“Hi, Estelle,” Sophie said.
“Hello, my dear,” her agent said in her scratchy voice. “I’m calling with some good news.”
“Oh yeah?” Sophie tried to keep her voice level, tried not to bounce on the balls of her feet like an excited child.
“I’ve just gotten off the phone with Phil Martinez.”
Sophie’s excitement further soared. Phil Martinez was going to be directing an exciting, modern new production ofChicagothat was already generating a lot of buzz.
“And he’s cast you as Roxie Hart,” Estelle finished.
Roxie Hart. The lead. Her first starring role.
Sophie’s feet left the ground.
* * *
Jules didn’t thinkthe day could get any better, but as she pushed through Dragonfly’s heavy wooden door, she had a feeling it might. The bar was usually closed on Mondays, which—sinceIt’s in Her Kisswas also dark on Mondays—had allowed Jules, Sophie, Josie, and Eve to finally have that double date they’d been talking about…several of them, in fact.
But tonight Josie was opening her doors to friends and family for a special party to celebrate…well, Jules wasn’t quite sure what they were celebrating, but as she took in the fairy lights twinkling overhead, she knew it was going to be a good night.
Eve stood near the bar, talking on her cell phone. She wore a knee-length white sheath dress with silver strands woven into the fabric that winked in the light, her dark hair swept back from her face, looking every bit the glamorous television star.
“Jules! Sophie!”
They turned to see Josie hurrying toward them, a wide smile on her face. She’d dyed her hair lavender, and it hung in loose waves around her face.
“I’m so glad you guys could make it.”
“We wouldn’t miss a party at our favorite bar, with some of our favorite people,” Jules told her as Josie pulled her in for a quick hug.
“Aw, you’re sweet,” Josie said. “Want a drink? Midnight in Manhattans are on the house tonight.”
“We can’t say no to that,” Sophie said, and they followed Josie to the bar, where a bartender Jules didn’t recognize was mixing drinks.
Josie’s friends Adam and Kaia sat on bar stools nearby, drinks in hand, and about a dozen other people in cocktail attire milled around, filling the room with a pleasant hum of conversation. The bartender handed matching glasses to Jules and Sophie, and they tapped them together before they drank.
“To the new Roxie Hart,” Jules said.
Sophie beamed. “And your next season as Bianca.”
“It’s going to be a good year,” Jules said.
“The best.”
They sipped their drinks before leaning in for a kiss.
“It’s in her kiss,” Sophie whispered. “Or maybe it’s in the drink. Remember the rumor about this one?” She lifted her Midnight in Manhattan.
Jules grinned. “I had forgotten about that. Drink one at midnight, and you’ll fall in love, right?”
“That’s right,” Sophie confirmed.
“I never drank one at midnight,” Jules protested.
“Must have been close enough,” Sophie said with a shrug. “Right?”
“It might have been the drink,” Jules said, remembering that afternoon in her dressing room, the “practice kiss” that had been so much more. “But I think it was the kiss.”
