Page 56 of A Secret Escape

Nicole ate the same thing, even though it had been at least a decade since she’d eaten breakfast. And it tasted so good. The creaminess of the yogurt and the delicious bite of the nuts. Berries she ate all the time (low in calories), but somehow these berries tasted better.

Everything tasted better. The eggs Milly used to make their omelets on the days they didn’t eat yogurt. The vegetables, many of which were fresh from Connie’s garden.

And that had been a highlight for Nicole. Seeing Connie and Nanna Peg again.

They’d accepted her presence without question, welcoming her as they always had, with warmth and total acceptance. To them she was Milly’s best friend, and the trajectory of her career hadn’t changed that.

“In the end it’s just a job,” Nanna Peg had said, waving a dismissive hand when Milly had explained that Nicole was taking a break. “Whether you’re a librarian or movie star, when you close your front door, you’re just you.”

If she’d wanted to step out of her life, then this was the place to do it.

Nicole didn’t mention her pregnancy. She wasn’t ready to talk about it. The only person who knew about that was Milly, and she knew Milly would never betray that trust.

Their friendship seemed to have settled back into a comfortable place, but Nicole was constantly aware of the things she hadn’t told Milly, things that could bring their friendship crashing down again. And that knowledge niggled, like a stone in her shoe. She tried to ignore it. She told herself that there was no reason for Milly to find out and no reason to tell her. What good would it do now? They were becoming close again. That was the important thing. There was no rule that said you had to share absolutely everything with another person, was there? Even if that person was your oldest and dearest friend.

She comforted herself that it was all in the past, not even relevant now, and gradually she found herself relaxing.

And relaxing was easier than she would have imagined because she loved it here. There was a sense of being cut off from everything that existed beyond the lake and the trees, and she felt more secure and at ease than she had for a long time.

At first she’d assumed it was the idyllic surroundings that were making her feel better, but then she realized it was being with Milly, who, despite Nicole’s undoubted deficiencies as a friend, bathed her in kindness.

It made her understand how many of her relationships were transactional. Most of her team were there because she paid them. No one was with her because they cared. Not even Justin, as it turned out.

But Milly cared. She had always cared, and the fact that her love for Nicole stretched back way before she was famous to a time when she’d worn braces and cried because her mother hadn’t bothered to show up to watch her in the school play made their relationship all the more special. It was special because it was real, and so little in her life was real.

Nicole spent most of her time pretending to be someone else, but with Milly she didn’t have to pretend.

Her whole world became the boathouse, the lake, the forest, Milly and her family. Everything else had ceased to exist.

When she thought about her old life—and she tried not to— she pushed it aside like crumbs under a rug, hiding it from sight.

“Won’t your agent be wondering where you are?” Milly asked her one morning after they’d managed to jog for a full thirty minutes. They were two weeks into their running routine, and this time Milly was barely out of breath.

“I told her I needed a break. I probably did her a favor. I’m not exactly hot stuff, thanks to Justin trashing my reputation.”

“Does she know you’re pregnant?”

“My agent?” Nicole felt the same little lurch of panic that she felt every time she thought about the baby. And thinking about the baby meant thinking about Justin, and she didn’t want to think about him. It also meant thinking about her future, and she had no idea what that was going to look like. She knew she had decisions to make,but she wasn’t ready to make them. She kept telling herself that there was plenty of time. “I’ve worked without a break since I was nineteen, one project after another and sometimes several at the same time. I’ve earned a rest.”

She ignored the fact that the supposed rest had been forced on her by circumstances. That if it hadn’t been for Justin, and the pregnancy, she’d probably still be working every waking hour and most of the sleeping ones too. It was her life.

And now her life was on hold.

Milly checked the fitness tracker Nicole had bought her as a gift. “Time to head home.”

“Not yet. Ten more minutes of running.”

She’d made a point of pushing her friend a little harder each day, and this time Milly didn’t try to fight her on it. Nicole tried not to feel smug as Milly took off down the forest track, her movements strong and sure.

“Look at you!”

Nicole lengthened her stride so that she could catch her, and then Milly stopped dead and Nicole almost crashed into her.

“What the—”

“There’s a man up ahead.” Milly turned and tugged the brim of Nicole’s hat farther over her eyes. “Stay behind me. I will say a bright and happyHelloas we jog past. You keep running.”

Nicole’s limbs felt shaky. “You’re sure I shouldn’t hide behind a tree?”

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