Page 57 of Beyond the Spotlight Discreet Version

“Come on.” Reynold stands, pulling me from my thoughts. He holds out his hand. “I’m going to make you some soup.”

I scowl.

“Us. I’m going to makeussome soup.”

I roll my eyes but take his hand and follow him out to the kitchen.

“Savvy!” Addy squeals and runs towards me.

“Adeline Lee,” Reynold warns in that punishing voice that gets me all hot and bothered.

Addy stops in her tracks.

“You need to stay back. We’re sick, remember?”

“I want to be sick too,” she whines.

“Oh, Addy,” I begin. “Being sick is no fun. That means staying in bed and not going out for ice cream or hanging out with Lana and Banana.”

I giggle at the names rhyming. Lana said Mylan named the dog Banana after her childhood nickname.

“I get to hang out with Banana today?” she says with hope.

I nod and Addy jumps up and down.

“Do you want to have a sleepover with Banana and Lana too?” Reynold adds.

“Will you and Savvy be there?” she asks with a frown.

“Savannah and I have to stay here to get better,” he explains. I can see how he struggles to not walk to her, take her in his arms, and reassure her. “We only need a few days, at most four, then you can come back.”

Adeline’s eyes widen. “That’s a long time.”

Reynold laughs to shake off his hesitancy. I’m assuming it’s the first time he’ll be away from her since she was born.

“I know, Poppy, but it’ll pass in no time. Lana wants to take you on adventures.”

Addy’s face brightens at that, and she hops around again. “I love adventures. Can I wear my knight’s costume?”

“You sure can,” he says, then turns to me. “I bought her one after our trip to Arkansas, and she’s been wanting to wear it ever since.”

“Because I want to be a knight like Dad,” Addy giggles. She runs off into the living room and jumps feet first onto the couch. This is the second time she’s mentioned Reynold being a knight. The first time was on the plane.

“I do the Renaissance Faire up at Tryon Park in the fall. Addy joined me for the first time last year. She was a tiny princess, and I was her knight. The costume lets me blend in and feel normal, if only for a day.”

Normal. He seems to want normalcy, but he’s a famous actor. Didn’t he realize fame came with the job?

He must have seen the question on my face.

“I used to revel in the fame… the publicity. I didn’t mind the paparazzi because I wanted to be seen. It all changed five years ago when...”

When Adeline was born, and his sister died.

“Sometimes I wonder if I still want to act.”

“You do.”

He raises a brow at me. “Oh yeah? You know what I want?”