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“Like Austin.”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t blame him. Television truly is powerful that way, but, um, yeah…” Nora runs out of steam.

“Hey.” Her sudden vulnerability moves me. It’s unexpected as well as beautiful. “I get it. I totally do.” I may say that, but of course I don’t really know what it’s like to be Nora Levine, to have that kind of expectation precede you everywhere you go.

“It’s okay. I chose this job. I wanted to do this. Ever since grown-ups started asking me that annoying question of what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’ve always replied with ‘an actor’.” She takes the kind of subtle but deep breath that must be practiced. “What did your kids want to be when they were little?”

“Nora,” I say softly. “You don’t have to bring the conversation back to my kids when you don’t want to talk about something anymore. You can just say so.”

“Oh, sorry. I should have asked what you wanted to be when you were little. Or no, you already told me. The female Martin Scorsese.”

“That was much later. I’m a little older than you.”

“So? What did you want to be?”

“No one has asked me that in such a long time. I don’t remember. All I know is that my answer can’t possibly have been a television producer.”

“Or CEO of Gloves Off Productions.”

“Exactly.”

“Are your parents still, um, with us?”

I shake my head. “Sadly, no. They both died well before their time.”

“I’m sorry,” Nora says.

“Yours?”

“Still alive and kicking, but, um, we’re not exactly close.”

I can’t help it, but as a mother, it always sends a chill up my spine when someone confesses to not being close to their parents. Apart from one of my kids dying, having them become distant is my biggest nightmare. But I also know there are all sorts of parents and a million different circumstances that can drive a wedge between a mother and her child.

“I’m not going to get into that,” Nora says with the same deadpan intonation she used to claim not to have many friends earlier. She pushes her dessert plate a few inches away from her. She’s left half the portion. “In fact, I think I might let you go off to bed.”

“I’m not tired yet.” I’d very much like Nora to stay a little longer, but I don’t want her here against her will, of course.

“Thank you so much for a lovely dinner, Michelle.”

“Mimi, please. And you’re very welcome.”

“Oh, right. You are very kind, Mimi, and your kids and grandkids are very lucky to have you.”

“I hope theUnbreak My Heartcast and crew will feel the same way.”

Nora gets up. I have to do the same to escort her out.

“I won’t hold my breath for dinner at yours, then,” I joke.

“I’ll see you on set,” Nora says.

“You will.” I don’t know what I was expecting from this evening. Although I get the feeling Nora has shown much more of herself than she perhaps wanted, I get the impression I’ve barely scratched the surface of who she really is. “It was a real joy to welcome you into my home, Nora. Maybe we can do it again some time.”

“Maybe,” she says, and never has a ‘maybe’ sounded more like a clear no. “Thanks again.” She leans toward me and brushes her lips against my cheek so softly, I hardly feel them.

I take a deep breath and inhale her scent. As I open the door to Nora and watch her walk to the car, something niggles at me—a stubbornness I won’t be able to ignore and that will make it an important mission to, despite her reluctance, have Nora Levine be excited about having dinner with me again.

CHAPTER7