquid, Raleigh opened up the script and began reading. It wasn't long before she found herself engrossed in the story of the two lead characters, comparing what they were going through with what she and Josh had gone through not so long ago. It was uncannily similar. At certain points she found herself having tears pooling in her eyes, or goosebumps rippling across her flesh. With every turn of the page she became more and more enraptured, wanting to know how it ended, and yet terrified for it to get to that point. She didn't want their story to end.

If she were honest with herself, she didn't want it to end because she was afraid it would end the same way her own story had. With how much love there was between these two she couldn't imagine them not winding up together - but she also knew from personal experience, not everything turns out the way you may want.

But then what was the point of a movie? Wasn't its purpose to take you out of the real world and throw you into a fantasy world where everything works out in the end?

After reading a few more pages, Raleigh was so engrossed in the story before her that she'd had no idea Daniel had snuck up behind her. When he was directly behind her, staring down at what she was reading, he asked, "Any good?" Feeling her heart leap out of her chest at the sudden noise, Raleigh jumped slightly in her seat.

"Can you make some noise next time or something? It's not polite to sneak up on people." Turning back to her script that had fallen to the floor, she reached to pick it up. "And actually yes, it is good."

"What is it?" He asked through a snicker.

"It's a script to an upcoming movie. I'm assuming Jerry wants me on the soundtrack but like I said before, I won't know for sure until I call him. Are you done already?" She asked, trying to get the conversation away from the movie. Luckily it worked.

"No, I just came out for a drink. Are there any beers left?" He called over his shoulder as he walked to the kitchen.

"I'm not sure. Write it on the list, I'll pick some up when I go shopping tomorrow." Raleigh called to him distractedly, getting back into the story. She hadn't realized just how much she'd already read. There were only maybe fifteen pages left. She felt a rush of sadness wash over her as she realized the end was coming. She debated for a moment on leaving it for the morning, extending the amount of time she got to spend with the characters, but ultimately she started right back up, finishing the rest of the story in less than ten minutes. She sat there for a few minutes when she was done, just reflecting on the story she had just read, wondering if she regretted it.

No, she decided, she didn't regret reading it. It was raw and emotional, it brought tears to her eyes and a smile to her face, it caused feelings to stir in her that she hadn't felt towards a film in a long time. If it was a few songs for the movie’s soundtrack that Jerry wanted from her, she knew he was going to get it.

Feeling sticky from the day's trip to the beach, Raleigh put her empty bottle of wine and the glass she'd used in the kitchen and went upstairs to shower, taking the script and its envelope with her. Sliding it back into the envelope, Raleigh then placed it safely into her bedside drawer, unsure as to why she was hiding it from her fiancé. No, she thought. She wasn't hiding it, she was just keeping it safe for the night.

About a half hour later, when she was done in the shower, she grabbed her cell phone and dialed her manager's number, unsurprised when he answered on the second ring.

"Raleigh, babe, did you get my little present?"

"Present, huh? And here I was thinking it was a job offer."

"Oh it is, but only if you want it." She heard him chuckle on the other end and found herself smiling. As much as he could drive her crazy, she loved him to death.

"So what are the details?" There was a slight pause on his end before she heard a slight murmuring, as if he were talking to someone near him and covering up the phone with his hand so she wouldn’t overhear. "Jer?"

"Yeah, sorry. Hey why don't you swing by the office tomorrow, say around ten-ish? There are a lot of details we should go over and there'll be someone here I want you to meet, as well."

"Uh, yeah sure. Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"All right. Good night, Ray!"

"Good night."

"Was that Jerry?" Again, Dan had snuck up on her, but this time he didn't scare her, she was too distracted by the details Jerry had to go over with her tomorrow and just who it was he wanted her to meet.

"Yeah, it was." She set her phone on the night stand by her side of the bed and picked up her brush to go through her wet hair again.

"So? What's the job?"

"He didn't say. He wants me to stop by the office tomorrow morning so I guess I'll find out then."

"Classic Jerry, keeps you waiting. I'm gonna hop in the shower." He kissed her quickly before going into the bathroom. When Raleigh heard the water turn on she pulled the covers back and crawled into bed, wondering when she'd turned so old that she went to bed before eleven. She remembered only a few years ago when she'd be out all night, partying until three or four in the morning, having to be carried into her house by her closest friends. Sometimes, she missed being just a kid.

