Page 111 of A Secret Escape

But she needn’t have worried because the play was wonderful, and not just because she’d known so many of the children (she still thought of them as children, even though they were teenagers now) for years. And Zoe was without doubt the star, acting the part that Milly had heard her and Nicole rehearsing over and over again.

Brendan tightened his grip on her hand and leaned closer to her. “She has talent,” he whispered. “Maybe she’s a star in the making.”

Milly thought about Nicole and the positives and negatives of her career and wasn’t sure she wanted that for Zoe, but she wasn’t going to worry about that now. If there was one thing that the last couple of years had taught her, it was that it was best to focus on today if you could, because no one really knew what the future was going to bring. Chance played such a big role in what happened in life.

So for now she watched her daughter and enjoyed the moment, and she felt pride and love and gratitude, and she realized that being a parent, despite all the worry and sense of responsibility that came with it, was the best thing in the world, and even on the very worst day she wouldn’t change it for anything.

It was the perfect way to spend a moonlit summer evening, and afterward the cast joined them in the gardens, and Milly hugged Zoe so tightly she protested that her ribs were going to crack.

“You were brilliant. I was so proud.”

“Did you see the part where I fell over the tree stump? Agh!” But Zoe was clearly on a high with it all, dizzy with the rush of adrenaline that came after a performance. She was still wearing the floaty dress she’d worn on stage and had flowers in her hair.“Nicole was amazing. Everyone agrees having her there made such a difference.”

Nicole joined them at that moment. She’d dressed discreetly in the hope of not attracting attention, but of course it would have been impossible for Nicole Raven not to attract attention. There had been a ripple of excitement through the whole audience as word had spread that they were in the presence of Hollywood royalty, and every now and then one of Zoe’s friends would drag an embarrassed adult over to them with aCan I just introduce you to my mum and dad?and Nicole would smile and be gracious as she shook hands and signed whatever was thrust in her direction.

Joel didn’t leave her side once, standing like a sentry, his eyes on the crowd.

“Nicole is going to help with our drama group.” Zoe’s eyes were shining. “Isn’t that amazing? She’s going to talk to the staff about doing some special sessions.”

“That’s great.” Milly looked around and searched the crowd. “Where’s Cally? Is everything all right between the two of you now? Did you manage to have that talk?”

“Yes, thanks to Nicole.” Zoe gave Nicole a grateful look. “She spoke to the whole cast about what it is really like making a career of being an actor. She said, ‘The parts you get will come and go, but if you’re lucky the friendships you make will last forever,’ and Cally got this weird look on her face, and then she asked if she could talk to me, and she said how ashamed she was and how she is never going to let anything come between us again.”

“That’s good to hear.” Milly was sure that at some point something would challenge their friendship because that was just life, but for now she was just relieved that everything was back to normal. She glanced at Nicole, intending to thank her, but Nicole was laughing at something Joel had said and didn’t even notice.

“Oh, there’s Dad! I should go and talk to him, and to Avery.” Zoe paused. “Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. This is a family event.” Milly watched her speed across the grass to her father and saw Avery hesitate and then hug Zoe and make what appeared to be a great big fuss of her.

And Milly realized that she no longer felt anxious or sick at the thought of sharing Zoe,and she decided that as long as Avery was kind to her daughter, then she was going to be grateful for that, and they would make this work.

“So here we are.” Nicole appeared by her side and slid her arm into Milly’s.

“Here we are.” Milly moved closer to her friend. “Thank you for everything you did for Zoe.”

“It was nothing. It was fun working with them. It reminded me how much I love acting. And I’m glad things are better with Richard.” Nicole raised her hand to gently fend off a bee that had taken a wrong turn on its hunt for pollen. “He apologized to me, by the way.”

“Good.”

“You seem much better about it all. Happier. I’m assuming that’s all the sex with Brendan.”

Milly half gasped and half laughed. “Could you speak a little louder? I think only the north of England heard you. You’re worse than Nanna Peg.”

“I do hope so. It’s a definite life goal of mine.” Nicole’s gaze rested on Nanna Peg, who was deep in conversation with Brendan once again, and then on Connie. “Who is that guy with your mother? The tall one with dark hair.”

“That,” Milly said, “is Brian.”

“That’s Brian?” Nicole tilted her head to one side. “He actuallyishot, for an older guy. Do you think they—”

“I have no idea, and I’m not asking. She asked if she could bring him tonight, and I got him a ticket. That’s the end of my interference. Although, I did overhear them talking about a possible trip to Australia. Brian’s daughter is there.”

Nicole studied them for a moment. “Do you think they’re romantically involved?”

“I don’t think so. I think it really is friendship. And that’s what my mother wants.”

“I can understand that.” Nicole leaned her head against Milly’s shoulder. “Friendship is important. Possibly the most important thing of all, don’t you think?”

Milly felt her throat thicken. “I don’t know about that.” Her voice was husky. “I mean, sex is pretty important.”

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