“This is why you don’t want me to live with you,” I told Gabe the next morning as I pulled my jeans on.

“S’alright,” Gabe mumbled, tugging his T-shirt over his head.

“No, it’s not alright. It’s four-thirty in the morning. It’s inhuman.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna need coffee.” The look on his face suggested he was envisaging his coffee machine downstairs.

“Definitely. Glad I showered last night.” I blushed.

That woke Gabe up a bit and he grinned at me. “Yeah, that was nice.”

Nice wasn’t the right word. More like hot. And I wasn’t talking about the shower. My body ached from our lovemaking and I couldn’t have been happier.

The sound of gravel crunching out front and the sweeping arc of a set of headlights made my smile vanish.

“What the hell?” Gabe walked over to the window and I joined him.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

It was Viktor.

I let out a growl of frustration and stormed downstairs. The cool morning air was like a slap to my face so I was well and truly awake by the time I was down the steps and standing in front of Viktor.

“Go home,” I told him.

He held his palms up. “I’m here to take you to the set.”

“Gabe is perfectly capable of doing that.”

Viktor raised an eyebrow. “Is he capable of being your bodyguard too?”

I ignored him. “How did you know I was here?” I demanded.

“I took a lucky guess, but your iPhone also told me where you were.”

Dammit. I hadn’t thought to turn that setting off. “Fine. Now you know where I am you can go home.” I pointed down the driveway.

“I quit.”

I dropped my hand to my side. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I don’t work for your mother anymore.”

“But, but . . .” It wasn’t even dawn yet, I was still loved up, and I couldn’t make sense of what Viktor was saying.

“I only work for clients who are prepared to take appropriate measures to protect themselves.”

“You don’t work for Mama anymore?”

“No. I’m in need of a new job and you could do with a bodyguard. I’d like to apply for the position.”

I stared at him for a long moment and then held up an index finger. “Just give me a moment.”

I walked back to Gabe’s front steps and sat down, my head spinning. Viktor had terminated his employment with my mother? How could that be possible? I’d often secretly thought Viktor was a little bit in love with Mama. For him to quit, it would take a pretty serious reason.

I looked back up at him. “Because of me?”

He nodded and walked over to the stairs but remained standing. “She didn’t try to deny what she’d done. If anything she tried to justify it.”

“I haven’t spoken to her. Did you tell her I know?” I wasn’t ready to acknowledge what she’d done, not yet, but I was very surprised that she hadn’t tried to call me as soon as Viktor confronted her.

He nodded. “She knows. I advised her not to call you and to give you some space, but I doubt she’ll be able to control herself for more than twenty-four hours. It’s probably better you don’t speak to her until you’re prepared to deal with her dramatics.”

My eyes widened. I’d never heard Viktor talk about Mama in anything less than glowing terms. And I wasn’t looking forward to the stream of messages that Mama would leave for me when I didn’t pick up her inevitable calls.

“So what do you say? Can I have the job?”

“Here.” Gabe arrived on the porch with three cups of coffee.

I took one gratefully and watched as Viktor accepted one from Gabe.

“Viktor would like to be my bodyguard,” I told Gabe.

“What do you think?” he asked. He flicked a wary gaze at Viktor, but his voice was gentle, like he genuinely wanted to know what I thought.

I felt myself soften a little. It meant so much to me that Gabe trusted my judgment when so few people in my life took the opportunity to ask my opinion.

“I think he’s qualified,” I told Gabe.

“True.”

It was a bit nasty of me to be talking about Viktor while he was standing right there, but I was still smarting from his previous treatment of me.

Viktor cleared his throat. “I’d be here to protect you, not comment on your social life.” He nodded at Gabe. It wasn’t so much an apology for his earlier behavior, but a grudging acceptance of Gabe’s presence in my life. “I trust you, Chloe. You’re a damn lot smarter than your mother ever was.”

Hiding a grin, I set the coffee on the ground then stood up. That was enough for me. I was certain Viktor would see what a decent guy Gabe was with a bit of time. “It’s settled then. You’re hired!”

*

“HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED by yourself?” I asked the next evening as I took in Faith’s open-plan kitchen area.

I was still getting my head around her house—or lack of house. The four-bedroom home was tiny compared to my mother’s ostentatious estate. It was cozy and comfortable, decorated in a Hamptons style. It was the exact opposite to the house I’d expected Faith to live in. I’d thought she’d go for something modern, all clean lines and hard edges.

“I lived with a few girls after my mother died, but figured out pretty quickly thatI’m not good at sharing.”

I kept forgetting that Faith hadn’t had the upbringing I had. Although we were both child stars, Faith had come from a poorer background, and when she became famous she supported her mother. She never mentioned her father. I wasn’t even sure if she knew who he was and the media didn’t know either.

Faith’s mom had died of a drug overdose when Faith was seventeen and left her with nothing. All the money Faith had earned had been spent on clothes, jewelry, parties and drugs. Her mother hadn’t even thought to buy them a house and they’d been renting.

