Read Online For the Love of You by Donna Hill - Free Book Online

“How’s that?”
    â€œSure.” She flashed her movie star smile. “Drinks sound fine.”
    â€œCraig...”
    He turned toward the sound of his name. “Duty calls. Check you later.” He walked over to Anthony.
    â€œYeah, what’s up?”
    â€œLooked like you needed rescuing,” Anthony said under his breath.
    â€œYou noticed that, huh? Thanks.”
    â€œI let everyone know to be in place for the meeting. The main thing is the shooting schedule for week one. Everything cool with the location?”
    â€œYes. I have some adjustments to make to the contract and I’ll get it signed.”
    Anthony’s right brow rose. “You? Paul or Diane can do that.”
    â€œI’d prefer to handle it myself.”
    â€œMmm-hmm.”
    â€œDon’t, okay? It’s not like that.”
    â€œHey, my man. It’s your party. All I ask is to keep the fireworks to a minimum.”
    Craig slapped Anthony’s back. “No worries.” He caught a glimpse of Milan out of the corner of his eye. He hoped that sentiment would remain true. “Got a call from Alyse.”
    â€œYou knew that was going to happen.”
    He snorted a laugh. “Yeah. Meeting her later tonight at the hotel bar.”
    â€œPublic place. Good move,” he teased.
    â€œVery funny.”
    â€œWell, you know how Alyse can be.”
    â€œThat I do,” he conceded good-naturedly. He pushed out a breath. “Soon as Hamilton gets here, we can get started.”
    â€œIn the meantime, let’s go over a few things for the shooting schedule and the staffing.”
    â€œSure.”
    â€œSo what about your pops?” Anthony hedged once they were seated at the round table away from the team.
    Craig looked up from the notes on the iPad. “What about him?”
    â€œGuess that answers my question.”
    â€œI hope so.”
    * * *
    Jewel finished packing up the bakery boxes filled with cupcakes for her client’s daughter’s sixteenth-birthday party. She tied each box with her signature lavender bow and tucked a business card in each one. She had to admit that over the past few months the requests for her baking services had increased considerably. As it currently stood, she had the space in her kitchen and the time on her hands to efficiently complete her orders. But she wasn’t too sure how long that efficiency would last at this rate. The extra income wasn’t enough for her to sit back and relax, but it did help. Maybe Minerva was right and this was her next career move, which shifted her thoughts back to her lunch and conversation with Craig. It was exhilarating and simultaneously disheartening to listen to his unwavering passion for his work. She’d had that once. And had anyone asked her five years earlier if she ever saw anything different in her life, she would have responded with a flat-out no.
    The past five years had been hard, harder than she often admitted even in the quiet of her own mind. There were those days when she missed the travel, the work, the accolades, the excitement of creating something from nothing, allowing her imagination to become a physical reality.
    There were times when she’d questioned her decision to leave that life behind her, to throw in the towel, so to speak. Yet, even after all this time, her fall from grace still stung.
    It was a New York showing. The promotion leading up to her gallery opening had been in every art magazine, newspaper and blog and on the lips of every reputable critic in the business. The buzz in the art world was near deafening in anticipation of Jewel Fontaine’s new work. Rumor had it that she had taken a departure from her traditional oil painting and classic sculptures to something more avant-garde and edgy. It was a risk. But the artistic visionary in her guided her in a new direction.
    She’d always been anxious on opening nights, but this night was different. She was