She closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment, breathing deeply like she encouraged her labouring mothers to do. It’d all be okay.
She visualised the little cottage. It had become a stand-in for her dream home. The one she’d been saving a deposit for and the first step in her “Chaos to Calm” plan. The first step in slamming the door on all her crazy party years and building the life she really wanted.
Except for vacations at her grandfather’s house, all she’d ever known growing up was chaos. Jess was raised shifting from place to place with her mum. Even though she’d tried to break away, tried to be different, in reality she’d mimicked the same chaotic living. Which was fine for her twenties, but now, as she headed closer to thirty, Jess craved stability. A home. A place where, if everything worked out the way she hoped, she could land a job at the new Rangiora hospital and live on her own terms, close to nature, grounded and calm. It was her motivation to keep moving forward and not hand in her notice to Laney right this second.
She dropped the tension from her shoulders and painted a bigger picture in her mind. There’d be a vegetable garden and an art studio out the back with big double doors and plenty of light. Her grandfather’s art hanging on the walls to inspire her. Yeah, that’s gorgeous.
Breathe.You’ve got this.
But when she opened her eyes, her confidence vanished. The world tilted.
Laney approached, cradling a coffee. “Everything okay?”
“I’m really sorry, Laney. One of my clients is in labour and I have to drive into the hospital.”
Laney looked her over, head cocked to the side. “It’s cool, except I dunno. I don’t wanna be rude, but you look kinda—”
“Shattered?” Jess finished. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get a sandwich and another coffee and I’ll perk right up. I’m used to minimal sleep.”
“I don’t think I’d feel good sending you off on the highway, though. Driving tired is like driving drunk, you know.”
“Honestly, I’ll be fine.”
“Hey girl, listen. One of the perks of the film world is lots of spare hands. I’ll get you a driver. It’s no problem. Then you can sleep in the car on the way in.”
“It’s not—”
“I won’t take no for an answer.”
Jess considered protesting, but the director’s suggestion sounded more than sensible. Tempting even. A half-hour nap would make a difference. Especially considering she had no idea how complicated or long this delivery would be.
Laney shot off to find a driver, shoving Jess in the direction of the coffee machine and insisting she raid the fridge for whatever she could find. She fixed herself another double-shot latte and discovered a wrapped blueberry muffin in the fridge. A quick zap in the microwave and it’d be just like a fresh one.
A deep voice made her jump. “Ready to go?”
Clutching her snack and coffee, she spun around to see Nate standing in front of her, holding car keys.
8
“LANEY ASKED MEto drive you to the hospital.”
The last thing Nate wanted to do was drive Jess into town after she didn’t bother showing up for their agreed one o’clock meeting to sort out their sleeping arrangement. He’d gone to see Tom to get Jess different accommodation, but Tom refused to talk about it without her there.
“Can’t change anything without the person in question,” he’d said. Nate couldn’t see why not. He wasn’t asking Tom to do a medical procedure on Jess. It was accommodation, for goodness’ sake.
He’d wandered around trying to find her and eventually discovered her outside on the phone, probably to that guy Dave. Her conversation lasted the entire break. Clearly, she was digging her toes in, hoping he’d give in and move out of the cottage.
It was possible his feelings for Jess were getting mixed up again with his feelings for Samantha—displacement, he was pretty sure it was called—but this woman infuriated him. Stubborn and rude. Well, if that was her plan, it only made him more determined to dig his own toes in. He could be stubborn, too. So much for trying to be civil.
It was hard to miss her sharp inhale as Jess straightened up, clearly equally annoyed to be facing time alone with him again.
“Don’t you have scenes to shoot?”
“I’m all done for the day. Have been since lunch, actually. Since our one o’clock appointment,” he emphasised the word appointment, but she didn’t respond, just pinched the gap between her eyes.
“Headache?”
“I’m fine. Thank you,” she said, acting polite, even if it was through gritted teeth.