She wasn't sure when, but before Daniel crawled into bed beside her she'd fallen into a restless sleep filled with vivid dreams, dreams with a blurred line between the treacherous love story of Jen and Billy and her own reality of her past with Josh. Dreams that were filled with love, happiness, and laughter. But it wasn’t long before those smiling faces turned into ones of sadness and anger. Sparkling, happy eyes turned into tear-filled ones, smiling mouths turned into hard lines, loving words turned into hate-filled shouts. She dreamed of the night she’d gone to Josh’s senior prom with him, she remembered in perfect detail how everything looked, felt, smelled. Unfortunately she also remembered how upset and angry she’d been, venomous words spewing from her mouth as she screamed at him outside the school’s door. She remembered beating her clenched fists against his chest, crying, wanting him to yell at her back. But she also remembered his reaction to her. Not once did he raise his voice, not once did he give up and walk away. Instead, when she started hitting him, he took it for a moment before gently and firmly wrapping his long fingers around her wrists, holding her fists there until she crumpled against him in a sobbing mess. She remembered how loving and tender he’d been as he held her, telling her everything was going to be just fine as he held her in his warm embrace. She remembered the exotic smell of his sweet cologne and she felt herself missing that scent as she breathed it in, listening to the sound of Bon Jovi’s Never Say Goodbye blast from the gym’s speakers, a song that would later be considered theirs.

As soon as she’d fallen into this dream, she’d been thrust back into the world of Jennifer and Billy, seeing again how close their fictional story was to her real one, at least how it used to be. It wasn’t long after that that she’d finally awaken from her restless sleep, her brain deciding she’d finally had enough of the onslaught of painful memories.

Rolling over, Raleigh sat on the edge of the bed attempting to dislodge the fogginess of sleep from her brain. Eventually she’d made it downstairs and started the coffee. She didn’t make it a habit to drink it every morning, but today was an exception if she wanted to get through her meeting in a few hours without passing out on her manager.

As she waited for the coffee to finish brewing, Raleigh stared out the back window as the beginning rays of the sunrise broke through the clouds, her mind a jumbled mess of memories of a past life. She fought the urge to sing Never Say Goodbye as she stood there, a song she hadn’t heard in about six years.

Realizing the coffee was done, she poured herself a cup and headed up to her studio, there was an old, untouched song she wanted to work on.

It was a couple hours later when Dan walked into the studio, seeing Raleigh strumming on an acoustic guitar and humming along, it was a sight he loved seeing. She looked so peaceful and at ease when she was working on her music.

“Good morning.” He said, sitting on the stool beside her.

“Hey.” She said, setting down her guitar. “How did you sleep?”

“Woke up a few times during the night, but overall pretty well. Better than you did I’m sure.”

“What do you mean by that?” She asked, confused.

“You were tossing and turning all night, moaning…and talking.” The way he told her she’d been talking made her face flush red with mortification.

“What did I say?” She wasn’t so sure she even wanted to know.

“A lot of it was just gibberish, but you did say a name a couple times.” Oh God, she thought. “Billy.”

“Billy?” She asked followed immediately by laughter. “That’s the name of one of the main characters in the script I read last night.”

“Oh.” She could hear the relief in his voice. “For a minute there I thought I was going to have to smash in someone’s kneecaps.”

“Please, you don’t have a violent bone in your body. You better go, you’re going to be late for your big meeting.” She told him through her laughter.

“Yeah. Call me after you meet with Jerry, let me know what he wants.” He said, standing up and kissing Raleigh goodbye.

“Will do. Good luck at your meeting.”

“Thanks.” She nodded at him as he left the room, closing the door behind him. It wasn’t until then that Raleigh exhaled in relief, running a hand through her disheveled hair. She was glad it had been a fictional characters name she had muttered in her sleep and not a very real one that would have gotten a bad reaction from him for sure. She didn’t know why, but ever since they’d come back from Tennessee the subject of Josh was a tender one when brought up around Daniel.

Picking up her guitar, Raleigh continued the work he had interrupted. It was just after nine when she put it away and headed back to her bedroom to get ready to leave.

About twenty minutes later donning a pair of plaid flats, dark wash denim Capri pants, a short-sleeve plaid button-down shirt worn open over a white tank-top, and oversized sunglasses on her face, Raleigh left her house and headed into town, making a quick stop at a nearby Starbucks.

