“Good girl,” I murmur before pressing another kiss to her forehead. “Sylvia’s here, and she’s staying for lunch.”
“Oh! And here I am, crying like a baby.” She rushes to open the door.
When we walk through the living room, I say, “Frances, can you take care of the flowers, please?”
“Sure.”
I place my hand on Nova’s lower back and walk out of the house with her.
“Hi, Sylvia.” She gives my manager a friendly smile. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come to greet you immediately.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she replies. “Lainey’s been keeping me company.”
Sylvia’s phone rings, and she quickly digs it out of her handbag. “It’s the producer.” She answers the call. “Hi, Robert. I’m here with Easton. Good news. He’s on board again.”
I take a seat and pull a chair closer to mine while looking at Nova. “Come sit.”
As Lainey heads back into the house, Sylvia says, “Hold on while I check with him.” She mutes the call before glancing at me. “Word has spread that you’re no longer starring inThe Eradicator. Robert wants to arrange a convention so everyone can see you’re still in the movie. It will only be for an hour or two. Sign a few photos. Smile at fans. Answer a couple of questions. You know the drill.”
“I’m good with that,” I reply.
She unmutes the call. “Easton is on board. Let me know when ... Okay ... You have a good day.” She drops the phone back into her bag.
Wanting to bring Nova up to speed with what’s happening, I say, “I’m continuing withThe Eradicator, but we’ll film here in LA, so I don’t have to travel.”
Nova nods. “That’s good to hear. I’m glad you can work close to home.”
Sylvia glances between us before she says, “Now that Nova is living here and she’s Lainey’s guardian, we need to talk about a few things. Are we signing an NDA?”
“No,” I mutter. “I trust Nova.”
“Okay.” Sylvia pulls her phone out again and opens an app where she can make notes. “Nova, you’re from Verona, right?”
“Ah . . . yes,” Nova replies.
I frown at Sylvia. “What are you doing?”
“Just getting some info so I can be prepared for anything. The press is bound to start sniffing around Nova’s past.” She lifts her head and looks at Nova. “Is there anything I should know that can reflect badly on Easton? Drug use? A family member in prison? Police record? Naked photos? Sex tapes?”
Jesus Christ.
“I don’t know who my father is, and my mother left when I was four, so I don’t know anything about them,” Nova answers. “No drugs, and I’ve never broken the law.” Her teeth tug at her bottom lip. “I was in a relationship where the police were called out for domestic disturbance.”
My heart clenches, hating the hell Nova was forced to endure.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Sylvia makes a note, then asks, “What kind of disturbance? Was it a verbal fight, or did it get physical?”
“Sylvia,” I mutter.
Her gaze flicks to me. “I need to know if there are photos out there of Nova with a black eye. You know, if the press gets a hold of something like that, the headlines will say you beat the shit out of her.”
“Oh God,” Nova groans beside me. “There are photos. The police took them, though. And it was more than a year ago.”
“You’ll be surprised at what the press can dig up,” Sylvia grumbles. “Anything else I should know about?”
Nova shakes her head. “No. I’ve lived a pretty quiet life.”
“That’s about to change,” Sylvia says.
