“That’s probably true. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to not be able to walk down a street without being recognized. To be afraid in your own home. But I do know you’re scared, and I know about being scared. I’ve been scared for most of my life. Scared about people leaving. Scared about Zoe growing up with daddy issues. Scared that I might be on my own for the rest of my life.” She gave a short laugh. “Which makes no sense because the last thing I want at this point is a man. Ironic, isn’t it? Most days I feel invisible, and you feel far too visible. What a pair we are. But we’re going to do this.”

“I can’t.” Nicole’s voice was a whisper, and Milly realized that when her friend had called her saying that she needed somewhere to hide, she had meant it literally. She’d worried about how Nicole would be able to keep a low profile, and only now was she seeing that given the choice Nicole wouldn’t set foot outside the boathouse.

And she felt guilty as she remembered how readily she’d dismissed Nicole’s problems as trivial. There was nothing trivial about it. How must it feel to not be able to live life normally? To not be able to drop into a coffee shop when you liked or even arrive at a remote railway station in the middle of the night without wearing a disguise?

She felt grateful for her life. Compared to Nicole’s existence, it was simple and unglamorous, and most of the time it was relentless hard work, but she had a freedom that she took for granted. A freedom she wouldn’t swap for fame and fortune.

“Remember that party we both went to when we were fifteen?” Milly gently coaxed a wasp away from the food. “I was too scared to go, but you said you’d be right there by my side, and you were, and that’s what I’m going to do for you. We are going to leave this house, and I am going to be right by your side.”

Nicole didn’t smile. “You think you can defend me from an overenthusiastic fan or worse?”

“I don’t think we’ll meet anyone, and if we do, I will say a bright, cheerful Good morning and draw their attention to something on the lake while you power past. You’re pregnant, Nicole. You need to stay healthy, and that includes fresh air and exercise.”

Nicole hesitated. “People want to do me actual harm!”

Sensing a weakening of resolve, Milly lifted her chin.

“They’re going to have to go through me first.”

Chapter 13Nicole

They ran every day at five o’clock in the morning, and as Milly had predicted they saw no one.