Page 106 of Ten Beach Road

“It’s a beautiful house,” he said to Maddie. “I’ve been watching Kyra’s postings on YouTube but even her video didn’t do it justice.”

So he’d been watching and obviously waiting. But for what? “Thank you. We’ve all fallen in love with Bella Flora. We’re hoping that someone who can appreciate her will want to own her.” Good grief, she sounded like a sales brochure.

He continued to smile at her. Maddie smiled back.

“Mom,” Kyra said, still levitating with happiness. “Daniel and I would like to talk to you about something. Can we go outside where we can have some privacy?”

“Oh. Sure.”

She turned and led them down the central hallway, keeping to the protective runners. Behind her Kyra described the house’s “before” to Daniel and stopped to show him the Casbah Lounge. They passed the arch that opened to the kitchen and Maddie caught a glimpse of Deirdre on a stepladder holding up two different knobs in front of a cabinet, and she wondered whether the woman would be reporting this visit to her contacts in Hollywood. If Deranian was worried about being spotted, he didn’t show it. Neither did he pant after Kyra in any noticeable way.

At the pool they sat in one of the wrought-iron groupings with a view out over the pass. Maddie tensed briefly when a wave runner zoomed parallel to the seawall but relaxed when it kept on going. If the paparazzi were aware of Daniel’s arrival in the Tampa Bay area, they hadn’t yet tracked him this far.

“Daniel wants to take me back to California with him,” Kyra said. “His private plane is at the Clearwater Airport.” She reached a hand out to squeeze Daniel’s. Maddie hadn’t seen her happier since the Christmas morning when she got her very first video camera.

Maddie wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “Will he be divorcing his wife and marrying you first?” seemed a bit aggressive. “That’s great, and what will happen to you and your child when he moves on?” seemed a tad negative. She settled for “Oh” while wishing that Steve—the old Steve—were here to help her navigate the potential minefields. Then again, Deranian had shown up just as Kyra had insisted he would. Maybe what Maddie said or didn’t say wasn’t all that critical; maybe Kyra was going to get her happily-ever-after after all.

“Look, I know you have to be worried about Kyra,” the actor said. His delivery was smooth and perfectly sincere. If this had been a movie, she would have bought it completely. But this wasn’t a movie; this was her daughter’s life. “Anyway, I want you to know that I’m going to make sure that she and the baby have their own place. And a car. Well, you know Kyra will have the car, not the baby.” He smiled ruefully, but earnestly, with good intention. “I’ll take care of anything they need.”

Maddie nodded. Kyra beamed.

“That way I can see both of them whenever my, um, schedule allows.”

Kyra stopped beaming. Maddie wasn’t sure whether to nod or not.

Kyra turned to Daniel. “But where will you live?” she asked, surprised.

“Why, in my house,” he said as if this were obvious. “In Laurel Canyon.”

“Well, why wouldn’t we just live there with you?” Kyra asked. “I don’t get it.”

Maddie didn’t want to “get it” but was afraid she did. Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his seat and for a moment he seemed at a loss, as if he’d arrived with the script memorized and now some of the lines had been changed. He turned to Maddie for help, and she felt her heart twist painfully in her chest as she watched the confusion wash over her daughter’s face. Would Kyra really want her here when comprehension finally dawned?

“I’m going to let you two discuss this further on your own,” Maddie said, rising. “I’ll just be inside.” She shot Kyra a bracing look. She had no idea what kind of look to send Daniel Deranian.

“Come on, Kyra,” he said. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Maddie watched them head toward the path to the beach. Kyra’s face was turned up to Daniel’s in question, but the admiration was still there. Maddie went into the house, afraid to think about what kind of look Kyra would be wearing when they returned.

Inside she paced the central hallway dodging frantic designers, stopping for just a few minutes in the kitchen where Deirdre was supervising the cabinet and counter installation before moving into the salon where a young slimhipped designer hung deep fuchsia curtains while his partner unfurled a brightly patterned area rug. At any other time Maddie would have savored the outstanding culmination of all their hard work—the house was practically preening under all the attention—but she couldn’t seem to focus and instead moved from window to window, watching anxiously for Kyra’s return.

“Are you okay?” Avery asked when she found Maddie back in the master bedroom pacing its length.

“No.” Maddie pressed her forehead to the far front window and twisted in an effort to get a glimpse of the limo, which was now idling at the bottom of the driveway with the driver posted outside it. Because of the darkened windows, she couldn’t tell if Kyra and Deranian were in it or still out walking on the beach. “I’m so afraid she’s out there having her heart trampled all over, I can hardly breathe.”

“But he came,” Avery pointed out. “None of us really believed he’d show up, but he did.” She smiled at Maddie. “Maybe it’ll all work out.”

“Maybe,” Maddie said, turning away from the window to face her friend. “But I feel like there’s a rock in the pit of my stomach. Daniel Deranian may play romantic heroes in his movies, but I don’t think that applies to his real life.”

Below, the driver moved to the rear door and swung it open. Kyra got out slowly. She took a step away from the car and stood for a moment, her shoulders set. It was only after the car had backed the rest of the way down the drive and headed toward the bay that she turned to watch it go.

Maddie watched her daughter watch the car. When it was no longer visible, Kyra turned and walked resolutely into the front garden. Maddie raced down the stairs and out the front door. She caught up with Kyra at the newly repaired fountain.

“So?” Maddie asked quietly as Kyra lifted her tear-stained face.

“So.” Kyra squeezed her eyes shut, then scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks with the back of one hand. “He made me a really good offer,” she said. “Considering he’s not getting a divorce or ever planning to marry me.”

“Aw, honey.” Maddie stepped closer, wanting to wrap her arms around her daughter.

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