the Huffington Post contacted me yesterday. Fox News, CNN, the Today Show . I’ve had bites from all of them. Even a few across the Pond. You need someone with connections, and that’s me. And you need someone who speaks theater as a director and a businessman. Also me.”
“Why would you do this?”
“Investors breathing down my neck. Your intermission show was an absolute scandal. Videos on YouTube, articles in the papers, our production made into a mockery.”
“Kind of like our relationship.”
“Oh, grow up, Katie. You had to know it wasn’t working between us.”
“No, actually I didn’t. We’d been together nearly a year. You know what I expected from you? Integrity. I expected to be able to trust you.”
“And all of that’s in the past,” Felicity said. “We’re over it, so you need to move on. It’s not like we appreciated being shoved on a plane to Texas.”
“Arrangements could probably be made to shove you elsewhere.”
“I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here,” Ian snapped. “If we save your little homespun theater, then I’m taking the glory back with me. Call it humanitarianism, call it a PR stunt, but I call it a job. And I’m going to do it. The same money that’s fronting Much Ado is also behind the New York production. I’ve lost all credibility with the London theater community, and they need time to forget our little intermission sideshow.”
“And New York has yet to hear of it?” I could fix that.
“And they’re not going to,” Ian said pointedly.
“Please go back to London before you mess this up even more.”
Ian took a step, his tall form leaning way too close to mine. Geez, he still smelled good.
No! Stop sniffing! That was the scent of cheating and lies.
“Don’t think you won’t be seeing me often while I’m here.” And then Ian’s tone shifted, softened, and he sounded more like the man I had fallen for. “Face it, Katie. You need me.”
“You know, I’ve come to realize I never needed you. Today is no exception.”
“Let’s go home,” his new girlfriend whined, her voice hitting an octave known to set off choruses of yipping dogs.
“Go to the car, Felicity,” Ian commanded.
“But—”
“I’ll be there shortly.” His gaze locked on mine as his companion huffed then sashayed away.
“You need me to help save your theater,” Ian said. “Just like you needed me to turn you from a spare cast member into a star.”
There it was, that poison dart right to the throat. I wanted to deny it, to tell him he was wrong. That I was a good actress, that I did have what it took to be on the Great White Way or the West End.
But I couldn’t form the words. Not any that I believed.
Ian shook his head. “I thought we were going to be so good together.”
I swallowed and looked away before he could see the singular tear. “Sorry for having such unreasonable expectations.”
“You’re nothing without me. Your career is dead, and—”
“Nothing?” Frances bowed up like she was about to show Ian how she’d earned her black belt her senior year. “Katie’s already so much better without you. Do you see that bag in her hand?”
Oh, no.
“Do you know what that is? Do you?”
Ian shrugged a careless shoulder. “I do not.”
“It’s a wedding dress.”
“No, Frances,” I warned.
“It’s her wedding dress. That’s right, Katie is getting married.”
Ian slid his piercing stare to me. “To whom?”
“The love of her life, that’s who,” Frances said. “The boy she dated in high school and college.”
“Is that so?”
I just frantically shook my head. “Frances—”
“That’s right. They reunited on an airplane that nearly crashed. You’re welcome to Google that. He carried her unconscious body to safety, and they realized they never wanted to be apart.”
“Very touching,” Ian said. “That’s quite a story. And just who is this dashing hero who’s asked you for your
“Why would you do this?”
“Investors breathing down my neck. Your intermission show was an absolute scandal. Videos on YouTube, articles in the papers, our production made into a mockery.”
“Kind of like our relationship.”
“Oh, grow up, Katie. You had to know it wasn’t working between us.”
“No, actually I didn’t. We’d been together nearly a year. You know what I expected from you? Integrity. I expected to be able to trust you.”
“And all of that’s in the past,” Felicity said. “We’re over it, so you need to move on. It’s not like we appreciated being shoved on a plane to Texas.”
“Arrangements could probably be made to shove you elsewhere.”
“I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here,” Ian snapped. “If we save your little homespun theater, then I’m taking the glory back with me. Call it humanitarianism, call it a PR stunt, but I call it a job. And I’m going to do it. The same money that’s fronting Much Ado is also behind the New York production. I’ve lost all credibility with the London theater community, and they need time to forget our little intermission sideshow.”
“And New York has yet to hear of it?” I could fix that.
“And they’re not going to,” Ian said pointedly.
“Please go back to London before you mess this up even more.”
Ian took a step, his tall form leaning way too close to mine. Geez, he still smelled good.
No! Stop sniffing! That was the scent of cheating and lies.
“Don’t think you won’t be seeing me often while I’m here.” And then Ian’s tone shifted, softened, and he sounded more like the man I had fallen for. “Face it, Katie. You need me.”
“You know, I’ve come to realize I never needed you. Today is no exception.”
“Let’s go home,” his new girlfriend whined, her voice hitting an octave known to set off choruses of yipping dogs.
“Go to the car, Felicity,” Ian commanded.
“But—”
“I’ll be there shortly.” His gaze locked on mine as his companion huffed then sashayed away.
“You need me to help save your theater,” Ian said. “Just like you needed me to turn you from a spare cast member into a star.”
There it was, that poison dart right to the throat. I wanted to deny it, to tell him he was wrong. That I was a good actress, that I did have what it took to be on the Great White Way or the West End.
But I couldn’t form the words. Not any that I believed.
Ian shook his head. “I thought we were going to be so good together.”
I swallowed and looked away before he could see the singular tear. “Sorry for having such unreasonable expectations.”
“You’re nothing without me. Your career is dead, and—”
“Nothing?” Frances bowed up like she was about to show Ian how she’d earned her black belt her senior year. “Katie’s already so much better without you. Do you see that bag in her hand?”
Oh, no.
“Do you know what that is? Do you?”
Ian shrugged a careless shoulder. “I do not.”
“It’s a wedding dress.”
“No, Frances,” I warned.
“It’s her wedding dress. That’s right, Katie is getting married.”
Ian slid his piercing stare to me. “To whom?”
“The love of her life, that’s who,” Frances said. “The boy she dated in high school and college.”
“Is that so?”
I just frantically shook my head. “Frances—”
“That’s right. They reunited on an airplane that nearly crashed. You’re welcome to Google that. He carried her unconscious body to safety, and they realized they never wanted to be apart.”
“Very touching,” Ian said. “That’s quite a story. And just who is this dashing hero who’s asked you for your
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