Maverick hesitated. He wanted to ask her what she’d meant by that. He wanted to tell her she could trust him. But then Nina stood and started unzipping her suitcase, and Mav lost his courage. ‘See you down there,’ he said, and with one last tap to the doorframe, walked away.
Chapter 10
Though she slept for what felt like the first time in days, early the next morning, Nina woke in a panic from another nightmare, her hands raised to protect her face.
Her own breathing sawed through the room, and the moment she heard it, she rolled over and buried her face in the pillow, trying to muffle the sound. She didn’t want Maverick to worry. She didn’t want Poppy to hear her and resultantly test that innocent curiosity on this particular matter. How did one explain, to a five-year-old nonetheless, that you had traded your peace of mind and your pride for an Oscar?
The moment she was able to get her breathing back under control, Nina rolled over and picked up her phone. She checked her texts, saw that she had two. One from Markus.
Should be back at the ranch around four p.m. tmmrw! X
One from Alex, the producer ofShadowlands, who’d also been calling her every day even though she never answered. Nina’s heart crept into her throat as she opened the message. Her hands trembled as she read it.
Hi Nina. Missing you on set. Alison said you were taking a few weeks to rest before we wrap up your last scene. Hope you’re not gone too long. Let’s win that Oscar.
The message was perfectly polite, the subtext so clear.
Nina wondered what would happen if she breached her contract and simply refused to go back and finishShadowlands. She wondered if Alex actually had the balls to tie her up in court or if he’d just have the last scene rewritten for a body double to shoot.
Anxious and exhausted, Nina rolled out of bed. She pulled a pair of oversized sweatpants and a baggy sweater over her slinky pyjamas and quietly let herself out of the room.
Though the hallway was quiet in the early morning, she could hear a white noise machine coming from Poppy’s bedroom opposite Maverick’s. A faint pink glow crept from the same bedroom into the hallway through the door, which Maverick had left ajar.
Nina was so terrified of waking Poppy up that she took minutes just to get to the staircase, her every footstep exaggeratedly silent on the hardwood. Every time the house creaked beneath her, she froze on the spot and listened.
When she came to the stairs, she took them slowly in the hope that she wouldn’t make a sound. It was only when she got halfway down and heard a noise that she glanced up and saw Poppy standing on the landing.
Nina jumped. ‘Poppy!’ she gasped. ‘You scared me.’
Poppy only tilted her head. ‘What are you doing?’
Nina supposed she looked like a real idiot. Still, she explained, ‘I was trying to be quiet, so I didn’t wake you up.’
Poppy frowned. ‘But I’m awake.’
‘I see that.’ Nina hesitated for only a moment before asking, ‘You wouldn’t know where your dad keeps the coffee, would you?’
‘Yeah.’ Poppy started down the stairs. She paused on Nina’s step, craned her head back to look up at her, and said, ‘I forgot to pee.’
Nina blinked. Was a five-year-old potty trained? She didn’t even know. Poppy seemed pretty independent. Still, unsure of what to do, Nina simply replied, ‘Okay …’
‘Wait here for me to come back.’
The demand was issued in a such a serious tone that Nina barely refrained from smiling. ‘You betcha.’
Poppy hurried back up the stairs, only pausing to look back and check that Nina had stayed where she said she would.
Nina leaned her back against the wall as she waited and thought about the day ahead.
Markus would be arriving that afternoon.
Although they had been texting back and forth the entire week, Nina had purposefully refrained from telling him about her move to the ranch house yesterday. Markus was many things, but he would always be a worrier first and foremost, and if he received news like that via text, he would have panicked. And he would have come right away, even though Nina was enjoying the space.
So, she had refrained. And when he arrived, she would have to tell him that she had been caught sleeping in the bathtub, and she would have to convince him all over again that she didn’t need security, and that knowing you were safe andfeelingsafe could be two completely different issues.
She groaned aloud at the thought. She was so tired of the guilt and the fear, and although Markus had the best of intentions, his hovering only served to remind her of everything that had happened.
‘’Kay, I’m ready now.’ Poppy hurried back down the stairs until she was at Nina’s level again. Without pausing, she grabbed Nina’s hand and started tugging her down the stairs towards the kitchen.
