The press had some of it right, but most of it wrong. She could have told them the truth, but what good would it have done her? She’d been in the public eye for long enough to know that although some people were interested in the truth, most were more interested in a good story. Some people loved to gossip and judge, and they savored the misfortune of others.

She had to try to put Justin behind her, but in the circumstances that was almost impossible. The best she could do was make a plan, and maybe here, in this part of the world that was far removed from the one she normally occupied, she’d be able to do that.

Restless, she pulled a lightweight wrap from her suitcase and wrapped it around her shoulders before quietly moving the chair she’d wedged under the door handle.

She walked quietly to the kitchen, filled a glass with water and drank it quickly before venturing out onto the deck. The only access was from the house, so she felt relatively safe. As safe as she ever did these days.

The lake was still, patches of light shimmering on the surface and the trees casting dark shadows over the water.

She felt instantly calmer. The tightness in her spine eased, and her muscles relaxed.

Forest Nest had always had this effect on her.

She sat down on the porch swing and breathed. For now the heat wave had eased its relentless grip and allowed the air to cool.

The moment was all the more precious because she knew it would be short-lived. There were decisions to be made, and once they found out where she was she’d have to leave because it wasn’t fair to inflict the goldfish bowl of her life onto Milly, who had enough problems of her own.

But for now, she could rest. There was no role to play. No character to inhabit and no need to look over her shoulder. Not yet.

At this precise moment in time no one knew where she was. And because it was barely dawn, she could enjoy being outdoors undetected.

Letting that feeling wash over her, she closed her eyes.

Chapter 3Milly

It still shocked her to wake up and find herself alone in the bed, even though she’d been doing exactly that for eighteen months. It was her worst time of day, those early moments when she was alone with reality before she threw herself gratefully into the demands of life.

It was the stillness she noticed first, the almost unnatural silence that greeted her every morning. She still slept on the right side of the bed, her side, and the emptiness of the left side seemed to encapsulate everything that had happened to her. There was something about that stretch of smooth, untouched sheet that made her indescribably sad.