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Her face falls. “I’m scared, El. Really scared.”

“I know, sweetheart. Let’s go find Tyler.”

We locate Tyler off to one side of the party in conversation with Simone, David, and Allison. They’re all dressed in chic party clothes—the men in summer suits without ties, and Allison in a pink dress covered in flowers. Simone is wearing a saffron-colored jumpsuit that resembles the ones she wore on set but dressier, with heels and a statement necklace.

The sun is sinking through the horizon behind them, glinting off the water as the boats bob up and down. It looks picture-perfect, despite the strong wind, and it’s hard to imagine a storm is coming.

But I should know better than to judge the severity of a situation by its appearance.

“—should come out next spring to time with the next book,” Tyler is saying in his authoritative voice.

Simone frowns. “But that’s notWhen in Rome.”

“No, it’s...Ah, Eleanor, good, good, you can help us.”

“With what?”

“When’s your next book coming out?” Simone asks. “When in Rome 2or whatever?”

“It’s calledAmalfi Made Me Do It, and it’s releasing in March.”

“And it’s about you and Connor in Italy, yes?” Tyler asks. “All that recent kerfuffle.”

“Connor andCecilia, yes.”

“Can it be considered a sequel to the first book?”

I don’t like where these questions are going. I glance around for a waiter. I could use at least one alcohol drink. But there aren’t any around.

Why is there never alcohol when you need it?

Sigh. I should probably keep my wits about me, anyway.

Oh, I definitely should.

“It’s about many of the same players, why?”

“You see, Simone, it’s the perfect time to release the movie. There will be buzz about the book, and it will set up a sequel nicely.”

“A sequel?” Simone says, her tone as unhappy as I feel.

“Yes, David’s working on the script already, aren’t you?”

David gives us all a wide grin. “I did five pages this morning.”

“Wait,” I say. “Have you even readAmalfi Made Me Do It?”

“Unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary?”

“I’ve read the media accounts and conducted some interviews with the key players.”

“Interviews?”

“He means me,” Allison says with her trademark laugh that turns every situation, no matter how serious, into a joke. “Don’t be so formal, honey.”

“Well, regardless, aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” Simone says. “Perhaps David isn’t the best person to write the sequel.”