Stepping out of the elevator, Raleigh headed down the hallway and turned left, going through a door where Jerry’s secretary sat.

“Good morning, Kathy.” Raleigh said happily, holding out the small Starbuck’s bag.

“Hey, Raleigh. You are a life saver!” she exclaimed, taking the bag from her and pulling out the large double fudge caramel brownie. “I know it’s still morning but you have no idea how bad the chocolate craving is right now.” Kathy was a naturally petite girl of twenty-six who was just starting her third trimester in her first pregnancy. She didn’t allow herself to indulge in sweets too often, but today was an obvious exception. “Jerry’s in his office, you can head right in.”

“Thanks. Enjoy that brownie!”

“Believe me I will.” Kathy said, taking a large bite out of with an audible moan of pleasure. She’d explained it to Raleigh once before, that fulfilling a craving was like an orgasm in the mouth. She’d never thought eating could provide such pleasure until she’d gotten pregnant.

Opening the door to Jerry’s office, Raleigh noticed that for once he was sitting in silence, just staring out his window. There was no cell phone plastered to his ear, no TV shouting the latest celebrity gossip out into the large space, no radio playing. It was just silence.

“Hey, Jer. Everything all right?” He swiveled around in his seat with a large smile on his face.

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know.” Raleigh shrugged. “I’ve just never been in here without there being some sort of noise.”

“I just wanted some peace and quiet today, some time to gather my thoughts. Please, have a seat.” Obliging, although suspiciously, Raleigh sat on one of the chairs facing his desk. He remembered his manners today, this must be one large project that he desperately wanted her on.

“Ok, I’m here, I’m sitting, please don’t keep a girl waiting.”

“Well, I assume you figured out already that you’re wanted on that movie’s soundtrack.” Raleigh nodded in response so he went on. “You read the script in its entirety I assume.” Another nod. “Is it something you think you would want to do?” Jerry allowed her a couple minutes to think it through thoroughly.

“I felt some definite inspiration after reading it, but before I say yes I’d need to know all of the details. I don’t want even one thing left out.”

“I assumed you’d say that. The biggest part of this project is the fact that it’s a collaboration. The producer wanted someone else’s name on the movie and that artist wanted to work with you. He won’t do it unless you agree to work on it with him.” He allowed that bit of information to sink in before moving on. “Now, the details are five to six songs, a minimum of two must be duets, and multiple appearances. At least one performance of the chosen duet, a music video, and at least six appearances on talk shows. You can do these separate or together, but if you do them separate they’re six appearances each, plus the one performance. They’ve already begun filming so the songs need to be done by July fifth. That’s the estimated date the director gave us to begin editing.”

Raleigh sat there across from Jerry, allowing all the details to sink in. This was a big project. If she signed on, would she still have enough time to prepare all the necessary wedding details? The songs had to be done by July, that gave them just over two months to write and record at least five songs, two of which had to be duets. It wasn’t a question as to could she get them done in the allotted amount of time, but rather could they? Then another thought passed over her mind, Jerry hadn’t mentioned who the other artist was and she suddenly had a slight fear that she knew exactly who it was.

“It all sounds great and well laid-out. Who is the other artist that wants me on this project so badly?” Just as she asked, Jerry’s phone rang. He held up a finger to her and picked up the receiver.

“Yes, Kathy? Great, send him in.” He hung up the receiver and stood, looking at Raleigh with a smile on his face. “You get to see for yourself. He’s just arrived.” Jerry walked around the desk just as Raleigh heard the office door open behind her. Turning to see who this man was, Raleigh’s heart nearly stopped in her chest and she felt her stomach do a slight flip-flop in her gut.

“Mr. Chasez, I’m glad you made it.” Jerry walked over to Josh and shook his hand.

“Me too, and I thought New York drivers were bad.” He let out a familiar laugh and finally turned, eyes landing on Raleigh’s still form. “Good morning, Raleigh.” He said pleasantly, not offering his hand to her.

Raleigh didn’t know what to do and after a moment of just staring at him she exploded. “What are you doing here? Jerry, what is he doing here? Is this a sick joke?” She could feel her face flushing a brilliant shade of ruby as her anger at being cornered by Josh bubbled up within her.

“Raleigh, don’t be rude. This is the man who has requested to work with you on the project, I know you know who he is.”

