Page 69 of Bad Reputation

“Oh?” Maggie looked at him, as if she wanted him to give her some hint of how to answer.

He shrugged in apology. She was on her own for this one.

“We’re talking about Geordie’s redemption and whether he deserves his happy ending,” Libby explained. “What do you think?”

Maggie looked up at the ceiling, which she often did when she was considering how to respond. Cole had gotten used to looking at the soft skin under her chin while she thought. It looked soft, anyhow.

“I’ve always thought the beautiful thing about happy endings is no one could ever deserve them,” she said after a pause. “But sometimes we get them anyway. They’re ... grace. I guess I’m kind of a heathen. I’venever been big into the idea you earn love or happiness. That feels so transactional. I’m not saying Geordie doesn’t have to do work to try to make right the things he botched, and it’s painful he can’t really make it up to Madge, right? But in the end, love is a practice. An ethos. Not a product or something you can buy.”

Libby liked that answer, clearly. “What would that happy ending look like for you?”

Cole found himself leaning closer, wanting to hear Maggie’s answer.

“Ha, well, a life of purpose. I don’t really want to talk about my ... scandal. It feels boring to say anything more about it. But when I realized I couldn’t go back to teaching, I lost something I thought I’d do for the rest of my life. My job was so small. More people will seeWaverleythan all the plays I might’ve directed in forty years teaching high school drama. But that work, it felt vital. When Zoya offered me this job, I wasn’t certain I’d be good at it or that it could be a replacement for what I’d lost. The jury is still out on those things, but I can say that I’ve had moments when I’ve been certain I’m in the right place.” She locked eyes with Cole.

A feeling of satisfaction came over Cole sometimes after a particularly long but good day of shooting or an exhilarating hike. It was a tingling in his muscles, a kind of fulfilled alertness, that only happened when he’d worked hard, pursued the correct thing. He hadn’t known it at all until he’d been twenty-five or so. Even now, when he was certain he was on the right path, it was rare. A double rainbow of sensation.

But there it was, spearing through his chest, while he held Maggie’s gaze.

She gave a soft smile. “It has feltpurposeful, this job. And I guess I want to keep feeling that.”

He did too. And he was beginning to suspect it wasn’t only about purpose or the job, but about them. About him and Maggie.

Oblivious across from them, Libby asked, “And the big house and the husband and the baby?”

Maggie looked down, laughing. “That’s a little personal, don’t you think?”

“Maybe.” Then Libby raised her brows, as if to sayBut I’m still asking.

“Yeah, I mean, everyone wants that stuff.” Maggie’s voice was quiet. Embarrassed. Heartbreakingly vulnerable.

“That’s what Cole said.” Libby sounded a bit smug about it.

But before Cole had a chance to defend her or think too much about how he and Maggie had the same recipe for a happy ending, Zoya called him to set.

INT. PUB CORRIDOR

“What do you think?” Cole asked.

Cole and Maggie were huddled in the hallway leading to the bathrooms. He’d caught her before she went back to the table they were sharing with Tasha and Ryan. For a reckless half second, she’d hoped it had been for a furtive kiss. But no, the man had a plan to save the day. Of course.

“I don’t know,” Maggie said carefully.

“I mean, you heard her: Tasha said she’d do anything to even the score with Vincent.Anything.”

Maggie hadn’t realized that anyone knew about Vincent besides Cole and herself, but it was clear that Tasha had shared it with Ryan, too ... and then had likely had to hold him back from committing what would have been a meticulously planned and technically flawless murder.

The last few days in Inverness, it had become utterly clear to Maggie that Ryan worshipped the ground Tasha walked on. One of these days, when Cole wasn’t hell bent on saving the world and fixing Hollywood, she would have to ask him if he’d noticed it too—

Nope, it wasn’t any of her business.

These were her work friends. It wouldn’t be right to pry into their private lives. As it was, she was pushing up against those barriers that Bernard had warned her about. She’d taken this as far as she could without getting into any trouble.

Starry eyed, Cole was still going on. “I realized it when I was talking to Libby and the other one—”

“Jack,” Maggie supplied. Compared to bubbly Libby, the other entertainment reporter was older—and much more old school.

“Yeah, him too. This is what reporters do, isn’t it? Libby might’ve heard whispers about Vincent’s behavior before now. Heck, can she really hang around theWaverleyset for a week and not hear about Tasha’s meltdown? Wouldn’t it be better if Tasha could share that story?”

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