“Love you.”
“Love you, too. Be good.”
Grey ended the call. Ethan was still frozen in the doorway. He met her eyes, and a slow smile crept across his face. He didn’t have to hear the other half of the call to figure out what was going on.
“You got it.”
His exhilarated expression made the news sink in even further. She nodded and covered her face with her hands to shield him from what had to be the dopiest grin of all time.
The next thing she knew, he’d crossed the room in a few long strides and lifted her in his arms, crushing her against his chest. Her legs dangled inches from the ground as he spun her around.
“Congratulations,” he murmured into her hair. He suddenly tensed, as if realizing too late that his show of affection was a little extreme.
He slowly released her, careful to give her time to prepare her good foot to take her weight. The slide down his body was agonizing. As soon as she was steady on her feet (or rather, foot), he took a determined step back and cleared his throat.
“I mean. I’m not surprised. You were amazing when—um.” He choked, the memories of his “help” with her audition clearly overwhelming him, the same way they did her.
“Thanks, it doesn’t feel real,” she said quickly, hoping to squash the glazed look of panic growing in his eyes.
“I should—we—are you? I have to…” He backed toward the door and dashed out of it before successfully completing a sentence.
Grey knew that she should hurry up and finish getting ready. Instead, she lay back on the bed, allowing herself to bask in her victory for a few glorious seconds.
She had the part.
And secondly, but not insignificantly, she could make Ethan Atkins tongue-tied without even trying.
GREY HAD HADJUSTENOUGHto drink at dinner that she didn’t even protest when Ethan lifted her out of the seat of the golf cart and carried her to their front door. It was faster and less awkward than fumbling with her crutches, she reasoned, with the added bonus of being able to get a direct hit of the warm, intoxicating smell of his neck.
She now understood why ancient empresses preferred to travel via litter, carried for miles through the desert on the shoulders of burly, handsome men. She felt dainty and all-powerful at the same time. “I could get used to this,” she muttered, half forgetting that he could hear her until his throaty laugh vibrated next to her ear.
“Oh yeah?”
“Doesn’t fame mean your feet never have to touch the ground again?” she replied quickly, trying to cover her slip. It didn’t totally make sense, but it was the best she could manage under the circumstances.
Ethan expertly maneuvered the door open and deposited Grey on the couch.
“Only if you’re lucky.”
Grey tried to put her foot back up on the coffee table, only to realize that her attempt had been thwarted by an ice bucket holding a bottle of champagne that definitely hadn’t been there when they left. She looked up at Ethan, bemused.
“Did you—”
He shook his head, and passed her the card. She turned it over to see it was addressed to her. Inside, there were a few concise but warm sentiments of congratulations from Audrey.
Tears started to fill Grey’s eyes. She was already an easy crier when sober, but get a few cocktails in her and she’d start weeping if she saw a bug that was just a little too cute. Ethan took the card back from her, giving her a chance to hurriedly wipe her eyes and compose herself.
“Should we open it, or are you good for tonight? We haven’t even opened the one they gave us when we got here; we’ll never catch up at this rate.”
Grey considered the question. She was buzzed, no doubt about it. She could probably handleonemore glass. It was her night, after all. She should let herself celebrate.
With a jolt, she realized that under normal circumstances, she’d be celebrating with Kamilah. Her nervousness about accidentally revealing the truth about her relationship with Ethan had led her to straight-up avoid her. Their typical flood of texts, already affected by Kamilah’s travels, had slowed to a trickle.
“Let’s open it. I need to make a call first, though.”
Grey half hobbled, half hopped out to the patio and sat down on one of the lounge chairs. She had no idea what time zone Kamilah was in, and was shocked when she picked up the phone on the second ring.
“Emilyyyyy!” she trilled, shouting over what sounded like a raucous party in the background. “I can’t talk long, but gimme one second!”
