Page 6 of Vain

Greyson looks at me, surprised. “Well, you sure work fast.”

I grin and shake my head. “It’s the food.”

“Ah, say no more. Many men have fallen for his culinary wares.”

“How you make cooking sound like porn is beyond me,” Marley huffs before grabbing the full coffee pot and sliding a mug in front of me. “How d’you take it?”

“Usually through an IV.”

“Amen to that.” He sighs.

“Black’s good, thanks.”

He pours some coffee into my mug before turning back to Greyson. “You want one?”

“No, I’ve just had one. I’ll return once I’ve finished my tasks for the morning.”

“As you wish.”

I look from Greyson’s retreating back to Marley, and ponder my next question. “Are you two an item?”

“Would that be a problem?”

“Only if it means you won’t marry me.”

He laughs before shaking his head and returning to his dough. “No, we’re not a couple, though we tend to argue like one. Comes with living in each other’s pockets for the last twenty-odd years.”

“Damn, that’s a long time. Says a lot about how much you love your job if you’ve both stuck it out this long.”

“Says a lot about how much we love Matilda.”

I lean back and sip my coffee, thinking over his words. It’s clear that Marley and Greyson are protective of Tilly, which says more about the type of person she is than he realizes.

“So you’ve both been here since Matilda was a little girl?”

“Greyson started just before she was born. She was just a wee baby when I joined the team. Seems like both a lifetime ago and only yesterday.” He smiles wistfully before he wipes his expression clean.

“Does that mean Matilda’s parents live here too? I’ve yet to meet them.”

His whole demeanor changes at the mention of them. “Her father died when she was six. Her mother is still very much alive. She lives about thirty minutes from here, but I have no doubt you’ll see her during your stay.”

I take another sip of my coffee, curious about the change in his attitude. “You don’t like her mother?” I keep my voice low in case anyone else is around.

“It is not my place to comment on such things, Mr. Church. I am merely a cook.”

“And I’m merely a pool boy.”

He looks up at me sharply. I chuckle. “My point is, I’m not here sitting around gossiping with you. I’m trying to do my job, which is to keep Matilda safe, and the best way I can do that is to understand the players in her life. There was so much crap on the internet I have no idea what’s the truth and what’s not.”

“The media can be like a fairy godmother when they’re on your side, but if they sense blood in the water, they’ll turn into sharks at the drop of a hat.”

He sighs and walks over to the sink to wash his hands. “Matilda’s mother was an aspiring actress herself before she fell pregnant and quickly got married. Between you and me, I think she got pregnant to guarantee her future financially, in case Mr. Carson followed his wandering eye, as so often happens in the world of the rich and famous. Unfortunately for Matilda, Hattie had zero maternal instincts. Once she was born, Hattie tried to carve out a bigger space for herself in the world of glitz and glamour, but nothing ever panned out the way she hoped. She was pretty, talented, and could hold a tune, but so could thousands of other girls out there. For as lovely she was, there was nothing truly remarkable about her, nothing that would make her stand out in a crowd, if you know what I mean. I’m not trying to be cruel. It’s just a fact.”

“No, I get it. If she’d grown up in my hometown, she’d likely have been the popular girl—the head cheerleader, homecoming queen, the girl all guys wanted to date and all girls were secretly jealous of. But here in the city of dreams, she was just a carbon copy of everyone else.”

“Exactly. It’s not an uncommon story. When she realized this, she decided to push her daughter into acting instead. Matilda wasn’t even walking when she shot her first commercial.”

“So she made a life for herself, living vicariously through her daughter.”