Page 6 of A Secret Escape

And just like that she was right back in her childhood, curled up on her bed watching Nicole paint her nails.

If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?

Milly frowned. “We haven’t played that game for at least two decades.”

“If I had one wish it would be to put the clock back and start again.” Nicole’s gaze was fixed on Milly’s face. “How about you?”

One wish.

“I don’t know. I don’t waste time wishing for things anymore.”

“Why not?” Nicole spoke softly. “Wishing tells you what you really want.”

“Or else it just shows you what you don’t have, and dwelling on that isn’t helpful.” Milly fastened her seat belt and started the engine. “We need to go. I have to be up early. My life doesn’t go on hold just because you’re here. How long are you planning to stay?”

“I don’t know.” Nicole’s voice shook again. “Maybe forever.”

Forever?

That was a joke, surely? Milly glanced quickly at her friend, but Nicole’s eyes were closed again, and there was no hint of a smile on her face.

Forever.

Milly tightened her grip on the wheel. If she had to wish for one thing right now, it would be patience.

Chapter2Nicole

She’d made a mess of things. How could she be so good at playing a part and so bad at real life? She needed a script. She needed to be told who to be.

She shivered and huddled deeper into her coat. Milly had the air-conditioning running in the car and Nicole was frozen, but she said nothing because she was pathetically grateful to Milly for picking her up and didn’t dare ask for anything more.

She shouldn’t even have asked her to do this. She didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve Milly. She’d been a terrible friend to her. She’d let her down, and the fact that Milly had still shown up for her made her feel even worse.

Her younger self had naively thought that fame and fortune would be the answer to everything. It had come as a shock and disappointment to discover that being a movie star insulated you from many things, but not human emotion. You could buy a big house with walls of glass and a view of the ocean, but that didn’t ease the agony of heartbreak. A healthy savings account didn’t protect you from mortifying shame or nerve-shredding fear. All it really did was make you even more alone because everyone around you thought you had no reason to feel anything but lucky and permanently joyful.

Her eyes stung,and she blinked several times and tried to focus on her surroundings.

“Where are we?” She’d been expecting to go directly to Milly’s house in the village, but they’d driven straight through and were now heading toward the lake and Forest Nest, the exclusive resort owned and run by Milly and her family. The headlights picked out stone walls and fields, and she could just about make out the looming slope of the mountains to the right of her. It felt a long way from California, which was a relief, but still she felt a lurch of panic at the thought of being alone in one of the lakeside cabins. “I’m not staying with you in your home?”

“This is my home now.” Milly slowed down as they reached a sharp bend in the road. “Richard insisted on selling the cottage.” She didn’t look at Nicole, not even a glance, which could have been because it was dark and she was concentrating on the driving or, more likely, because she didn’t want to talk about it. It was a delivery of facts and no more.

Hurt hovered around Milly like an aura. Nicole could feel it, and she understood it.

Milly hadn’t just lost her husband, she’d lost her home and Nicole hadn’t been there to support her. That lapse, that total dereliction of her responsibilities as best friend, had formed a huge chasm between them. The only way of breaching that chasm was to tell the truth, try to explain, but given that there was a good chance the truth would make things worse, Nicole was delaying the moment. Did that make her a coward? Probably, but Milly had an idealistic view of relationships. Despite the fact her father had walked out when she was twelve, or maybe because of it, she expected a lot from people.

Nicole had let her down.

She wished she could put the clock back and do things differently, but it was too late for that. You made one bad decision and suddenly you were trapped on a path and there was no turning back.All she could do now was keep moving forward and make the best of things.

The divorce had shocked Nicole. She’d thought that Milly and Richard were the perfect couple. Yes, he was twelve years older than Milly, but he was handsome, charming and kind. He was also sure of himself, which was a draw to someone like Milly, who was rarely sure of anything. Being with Richard had given her more confidence. She’d blossomed. Richard had discovered what Nicole had always known: that Milly was one in a million. She was generous and genuine and had a quick sense of humor. Kindness shone from every pore in her body (although, the look she’d given Nicole when she’d described herself as ahome-wreckerhadn’t beenthatkind, so maybe the last eighteen months had knocked that out of her). Milly listened carefully when you talked and paid attention, rather than treating conversation as a game of tennis where someone was always trying to win a point.

If Nicole was casting her in a role (something she did without thinking when she met people), it would have been Girl Next Door. Freckles. Warm smile. Always there to offer a cup of tea and a hug in times of trouble.

She’d originally cast Richard in the role of Romantic Lead, but then he’d had an affair and left Milly, so now she had him placed firmly in Bad Guy territory. The one to avoid. The guy guaranteed to let you down.

And it turned out that not only had he left Milly but he’d forced her to sell her home. Nicole knew how much Milly had loved that cottage, and not for the first time in her life she felt a surge of fury toward Richard. She already had plenty of reasons to be angry with him, and now she had another one.

She hadn’t intended to ask, but she couldn’t help herself. “You couldn’t have found a way to keep the cottage?”

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