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she needed that more than anything else.

Two
    T HE L OS A NGELES F ILM F ESTIVAL HAD been under way for three days, and Keith Ellison couldn’t believe how well things were going. They’d put the Brandon Paul issue aside for now, but what they’d learned was encouraging. Despite a recent press release, the young heartthrob had never agreed to participate in an NTM original film with a storyline so much like Unlocked. The bestselling novel was the basis for the next movie Keith and his friend Chase Ryan were set to make, and Brandon Paul wanted to star in the picture. His agent and Luke Baxter—lawyer for Jeremiah Productions—were working behind the scenes putting big pressure on NTM to print a retraction.
    Chase and Keith had both made up their minds, that no matter what stance NTM took when the discussions were complete, they wanted to work with a different studio. The buzz around town was that an announcement could come any day with NTM’s retraction about the proposed film and Brandon Paul’s decision to do the Unlocked picture with Jeremiah Productions.
    Major studios were courting them like a high school prom queen, and now they were thirty minutes from the red carpet premiere of The Last Letter. Keith, Lisa, Chase, and Kendall were staying in hotel a mile away from the festival.
    “Can you fix my bowtie?” Keith was in Chase’s room. He stepped out of the bathroom. “It won’t stay straight.”
    “Shouldn’t Lisa do this?” Chase laughed. “No, seriously, come here. I’ll fix it.” He met his friend halfway and tweaked the back ofthe bowtie so that the front straightened out and stayed that way. “Where is she anyway?”
    “Curling her hair. She won’t make us late, but she’ll be done with fifteen seconds to spare.” Keith checked his look and visibly relaxed a little. He’d been praying for weeks about this event, and now it was here. “Can you believe this? Our first premiere just half an hour away?”
    Chase smiled. “Makes me wonder how my feet are still on the ground.” He slipped on his shoes and adjusted his pant legs. “I keep thinking back to all we’ve gone through, back when this day looked like it’d never come.”
    “Then God brought Ben Adams to the rescue.” Keith grinned. “He’ll be here, right?”
    “He’s in the lobby with Kendall. I stopped down to check on our ride and they were already there.” He paused. “Kendall looks stunning. Made me remember what a big deal this is.”
    Keith studied his friend, and a hint of concern flashed across his heart. Chase and Kendall had gotten closer lately. Nothing overt, but Keith had seen a subtle joining of their hearts. Her tendency to stand next to Chase or the quiet way they had of sharing a quick conversation apart from the group. Keith hoped it was nothing to worry about, but he had to wonder. Chase’s wife, Kelly, wasn’t here, and the fact that Chase noticed how Kendall looked was a little unsettling. Keith made a mental note to watch his friends closely tonight. They had to stay above the line, or everything they’d prayed to accomplish would be nothing more than a mockery of their faith and their character.
    “Five minutes til we need to leave for the red carpet!” Chase grinned. “This is the most amazing feeling.”
    Keith felt his heartbeat pick up. It was really about to happen, the first showing of their movie on a big screen. Two rows were reserved for cast—which had come in its entirety. The rest werefor the public. After the showing, there would be a question-and-answer session with Keith and Chase and the cast.
    The only one missing was Kelly.
    Chase seemed to read his mind. “I called her.”
    “Kelly?”
    “She feels fine, but Macy still has a fever. Doctor thinks it’s the swine flu.” He grimaced. “I should be there. Kelly’s being strong, but she needs me.”
    “The timing’s terrible.”
    “Even if Macy were fine, Molly had a doctor’s appointment for her arm, and this is the