Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Jake and I had interviewed Asher Wright once, Tennyson’s brother, and that was how Nikki had come into contact with Asher’s wife, Brooklyn. Nowadays, Nikki put makeup on movie stars, and Sophie was one of them.
“Daddy, can we watch TV before we go?” Colin asked.
“Sure thing, buddy.” Jake was inspecting his suit in the garment bag. “You think I can pull this off at the award ceremony?”
Colin snickered. “I don’t know. You don’t like suits.”
“My daddy’s gonna be on TV!” Casper announced.
“Mine too,” Colin said with a duh-tone.
Cute.
Sam scrunched her nose. “They on TV all the time.”
“Uncle Cullen says only on nerd channels,” Casper supplied helpfully.
Jake and I exchanged an amused look.
“Don’t listen to Uncle Cullen, son,” I chuckled. “He can’t even spell Discovery Channel.”
Our serious debate was interrupted by the doorbell ringing, and Haley emerged from the kitchen to usher the kids to the playroom. Jake got the door, and I wished the kids a great day. If I knew Haley, she was gonna speed back after dropping the kids off, just so she’d get the chance to meet Sophie herself.
I’d spoken to Sophie on the phone yesterday, and I’d assured her it was a casual show; she was welcome to turn up in pajamas if she wanted to. That didn’t happen, of course. But I was pleasantly surprised to find a woman who didn’t go all out with glitz and glamour. She looked comfortable in her yoga wear.
She was very pretty, and she had one of those kind smiles you immediately relaxed around.
“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it!” she said. Jake was acing the small-talk section with her. “My husband and brother-in-law are big fans of Off Topic.”
I swooped in and extended my hand. “I’m Roe—we spoke on the phone yesterday. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Hey, right back at you. You don’t exactly need to introduce yourselves anymore.” She grinned and shook my hand. “I got hooked on your Travel Back series. But I did watch all episodes of Currahee yesterday to prepare myself, and my God, I really hope you win next week. It was incredibly poignant.”
Fuck me, I might be blushing.
Our work being described as poignant?
We’d come a long way since Nomads.
I caught Jake glancing at his watch, so I figured it was time we moved to the studio. Sophie was well-prepared, and she thought our idea for today’s episode was fun. She took her seat next to Jake at our table, and I took mine behind my laptop.
“Okay, so just get comfortable and dig in to whatever you might like,” I said. We had our traditional Friday donuts, croissants, yogurt, all that crap I wasn’t allowed to eat anymore.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Sophie placed a donut on a napkin and grabbed a glass of juice. “Out of curiosity, has anyone else done what I’m about to do?”
“Nope.” Jake shook his head, a little amused.
Sophie was triumphant. “Fuck yeah, that means I get bragging rights.”
Okay, we liked her a lot.
I was a little embarrassed to admit I hadn’t looked up how old she was, but she didn’t appear to be a day older than thirty-five. Nikki had shared stories about how down-to-earth Sophie was on movie sets, and I didn’t doubt that after meeting her.
A couple minutes before seven AM, we got down to business, and Sophie rehearsed her lines to herself for a quick moment. She seemed like a natural. At the very least, she’d had a lifetime of practice in Hollywood.
I adjusted my headphones and took a swig of my coffee, and then I counted down silently. Everything was up and running. Camera on, sound good, our intro cued.
I nodded to Sophie when we were on.
She took a big bite of her donut, surprising both Jake and me, before she spoke with her mouth full. “You’re Off Topic with Roe Finlay and Jake Denver! I’m Sophie Pierce, and Roe and Jake are looking at me like I’ve grown a second head. Good morning, Los Angeles! And the world.”
I burst out a laugh, and Jake wasn’t far behind.
“I daresay that’s the best opening we’ve ever had,” Jake chuckled.
I nodded in full agreement. “Amen. Welcome to today’s episode of Off Topic, everyone. We’ve mixed things up a bit today because Seth, our office daddy, ordered us to agree to at least ten interviews for the dog and pony show that is award season.”
Jake took over from there. “We’ve been on six talk shows and three morning shows—not to mention the podcasts and magazine interviews we’ve braved as introverts. Okay, I’m the introvert. Roe’s the clown. But nevertheless, we’re short one interview, so that’s what today is all about.”
“And who better to interview us than Hollywood A-lister Sophie Pierce?” I asked.
“That’s me,” Sophie provided, retrieving her phone. “I’m just gonna jump right in as I send this shout-out to my Instagram. Because, y’all. I watched all four episodes of Currahee yesterday, and if these guys don’t bring home any Emmys this year, something is wrong. It’s so good. My kids came up and asked me why I was bawling my eyes out, and I told them it was Jake and Roe’s fault.”