Page 58 of Nothing to No One

“They’re different. There’s sincerity in Struan. It’s who he is. He isn’t always honest, I get that, he protects his brother. Who protects him? You have to figure out how to get tighter control, or find out what Roman needs to get that control for himself. Is it about Sway?”

“Don’t bring her name into it.” With an elbow on the door, Magnus cradled his brow, covering his eyes. “Forget you even know it. Forget you heard it.”

“Why are you afraid of her?”

“Because, as you’ve seen, any mention of her affects Roman’s mood, which affects his ability to do his job. He needs to get into the swing of UO, to find the track, to set himself on the rails, and, it’s like magic when he does what he does. When he’s engrossed in a part and focused on the art… he deserves to do this, he’s good at this.”

“At what cost?”

Magnus’s hand dropped to his lap, his expression of forlorn wonderment tracked outside.

If he wanted what was best for them, if he truly believed it was this job, and that their lives were the way they were supposed to be, she didn’t envy him what lay ahead.

Her fear for Struan could be blinkered because he was the one she cared about. Maybe she shouldn’t be so hard on Magnus. What was the uncle’s alternative? Struan wouldn’t want to walk away from his brother, and, she hoped, Magnus wouldn’t want to walk away from either of them. Though if it came down to a 50/50, choice, he’d bet on the payday, he just had that aura about him.

They could agree to disagree while it was intellectual, she just wished Roman showed a little more gratitude. If he understood and valued what his blood family did for him, she wouldn’t necessarily judge him so harshly.

Neither said another word, even when they reached the set. Magnus hurried away and she was quickly waylaid by Renata rushing up at her side.

“This is a big day!”

“A big day?” she asked, her eyes still on Magnus as he disappeared around a corner. “Why is it a big day?”

“They want to interview you and take another second—”

Wait, what? What did she say?

“What was that?”

“The guys, ourMaking of…guys, they want to interview you!”

“For what? I’m not part of the show.”

“You’re the biggest part of the lead actor’s life!”

Shit, those kinds of questions? About their every intimate moment? Given the watershed last night, this wasn’t the best day to spout opinions about her fake lover.

“No, I don’t want to talk to them.”

“You have to.” Renata caught hold of her to stop her walking past. “It’ll help, see, humanize him and answer some of the questions everyone’s desperate to ask.”

“What questions?”

“How you feel about his work, and how you support him. How you supported him getting this role, when he told you about UO, when you met, when you fell in love.”

Yeah, that was exactly the path she didn’t want to walk down. They still hadn’t come up with a backstory for their relationship. Really showed how much everyone cared about her being put on the spot.

“I’d prefer to keep running back and forth doing errands, helping out, like I have been. I barely know my way around—”

“That doesn’t matter.” Renata scoffed. “You can’t get lost. Everyone knows who you are. You don’t even need a security card. The rest of us can’t go pee without six guards stopping us. You can go wherever you want.”

That was almost awe. Renata had five, maybe ten years on her. She looked fantastic, no matter her age. Fantastic in the LA way. Perry loitered in the background of the moment, smiling at this person and that, she was a woman who knew how to seize opportunities. They hadn’t spent time getting to know each other. How could everyone know her? Everyone?

When Mieux suddenly appeared, Bambi brightened up, gesturing her over while extricating herself from Renata’s grip.

“Let’s go over those interviews and appearances,” she exclaimed. “That important list. You know, the things they wanted me to do?”

Her colleague wasn’t on the same page. “We covered that the other day.”

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