Cover Story by Rachel Lacey

Author:Rachel Lacey [Lacey, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Montlake
Published: 2024-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Natalie stood beneath the shower’s hot spray, eyes closed, as she did her best to cleanse her brain along with her body. The fan today hadn’t meant any harm. Natalie should have still enjoyed her jog. She shouldn’t still be afraid. She couldn’t go on like this, not with the constant fear and paranoia or her attraction to Taylor. And yet, every time she felt like she was going to snap, Taylor pulled her back from the brink with her calm, reassuring manner.

And so, Natalie kept holding on.

With a sigh, she shut off the water and went into her bedroom to dress. She put on jeans and a long-sleeved tee, pulled her hair back in a ponytail, and headed downstairs. It was Sunday, which meant she had lines to learn, and this week, she would be shooting several dialogue-heavy scenes.

As she entered the kitchen, she heard Taylor’s voice in the living room. Natalie poured herself a glass of water, wondering who Taylor was talking to. No one was here. Natalie’s phone would have alerted her if the gate had opened, which meant Taylor must be on the phone. Curiosity tickled between Natalie’s shoulder blades. She couldn’t help it. Her interest was piqued by the chance to learn a little more about what Taylor was like outside of work.

She moved to the other side of the kitchen counter. From here, she could see Taylor on the living room sofa. She had a tablet propped on the table in front of her and was grinning at the screen, clearly video chatting with someone. Jealousy flared in Natalie’s stomach, even though she had no claim to Taylor.

They were halfway through their three-month contract now. At the beginning of April, Taylor would return to her real life, and Natalie . . . well, she had no idea what her future looked like. She would have finished filming Heart Attacked, and the Oscars would be behind her. But how would she ever feel safe, knowing Becker was out there? Maybe there was no peace for someone like her.

“Nat!”

She snapped out of her mental spiral to see Taylor motioning to her from the sofa.

“Come say hi. My parents are dying to meet you.”

“Oh.” Natalie hadn’t expected that. “Really?”

Taylor nodded. Natalie gulped the rest of her water and walked over to sit beside Taylor on the sofa. An older couple was on the screen. The woman had short dark hair and a warm smile. Taylor’s dad appeared tall and lean like his daughter, with snow-white hair. One side of his face drooped, but it did little to diminish the happy smile on his face.

She felt herself smiling in return as she waved at the camera. “Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn, it’s a pleasure. I’m Natalie.”

“Oh, please call me Martha,” Taylor’s mom said. “And this is Harry. Taylor speaks so highly of you, we just wanted to say hi. And also, congratulations on your Oscar nomination! That’s just wonderful. We loved A Case for Love.”

“Loved it,” Harry echoed with a nod.

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