“But whatever it is,” Sophia continued, “you need to fucking deal with it without letting it spill over onto me again, because as awkward as last night was, I still came to work this morning with my game face on, and you didn’t. That’s not okay. This set is my place of work. This is my whole life. Do you understand that?”

“Yes. And I am genuinely—”

“Don’t.” Sophia raised a hand. “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry one more time.”

“But I am sorry. For this morning and for last night. I knew my mother wasn’t happy, but I had no idea she intended to . . .” Vic stumbled, seemingly unable to even find words for what she’d seen onscreen. “I was mortified.”

“I got that much.” Sophia laughed bitterly. “What was less clear was whether you were mortified by your mother’s behaviour or mine.”

“What? Why would I be ashamed of yours?”

“Oh, I don’t know, the way you snapped off the television last night might’ve suggested you didn’t particularly feel comfortable with my work. Then you went and snapped on the entire production of this film the first time you saw a man touch me on set. Seems like there might be a connection between me doing sex scenes and you losing your shit.”

“No,” Vic said quickly. “I don’t have a problem with you doing . . . your job.”

“Really?” Sophia pushed. “You didn’t feel any little twinge of embarrassment while watching the scene last night?”

Vic shifted from one foot to the other.

“Yeah,” she scoffed, “that’s what I thought.”

“It may have taken me aback,” Vic admitted. “I wasn’t prepared for the reality of your work, and I should have been, but you have to admit, even if I were totally comfortable with your making those movies, it can still be unsettling to watch my . . . someone I’ve slept with simulate, well, similar acts on someone else with my parents in the room.”

She laughed in spite of her anger. “Now that’s quite a summary.”

Vic sighed. “I should have handled all of this better, but I was on edge from the moment Mother’s eyes landed on you. I’ve seen her predatory look before. I know what she’s capable of, the way she can eviscerate a person without ever breaking her smile. I didn’t want her to do it to you.”

Sophia’s anger faded at the unspoken aspects of that last comment. “The way she does to you?”

Vic shrugged, but a little muscle near her jaw twitched, revealing more than she probably wanted. “It’s too late for me. I wanted to protect you.”

“And what if I went in there knowing full well it was a trap but wanted to protect you?”

Vic’s mouth opened, then closed as colour rose in her cheeks.