“Thanks. I appreciate you letting me stay here, by the way. The house is spectacular,” Seth replied, but it was difficult to focus on anything else when he had the image of Tia Beckett’s terrible scars fixed in his mind.

Not many things would be worse for an actress, especially one who was just becoming famous.

Tia filled an ice pack and held it to her face while lying on the couch. That little episode had been a disaster. Not only had she not been able to get in and out of the main house without being noticed, she’d also made the whole thing worse by attempting to hide. Maxi’s guest had stripped down, and she’d been under his bed like some kind of sick voyeur.

She was embarrassed for not simply stepping up and owning who she was and what’d happened to her instead of sneaking around, but the consequences loomed so large in her mind and she felt so fragile, she probably would’ve taken the same risk even if she had it to do over again.

Her phone signaled an incoming call.

She wasn’t going to answer it. She didn’t even want to look to see who it was. She was sure it would be Maxi wondering why she’d been in his friend’s bedroom. No doubt the artist next door had called right away to report her. She’d seen how angry he was when he caught her; he’d had a right to be angry.

What was she going to tell Maxi, who’d been so good to her? Would he tell her to go back to LA?

Maybe she should. She had no business here.

But she liked Kiki. Having something to care for gave her a sense of purpose that distracted her—for a short time, anyway—from the terrible thoughts that tortured her these days. Thanks to Maxi, she’d been set up in a situation she’d thought she could tolerate.

And then he’d gone and invited someone else to stay on the property...

“What’s happening to me?” she asked herself as the phone stopped ringing. She’d fallen into a nightmare and couldn’t wake up. And yet she’d been so careful to avoid getting caught up in the drugs, alcohol and sex scandals that ruined so many careers, especially in Hollywood. The last thing she’d wanted to do was to prove her family, friends and other church members—all those who’d been judging her for leaving—right. When she’d landed the lead role in Expect the Worst, her father had quoted Mark 8:36: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?