“Yes, I know exactly who he is.” Standing up, Raleigh hiked her purse up onto her should and headed for the door. “I’m sorry Jerry, but my answer is no. I have a wedding to plan.” Not looking at Josh, she strode past him and out of the office. She’d barely just made it to the door to the hallway when she felt Josh grab her arm.

“Ray, wait.” His voice pleaded with her as she ripped her arm out of his grasp.

“Don’t you call me that!” She hissed at him, furious that he had come here.

“Why are you so angry?”

“How dare you come here! Who do you think you are, invading my life like this?”

“Ray, calm down.” He said in a low, gentle voice, placing his hand on her arm again, only for her to snatch it away again.

“Don’t touch me, and don’t tell me to calm down. This is my city, Josh! This is my life and you need to stay out of it! Go back to New York.” She turned from him and walked through the door and into the hallway, marching down towards the elevators.

“Damn it, Raleigh, stop!” Josh called after her, jogging the few feet to stop her again. “You’re being ridiculous.” Maybe she was, but at that moment she didn’t care. He could have warned her that he’d be there in her manager’s office, he didn’t have to ambush her like this. There were so many better ways to have gone about getting her to sign onto this project, why did he have to be so theatrical? “Darryl should be here in a minute, can you please just come back to Jerry’s office and listen to the proposal?”

“I’ve already heard the details and I’m not interested.” She growled the words at him through clenched teeth.

Lowering his voice, Josh got closer to her ear, ignoring it when she tried to back away. “Do you really want to do this out here, where there are people everywhere listening to every word you say? It would be a shame if one of them went to a tabloid and started spreading rumors about us.”

Stepping back, Raleigh looked into his crystal blue eyes, noting the sincerity of the threat there. “You are such an asshole.” She said to him as she began to walk back to Jerry’s office, her voice full of animosity.

“So you keep telling me.” He muttered, smiling at her as he followed her back to the office.

As promised, Darryl arrived shortly after Raleigh had tried to walk out and she sat there in silence with her arms and legs crossed, listening to what was said between the three men. She stared out the window, attempting to keep her mind void of any thought as she watched birds fly around the buildings and airplanes ascend into the sky, destinations unknown. Occasionally Josh would say something that would cause an unladylike snort to come from Raleigh, other than these little noises she didn’t talk at all. She was too angry and annoyed by Josh’s audacity.

After a few minutes, Raleigh realized things had turned quiet so she turned to look at the men and noticed three pairs of eyes staring at her expectantly. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Raleigh,” Jerry said disapprovingly, “please pay attention. This is important.”

“I’m sorry Jerry. Darryl, it sounds like a great opportunity but I’m afraid it isn’t for me. It was a pleasure meeting you and I’m sorry for having wasted your time.” Raleigh stood, grabbed her purse and exited the office, not once looking in Josh’s direction. She said goodbye to Kathy before exiting. She’d made it all the way to the parking garage before she heard Josh calling out to her.

“Go home, Josh.” She called over her shoulder, not slowing her stride.

“Not until you hear me out.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

Grabbing her elbow, Josh brought her to a stop speaking in a hard voice when she turned abruptly to rip her arm from his grasp. “There are tons to say.”

“Let go.” She nearly growled at him between clenched teeth.

“No.”

“You’re being childish!” At that Josh allowed himself to laugh in her face.

“I’m being childish? You’re the one who crossed her arms and pouted in the corner because you didn’t like something! If either one of us is being the child here, it’s you.”

“Why are you even here? You hate LA.” She rolled her eyes, the venom not lessening in her voice.

Finally, feeling as though Raleigh were going to hear him out, he released her arm. “You know why I’m here; for a chance to work with you.”

“The director isn’t even the one who wants me on the project.”

“After Darryl presented the idea to him he agreed it would be a good move, publicity wise, to have both you and me on this.” He watched Raleigh as she crossed her arms and looked around at anything but him. “Please, Ray. Work with me on this.” His voice turned pleading, borderline desperate.

Sighing, Raleigh pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll think about it.” Just as a smile broke out on his face, Raleigh pointed a finger in his face. “I’m not promising anything so don’t get any ideas. I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I ask.” He started to back toward the exit he’d followed her out of. “I’ll see you around.” Then he disappeared into the door, leaving Raleigh in the parking garage alone.