Page 121 of Even Ground
“Well, it’s nice the two of you could visit. Wiremu’s staying in the spare room right now, so …”
I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing at her obvious fishing expedition.
“We’ll be staying in my room.” Pania finally meets her mother’s gaze, and the older woman’s face lights up.
“Lovely. Make sure you show Reece how to find everything, and I’ll get started on something to eat.”
Pania walks over to her mother and grasps her arm. “Sit and have a coffee with us. We stopped and had breakfast at Matamata.”
“I’ll put the jug on,” Wiremu calls out.
I stand as Pania leads her mother to the couch. She opens her arms and embraces me, kissing me on the cheek.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Reece.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs Wilson.”
She beams. “Please, call me Hana.”
Pania sits in a nearby chair. “I thought you might like me bringing him here.”
Hana nods. “It’s good to see both of you.”
We sit on the couch, and she smiles at me. “Did you enjoy the drive down?”
I chuckle. “I slept for half of it. But what I did see was beautiful. New Zealand’s been on my bucket list for a while. I just never had an excuse to come.”
“And now you do.”
I look over at Pania and smile. “Now I do.”
* * *
Hana is amazing. She fusses over me, and it reminds me of Delaney in some ways. Pania spends a lot of her time rolling her eyes and laughing at her mother fussing over me.
It’s a little overwhelming.
After dinner, Pania heads along the hallway, and when she doesn’t come back, I go looking for her.
I find her sitting on the end of the bed in her room.
“You okay?” I ask.
“I just wanted a minute alone.”
I point back out the door. “I can go—”
She grasps my arm. “No. It’s you I’m thinking about.”
I close the door before sitting next to her. “What’s going on? You don’t have any doubts about us, do you?”
She shakes her head. “You’re everything I always wanted. Not the celebrity thing, or the money you have. But you. You don’t let me walk all over you, but you also know when I’m right.”
“That’s easy. The answer is always.”
She laughs, and I nudge her arm. “You scare me, Reece. I think you’re the funniest, sweetest man I’ve ever met, but you’re still this big star and I’m me.”
My chest tightens. I can’t blame her. In the past, I was never reliable. I got myself together long enough to get movies finished, but in between, I’m a mess.