And where did that leave her? She thought of that plane ticket lying on the dresser in her bedroom, a one-way flight to LA leaving after the holidays. Her time here was finite, everything she did came with a sell-by date. Before long she’d be back in her old apartment, in her old life. And like a favourite dress she’d grown out of, she wasn’t sure that old life would fit her any more.
Shaking her head at her own maudlin thoughts, she walked down the staircase and into the hallway. In the kitchen she could hear Annie’s radio playing another round of festive songs, the familiar melodies making her feel wistful as they conjured up scenes of Christmas past.
‘You hear back from the embassy?’ Drake’s voice cut through the silent hallway. For some reason the door to the library was open. Kitty looked over with alarm, but his back was to her – he was talking to Everett.
‘It’s a no go. We’ll need to film in the studio and in California. We can simulate the mountains easily enough.’
‘You think we can make it look authentic? Colombia isn’t a whole lot like LA.’
She could almost hear Everett’s shrug. ‘Unless we get that cash injection we haven’t got a choice.’
Drake lowered his voice, but it wasn’t enough to disguise his words. ‘Will your brother come on board? It’s gonna make marketing it so much easier if he agrees to do the publicity.’
‘He’ll come roun
d. It’s a year or two before we’re at that stage anyway. I’m just concerned with the casting and locations right now. Not to mention the financing.’
Their voices drifted off as they walked to the other side of the library. Kitty let out a lungful of air. The last thing she needed was to be accused of snooping again, even if that’s what she’d ended up doing.
Why did they mention Adam though? That was the thing she didn’t understand. Everything she’d learned about his family led her to believe he wanted nothing to do with Everett or his work. She wondered if she should ask him, find out if Adam intended to move to LA and work with his brother. Just the thought of it was enough to make her heart hammer against her chest.
But then she’d already had it in the ear from Everett, and the last thing she needed to do was stir things up any more. Not when she needed that internship, and to stay in LA. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about.
No, she wouldn’t mention it to Adam. But she might keep her ear to the ground and try to find out some more information. It couldn’t hurt, could it?
After helping Annie with her food preparations in the kitchen, Kitty climbed back up the stairs to her bedroom just after ten. She was more than ready to hit the hay – her body aching as though she’d spent the evening in a boxing ring, rather than kneading dough and icing cupcakes.
It was almost half an hour later when she finally started to drift off, her breath evening out as her eyelids began to get heavy. Soon they were more closed than open, her body feeling as though it were in some kind of suspension, spanning the distance between the waking world and the sleeping one.
And then… bang!
Her eyes flew open. She frowned, looking around, trying to locate the source of the noise.
Another crash. This time she was more alert, enough to hear the sound of something hitting the window glass. She waited to see if it would go away. Maybe it was some heavy snow or the beak of a particularly annoying bird. A night bird – an owl, perhaps.
The third bang got her out of bed. She ran across the carpeted floor on her bare feet, pulling at her pyjama top to ensure she was fully covered. Just as she used to back in London, she pulled back the bottom corner of the curtain, trying to take a peek out of the window without being seen.
This time whatever was hitting the window was right in front of her face. The loud thud made her jump back, pulling the curtain with her. She fell to the floor, pulling half the curtain with her.
Oh shit.
Scrambling to her feet, she looked out of the window to the snowy lawn below. A figure stood in the shadows of the house, a hood pulled up over its head. Kitty stared, squinting to try and make out a face.
That’s when he looked up, his face illuminated by the pale glow of the moon, the radiance of his skin contrasting against his dark beard. Her hand flew to her chest, feeling her heart pounding beneath her ribcage.
Fumbling with the latch, she pushed the window open, feeling the cold pinch of the wind as it blew through the gap. She had to stand on tiptoes to lean through it, her skin prickling beneath her pyjama top.
‘What do you want?’ She was half whispering, half shouting, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.
‘You.’
His single-word response made her heart stutter.
‘Why don’t you come into the house like a normal person?’
She could see his grin from two storeys up. ‘I think we’d both agree I’m not a normal person.’
‘You’re not wrong there.’ Kitty took a deep breath. ‘So what do you want from me?’