There was a pinch in my chest. This would be my first Christmas away from my family in eleven years. My throat clogged. We wouldn’t even be celebrating on the same day. By the time Christmas was over here, it would only be starting for my siblings.

“I’m having a quiet one,” I managed to say, feeling her eyes on me but refusing to expand on the matter.

Her hand landed on mine. I glanced up. Her expression was kind.

“Why don’t you have breakfast with us?” she asked. “Here at the house.”

“Really?” I bit my tongue, repressing a surge of emotion. “Are you sure?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t.” She diced another strawberry and wiped her fingers on a napkin. “It’ll just be Desdemona and me. We’re going to have pastries. You’d be more than welcome.”

“Okay, thanks. That sounds lovely.” A thought occurred to me, and I added, “Nate won’t be here?”

“No.” She scooped a mouthful of yogurt and berries. I reached for a berry myself, figuring I probably should have something at least halfway healthy. “I’ll be visiting the Braddocks later. In the morning, it’s just us.”

“Then I’d love to. Thank you so much for the invitation.”

* * *

When breakfast ended, I returned to the cottage and was assembling the photography equipment I’d ordered online when my phone rang. I glanced at the Caller ID, which said “Blair”, and picked up. “Hi, Blair.”

“Hey.” He sounded cautious. “How is everything?”

“Pretty good, actually.”

“Is it really?” He hesitated. “I just read an article online reporting on the traffic accident you told me about. You never said the paparazzi were there.”

I winced. I’d intentionally held back that detail because I’d known it would make him anxious. “It was just one guy.”

He grumbled something unintelligible. “Why was he even there? Was he from a Kiwi news outlet?”

“I don’t think so.” I’d done some investigating on the matter after seeing the article. “Since the story originated from HL Online Magazine, and they have a history of following me around, I assume the photographer was on their payroll.”

“Oh, great,” Blair said sarcastically. “So some guy followed you all the way from L.A. That’s really reassuring.”

“He could be a local contractor,” I pointed out, but a tingle of dread ran up my spine anyway. Blair was right. If they had followed me, it was a bit on the creepy side.

“Did you get a good look at him?”

“No,” I admitted. “But if I see him again, I’ll try to take a picture and send it back to Jeff.”

“Good.” He sighed. “I worry about you.”

My heart clenched. I hated knowing that. He had enough on his plate without me dumping my personal issues on him too.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” I assured him. “Everything is fine.”