“It’s not what you were expecting, is it?” Faith asked.

“It’s lovely,” I told her honestly. “I’m going to like it here.”

“But you don’t think it suits me.”

“I didn’t say that.” Alright, I’d thought it.

Faith shrugged and went to stand in front of the French doors, which overlooked a cottage-style garden. “I like it.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

Faith didn’t say anything else so I took the chance to look around the living area adjoining the kitchen. It felt like the living room of a real home. And how much of a precious Hollywood princess was I to think that?

It was small in comparison to anything I’d grown up with. Two light-blue double-seater sofas sat arranged in an L-shape around a coffee table painted a distressed white. On the wall opposite was a pair of matching bookshelves. I walked over to the shelves. There was an absence of photos in Faith’s house but the books were interesting. I scanned her collection. There was a curious mix of fiction, self-help and non-fiction.

“Woodwork for beginners. In all your spare time,” I joked.

Faith nodded outside. “I built the deck.”

“You what?” I joined her at the window. The deck she was referring to was about ten foot by thirteen foot and had a pretty white table setting on it. “Wow. I’m impressed. I don’t think I’ve ever even picked up a hammer.”

“I enjoy it. It’s good stress relief and when you build a deck you mainly use a nail gun.”

I grinned. “Now that sounds more like it.” I could imagine Faith with a nail gun. “My folks aren’t exactly practical, so I never would have learned how to do any of that growing up.”

Faith’s eyes darkened. “I didn’t either. I taught myself.” She turned and walked to the kitchen.

I watched Faith switch the kettle on, aware I’d put my foot in my mouth without meaning to.

Faith got two cups out of the cupboard. “Up to you which room you have. They’re all set up with beds and bathrooms.”

“Thanks. I’ll try not to bother you. And thanks for agreeing to let Viktor hang around.” As cozy as the Beverly Hills house was, it was situated on generous grounds and equipped with an impressive security system and a gatehouse from where Faith’s security team worked. That was where Viktor was now.

“It’s no problem. Have you got any clothes yet?”

I grimaced. “Only what my stylist has dropped off. I’ll probably make do until a day or so before we leave for Paris.” That way when I went home to pack and inevitably ran into my mother, I’d be leaving the country not long after. It wouldn’t matter if she begged me to stay, I wouldn’t be here.

I still hadn’t spoken to Damon. I’d messaged him several times to say I was sorry and asked if we could talk but he hadn’t replied. I’d texted him one more time to say I wouldn’t be home until after Europe, but again, no reply.

I was so lost in my thoughts I barely noticed when Faith pushed a steaming mug in front of me.

“Drink,” she said, demonstrating her Faith Martin version of hospitality.

“Thanks.”

She looked at me over the rim of her cup. “What sort of house are you going to look for?”

“Honestly? I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Seriously? You’ve got plenty of money, you could have whatever you wanted.”

“It’s never really felt like my money,” I admitted.

“What? Because of your mother?” The dark look returned. “That needs to change.”

“Oh, I know,” I agreed. “From now on a lot’s going to be different. I’ve already fired Mama’s publicist and I’m talking to a couple of new ones. I’m investigating financial advisors, too.”

Faith sat her mug down. “That’s more like it. When have you found the time for that?”

I blushed. Between filming and Gabe, I’d been busy. “In my trailer between takes.”

“Good. I’m proud of you, Chloe.”

I blinked.

“What?” Faith shot me a wry smile. “Can’t I be motherly, or doesn’t that suit me either?”

“No, it suits you.” More than she knew. “I want to find a new agent as well.”

Faith whistled. “You’re putting your big-girl panties on. Any reason?”

“I want different roles. Maybe even an action movie like you did a few years back. Or something on Broadway.”

“That’s kind of a broad brief.”

I shrugged. “I’ve done Broadway before and I’d like to do it again. An action movie would round out my experience and maybe open up other roles long-term.”

“You’ve thought a lot about this.” Once again Faith sounded impressed.

I let out a short laugh. “Yeah, in the last twenty-four hours or so.”

Faith gave me a questioning look.

“It was a conversation I had with Gabe. He asked me what I wanted.” I shrugged again, but I felt self-conscious this time. “He’s the first one to ever really ask me that and it got me thinking.”

“Damn, Chloe. I’m sorry.”

I waved a hand at her. “Don’t be. I’ve hardly had a horrible upbringing. It’s just been a bit sheltered, that’s all.”

“Well, it doesn’t need to be anymore, you got that? I know Drumsticks has your back, but so do I.”

“I know.” My cell buzzed where I’d left it on the counter.

Faith winked. “That will be him now.”

I’d messaged Gabe earlier to let him know I’d arrived safely at Faith’s. I didn’t bother to hide my smile and reached for it. My smile froze and my thumb hovered over the button to unlock it, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

The message was from an unknown number.