Page 108 of When Stars Fall

She pats my arm. “This isn’t the first time you’ve worked with him. You must have known.” She nods toward James.

“The last time I worked with him, I wasn’t sober or clean. Apparently, I liked him a lot better when I couldn’t see his sharp edges.” The phrase reminds me of Isaac, and a pang of sadness hits me. “I don’t want Anna to end up like Isaac. But I can’t fathom how to stop her.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Ellie rubs my arm. “Together, okay?”

“I like the sound of that.” I won’t lose Ellie and our kids a second time, and I need to protect Jamal. But the other outcome is also true. If Anna killed herself and I had a part in leading her there, I’d never forgive myself. We all need to make it out alive.

Chapter Forty

Ellie

Present Day

My feet ache. I’m exhausted, and every time I’m near Wyatt, I long to curl into him. Luckily, I can do that whenever I want. The one high point of our otherwise exhausting day is my proximity to him.

During our extended break, we checked on everyone in the trailers. Anna looked better after a shower and fresh clothes courtesy of Camila. She was on the floor playing with Jamal as though the day before hadn’t happened. She was even civil to me. When we left, I felt better about trying to figure out a way forward together. Stable Anna wasn’t that bad. Stacy, Nikki, and Camila were keeping a careful watch on the kids. Everyone was fine.

“She seemed good there, almost pleasant.” Snow crunches under our feet on the way back to set. Wyatt grabs my hand and links our gloved fingers. My relationship with Wyatt has to work, and if Anna is part of the package, I have to find some bright spots.

“I used to be able to function pretty well some days too.”

There were days when I would have sworn he was sober. When he dabbled in combinations he knew well, he managed himself with precision. I suppose Anna’s the same.

“I don’t want to worry about how we’ll manage her or us.” We’re outside the hair and makeup trailer. “We’ll figure it out.”

Her ability to quit and her determination to get better—we have no power over that. I was powerless the day I asked Wyatt to quit too. In the end, the only thing I could do was leave. Neither of us wants to cut Anna out, but at some point, we might have to. I won’t suggest that again until we’ve exhausted other avenues or until it’s clear the kids won’t be safe with her around. I rise on my toes to kiss him.

He tugs me closer, going for a second, deeper kiss. The fire that burns for him bursts to life. I want our break in filming back. An empty trailer. Him. Me. A lifetime will never be enough.

Kelly, one of the makeup artists, catcalls us from behind.

“Ignore her,” Wyatt murmurs against my lips.

When other people join her, heat rises to my cheeks. Sometimes, it’s easier pretending to be someone else. In character, it’s routine to hide my real emotions. But right now, I’m pretty freaking glad to be Ellie Cooper. He breaks the kiss and gives Kelly an annoyed glance over my shoulder. “I’m making up for lost time here, Kel, and you’re interrupting.”

“Wyatt Burgess and Ellie Cooper, reunited. Myths and legends are made of this.” There’s laughter in her voice. “#TrueLoveReturns is trending on Twitter today. The two of you are the leads. #Wyllie.”

My attention hasn’t left Wyatt’s face. I could stare at him all day, every day, for the rest of my life and never wish for a different view.

“True Love Returnsis the name of this movie.” He laughs.

“Just sayin’.” Her sassy grin is visible out of the corner of my eye. She’s flirting with him in front of me about his relationship with me. “The press is unreal.”

Unease flutters in my stomach. I let my social media manager follow Wyatt across our social media platforms this morning. He followed me back. Perhaps that was a bad idea.

“It’ll die down.” He senses my mood and kisses my forehead. “It always does.”

“I shouldn’t have let my team follow you.”

“Made me feel good to see those notifications roll in. Unfollow me now and people assume we’re fighting or indecisive. Ride out the curiosity. It’s been a while, but it’ll fade. I promise.”

Before this, I hadn’t done anything gossip-column-worthy in several years. If we’re forging a relationship, I’ll have to get used to the attention again. Maybe it’ll fade, but last time the extreme interest in my life didn’t vanish until I left Wyatt and moved back home to Bermuda. My saving grace was my island hideaway where I was the only high-profile famous person, and it wasn’t worth the cost for paparazzi to send their people there on the off chance they might see me. No one got a photo of me until long after Haven was born. The perks of having lots of family on the island to run my errands and shield me from curiosity. I could disappear then, but being back with Wyatt has tossed me right back into the center of the hurricane.

Reluctantly, I disentangle myself from him to walk to Kelly’s trailer. My stomach squeezes at the way she watches him saunter away. Everything about him attracts attention—something else I’ll have to get used to again. His magnetism makes him hard to resist in real life and when he’s on a screen, big or small.

“So the rumors are true,” Kelly says when I slide into the makeup chair to be touched up.

“It seems so.” Someone who has such an interest in following social media trends gets few details.

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