Now, he wished they could be two different people, free to pursue what was clearly a mutual attraction and interest. What was between him and Jasmine was more than just a hookup between costars. He liked her. A lot.

And that made the whole thing all the more dangerous and complicated. Not only was he mixing business and pleasure, but he was doing it with the one person on the cast who could demolish his carefully constructed house of cards. The media paid far too much attention to her, and his family’s safety relied on him flying under the radar, as far as his personal life was concerned. A relationship with Jasmine would be disastrous.

His familia was small, and they were all he had. Part of him envied Jasmine’s big, sprawling family and the close relationship she had with her cousins. After Yadiel had been born, Ashton had pulled away from other people in an effort to keep his son a secret, but it wore on him. He could have confided in his father—of anyone, Ignacio would understand the most—but he felt too guilty to burden his father with these feelings, especially when Ignacio was handling all of the day-to-day tasks of raising the boy.

Ashton knew he should be grateful. His family had always supported his dreams and his acting career. When he was young, they’d scrimped and saved to send him to a private school with a good drama program, and attended every one of his performances. All he’d ever wanted was to work his way up as an actor, to achieve fame and recognition for his work, and to be able to support his family the way they’d done for him. But now it felt like he was half-assing both. He had absolutely no business starting something with Jasmine he couldn’t finish.

But there was something about her that kept drawing him in. Her skill and instinct as a scene partner, her leadership among the cast, her innate sense for when they needed a fun break and bonding opportunity, even the way she laughed at his dad jokes.

Okay, especially the way she laughed at his dad jokes. He knew he was awkward with her sometimes, and she never made him feel bad about it.

All that, yet it was her vulnerability that seduced him the most. Like when she’d asked him to stay, or when she’d come to his dressing room worried that he was mad at her, or even when she talked about her past relationships and her family. She was beautiful, funny, and smart, but in her, he recognized a loneliness that resonated with his own. How could he resist her?

He finished showering and shut off the water. He didn’t have answers. But he’d have to find them. He didn’t want to be another man who left her hurting.

Although he feared he would be.

SHE’D ASKED HIM to stay. And he had.

As much as Jasmine wanted to bask in the afterglow of the night she’d shared with Ashton, family obligation won out. Still, she held that single, affirming thought—he’d stayed—close to her as she suffered through brunch with her immediate family at a crowded West Village bistro.

Saturday at noon was prime brunch time in New York City, when everyone recovered from Friday night partying with carbs, bottomless mimosas, and the knowledge that Monday morning was still a full day away.

If only Ava and Michelle could be there. But this was an immediate-family-only outing, and so here she sat with her parents—Lisa and Julio—and her siblings—Jillian and Jeremy.

In hell.

“And here’s Hunter at day camp,” her mother said, holding out her phone to show Jasmine yet another photo of Jillian’s youngest son.

Jasmine shoved a big bite of huevos rancheros into her mouth to keep from answering. “Mm-hmm.”

“And here he is at swimming class.” Lisa swiped, squinted at her phone screen, then held it back out across the table for Jasmine to see.

“Nice.” Jasmine chugged half of her current mimosa and signaled for the harried-looking waitress to bring her another. She had one hour to drink as many as she could, and she planned to make the most of it.

“And here he is at karate!”

Jasmine narrowly resisted the urge to snatch her mother’s phone and toss it into the pitcher of sangria on the next table.

She loved her nephews. Truly, she did. Jillian had two funny and rambunctious little boys, and Jeremy’s son was sweet and inquisitive. But her mother’s pointed comments about how wonderful they were only drove home what she wasn’t saying—that Jasmine was a loser with no husband and no kids. Bad enough that she didn’t have a real job, but no family? Worthless.

“I know you’re not on Facebook, so you’ve probably missed a lot of pictures,” Lisa added.

Ouch. Way to twist the knife, Mom. Lisa knew full well Jasmine wasn’t on social media because of the shitstorm surrounding her breakup with McIntyre, something her parents liked to pretend didn’t exist.

Instead of voicing her frustration, Jasmine sent her mom a sunny smile and kept her voice light. “Well, you know I’ve been super busy with the new show. Not much time to waste scrolling on my phone.”

It was a slightly passive-aggressive dig, since her mom and sister were known in the family for posting an excessive number of memes on Facebook, and Jeremy was constantly on Instagram. Even now he was watching something on his phone and chuckling to himself.

“We’re glad you could join us, Jas,” her father said, reaching over to pat her hand. He’d likely picked up on her annoyance. “We know your schedule is very full.”

“But you’re going to abuela’s party, right?” Jillian asked, somehow making it sound like a jab.

“Of course I am.” Jasmine couldn’t believe her sister would imply that she wasn’t. “I’ve been on the phone with the venue every few days, making sure it’s all going according to plan. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Without commenting, Jillian turned to Jeremy. “Did you hear Tony’s engaged?”

“No way.” Jeremy’s eyes went wide as he looked up from his phone. “Didn’t think he’d ever settle down.”

Jasmine could have kicked Jillian under the table. But what would be the point? Family first, which meant the expansion of the family, through marriage and childbirth, outweighed every other accomplishment. She’d been nominated for a Daytime Emmy, for god’s sake. But when the news had been announced, her parents had responded with the text message equivalent of “that’s nice, dear.”

They had always been this way. Even when Jasmine was younger, she’d more often than not been left to fend for herself. Her parents both worked full time, Lisa as a nurse and Julio as a professor. Jillian, always an overachiever, had been involved in a ton of extracurricular activities that consumed more time and attention from their parents. Jeremy, the youngest and the only boy in a Latinx family, was the proud recipient of perpetual babying. And Jasmine, a middle child and people pleaser to the core, had faded into the background at home, using performance as a way to earn positive attention. Her parents had praised her early musical theater exploits, which was why it had been so confusing when they didn’t support her choice to pursue acting as a career.

“And my cousin Lupita’s youngest daughter is pregnant,” Lisa added, reminding Jasmine what was truly important in this family. “Remember her? She lives in Seattle now.”

The waitress handed Jasmine another drink and Jasmine held up two fingers. With a faint smile, the other woman mouthed, “I got you,” and headed for the bar.