Know Your Heart: A New Zealand Enemies to Lovers Romance (Far North Series Book 2) by Tracey Alvarez Page A
Authors: Tracey Alvarez
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while.
A kettle clanked on the woodstove behind them.
“She’s an actor.” Josie tapped her husband on the shoulder. “She’s on that TV show I watch every Friday night.”
Robbie’s face scrunched up. “Sorry, love. Not my thing. I’m more of an armchair sportsman.”
Savannah chuckled. “It’s not really a guy kind of program.”
Josie came around the couch and moved a big basket of yarn off the second armchair.
“Anyway”—Josie flicked a hand—“are you a friend of Nate and Lauren too? They’re good people, and Drew’s a right little cutiepie.”
“He is.” The ball of tension in her belly shrank a little at the way Josie had said actor , as if in her world, acting was just another way to earn a living, like dentistry or sales. “Nate’s my second cousin.”
“Is that right?” Josie’s eyebrows lifted.
Savannah could almost see the cogs turning in Josie’s brain, adding together the sum of her and Nate and her now ex-husband, Liam, photographed together after the incident at an Auckland bar.
Last year, Nate had flown back to New Zealand between assignments and invited her out for a drink. She hadn’t been able to turn him down without raising suspicion, and her relationship with Nate had always been a sore spot with her husband. A sore spot that on this day detonated the last, tenuous strands holding her disastrous marriage together. Liam had slammed her up against a wall, screaming red-faced and incoherently, ordering her not to leave their house.
She’d gone anyway.
Nate had discovered the bruises on her arm minutes before Liam tracked her to the bar and tried to drag her out of it. Her calm-as-lake-water cousin lost his temper, and after a short but intense scuffle, broke Liam’s nose. The following media frenzy speculated that Nate was Savannah’s lover, sprung in a booty-call by her faithful manager/husband.
Liam agreed not to lay assault charges against Nate and to give Savannah an uncontested divorce if she kept her mouth shut about their tumultuous marriage. Yes, Liam had actually used the word “tumultuous”, as if they’d had a few rough patches, instead of the last few years of his escalating manipulative control and emotional cruelty. But as much as it burned her ass, she wanted out more than she cared for what the public thought of her marriage, and she’d conceded one final time to her husband’s demands. Freedom was worth it—though she hated that Nate had been caught in the backlash.
“Not many people know it,” she admitted. “Nate and I decided early on to keep the fact we’re related private.”
Josie gave her an almost imperceptible nod. She must’ve heard the rumors—as had the majority of people in this tiny country of only four and a half million. Especially since one of the trio in the scandal was a nominated contender for a women’s magazine’s New Zealand Bachelor of the Year contest, and had his own claim to fame being one of the country’s top photojournalists.
“Now Liam and I are divorced, it’s not such big news. Though I’d prefer to keep Nate and his family off the radar.”
“Won’t hear anything from us. Lauren and her little boy deserve some peace after everything they went through.” Wrinkles spread out from Josie’s eyes as she narrowed them into hardened slits. “And you too. What really happened between you and your ex is your business, but those of us who’ve followed your career from the beginning saw the light go out of your eyes a few years back. It’s no wonder your cousin reacted the way he did.”
Savannah’s throat thickened, remembering the viral photos of her wedged between Nate and her husband, blood pouring out of Liam’s nose, Nate’s expression fierce and possessive but not for the reasons the media had splashed around.
“The public chose not to see it that way.”
“Seems to me the public doesn’t really know you,” said Glen.
Truth was, most days it felt as if no one really knew her.
A kettle clanked on the woodstove behind them.
“She’s an actor.” Josie tapped her husband on the shoulder. “She’s on that TV show I watch every Friday night.”
Robbie’s face scrunched up. “Sorry, love. Not my thing. I’m more of an armchair sportsman.”
Savannah chuckled. “It’s not really a guy kind of program.”
Josie came around the couch and moved a big basket of yarn off the second armchair.
“Anyway”—Josie flicked a hand—“are you a friend of Nate and Lauren too? They’re good people, and Drew’s a right little cutiepie.”
“He is.” The ball of tension in her belly shrank a little at the way Josie had said actor , as if in her world, acting was just another way to earn a living, like dentistry or sales. “Nate’s my second cousin.”
“Is that right?” Josie’s eyebrows lifted.
Savannah could almost see the cogs turning in Josie’s brain, adding together the sum of her and Nate and her now ex-husband, Liam, photographed together after the incident at an Auckland bar.
Last year, Nate had flown back to New Zealand between assignments and invited her out for a drink. She hadn’t been able to turn him down without raising suspicion, and her relationship with Nate had always been a sore spot with her husband. A sore spot that on this day detonated the last, tenuous strands holding her disastrous marriage together. Liam had slammed her up against a wall, screaming red-faced and incoherently, ordering her not to leave their house.
She’d gone anyway.
Nate had discovered the bruises on her arm minutes before Liam tracked her to the bar and tried to drag her out of it. Her calm-as-lake-water cousin lost his temper, and after a short but intense scuffle, broke Liam’s nose. The following media frenzy speculated that Nate was Savannah’s lover, sprung in a booty-call by her faithful manager/husband.
Liam agreed not to lay assault charges against Nate and to give Savannah an uncontested divorce if she kept her mouth shut about their tumultuous marriage. Yes, Liam had actually used the word “tumultuous”, as if they’d had a few rough patches, instead of the last few years of his escalating manipulative control and emotional cruelty. But as much as it burned her ass, she wanted out more than she cared for what the public thought of her marriage, and she’d conceded one final time to her husband’s demands. Freedom was worth it—though she hated that Nate had been caught in the backlash.
“Not many people know it,” she admitted. “Nate and I decided early on to keep the fact we’re related private.”
Josie gave her an almost imperceptible nod. She must’ve heard the rumors—as had the majority of people in this tiny country of only four and a half million. Especially since one of the trio in the scandal was a nominated contender for a women’s magazine’s New Zealand Bachelor of the Year contest, and had his own claim to fame being one of the country’s top photojournalists.
“Now Liam and I are divorced, it’s not such big news. Though I’d prefer to keep Nate and his family off the radar.”
“Won’t hear anything from us. Lauren and her little boy deserve some peace after everything they went through.” Wrinkles spread out from Josie’s eyes as she narrowed them into hardened slits. “And you too. What really happened between you and your ex is your business, but those of us who’ve followed your career from the beginning saw the light go out of your eyes a few years back. It’s no wonder your cousin reacted the way he did.”
Savannah’s throat thickened, remembering the viral photos of her wedged between Nate and her husband, blood pouring out of Liam’s nose, Nate’s expression fierce and possessive but not for the reasons the media had splashed around.
“The public chose not to see it that way.”
“Seems to me the public doesn’t really know you,” said Glen.
Truth was, most days it felt as if no one really knew her.
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