A Midsummer Night's Fling (Stage Kiss Series Book 1) (42 page)

Nicola firmed her lips and gathered the hem of her skirt in her hands.
Fuck dignity. This one's for you, Maxim
.
 

She tiptoed to the edge of the wings, on the brink of being seen by the audience – if there had been more of an audience than Violet and the sound guy.
 

Max's head snapped over, seeing her move. He frowned.
 

Maxim!
She mouthed.

Staring at her while Lachlan performed, Max raised an eyebrow.
What?
his look said.

Watch this
. Nicola held his gaze for one long moment then, without preamble, she turned around, lifted her skirt, and flashed him her naked ass.
 

She gave it a small wiggle for good measure.

***

Max blinked.
Did she – was that
–
 

He glanced over to see Lachlan standing there with his mouth hanging open, his eyes bulging.

Max restrained a grin. Yeah, she did.
How I love her
. Grinning, deep in character as Oberon, he snapped his fingers under Lachlan's face and gave him a shove to the shoulder for good measure. "'Seek through this grove: A sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes; but do it when the next thing he espies may be the lady.'" Max passed the purple prop flower to Lachlan.
 

Lachlan, back in character as Puck, bowed. "'Fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so.'"

Oberon exited one way, in the direction Titania had gone. Puck went the other way.
 

Max met Nicola in the wings, his cheeks hurting from the force of his smile. Somewhere between mooning him and now she'd found the time to do her quick change. She wore the evening dress, and the firefly lights flirted with him from her hair.
 

"Max, I
had
to," she whispered. "You were all in your head, like I get. That was the only thing I could – "

He caught her by the shoulders and lifted her off her feet, giving her a sound kiss on the mouth, sweeping his tongue into her sweetness, tasting her, loving her.
 

The cast members nearest to them uttered muted whoops and catcalls.
 

Max set her on her feet. She blinked at him, dazed and beaming with a languid warmth.
 

"And enter Titania!" Violet called from out in the house.

"They're singing your song, Nicci," he said.

Nicola still grinned at him. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair tousled from the kiss, her lips pink and parted on a breathless gasp.

Oh, how I love her
.

"En-
ter
. Ti-
tan-
ia," Violet hollered again.
 

Max jerked from the force of that thought.
I love her?

"Oh crap." Nicola hurried forward, her fairy handmaidens streaming past her, dancing and capering.
 

"
Titania?
" Violet wailed.
 

Max knew he should let Nicola go, he was The Director. Instead, he caught her by the wrist, keeping her back from the stage. He held her gaze, staring into her expressive brown eyes.
I love her
. His heart was thumping so hard he thought he might puke. He swallowed. Wet his lips. Traced his thumb over her pulse point. He opened his mouth, tried to shape the words
. I love you. I've always loved you
. But in the end, all he could do was gaze at her.
 

She blinked, and her nostrils flared with some strong emotion as if she could read his thoughts. "Max?"

A tangled ball of emotion rolled under his sternum and lodged there, rigid and painful.

"TITANIA!
"

"Sorry," he said. "Go."
 

Nicola bobbed on her feet for a moment, uncertain. Then she skipped onstage, floating into the character of Titania. She didn't look back at him.

Max dropped his face into his hands and rubbed the skin hard. "
Fuck
."

***

"Are you all right?"

Rehearsal had finished. They had managed to make it all the way through
Midsummer
, lights, sounds, costumes and all before they had to wrap. Nicola thought everything had gone well, but Max had been odd ever since she'd mooned him. He'd done all right as Oberon, but offstage he'd been distracted, absent. Now they were alone in his car, parked in The Bunkhouse's massive carport, and yet not getting out of the car to go inside. "Max, are you all right?" she said again.
 

"What?"

She cupped his cheek, fanning her thumb through the scruff of his beard. "Let's get some dinner in you and go to bed."

"I'm . . . really not hungry." He caught her fingertips and brushed them over his lips.

"Bed then?"

"Bed."

They walked into the house together, hand in hand, and a sense of absolute rightness spread through her. "Where did Lachlan and Peter get to?" she asked as they walked upstairs.
 

"Lach and Peter went out to celebrate their 'new project' together. Abe is with the boyfriend tonight."

"The house is all ours?"

"Yup."

"Wanna go skinny-dipping?"

His foot paused between one step and the next and an odd, sad smile crossed his face. "Maybe in a bit."

"All right."
 

He led her into the bedroom, still with that odd, melancholy mood hanging between them. She jiggled his hand to get him to look at her. "Maxim, what's wrong?"

"Need to talk to you."

"That's ominous."

"Doesn't have to be." He drew in a deep breath. "Nic – "

Her phone cut him off, jangling in her rehearsal bag. "Money Money." Willa's ringtone. "It's my agent."

"Nicola, this is important," he said.
 

"Two seconds." Mouth dry, she fished the phone out and held it to her ear. "Hi, Willa."

"Nic, why haven't you called me?"

"I'm sorry. It's tech week and I lost track of stuff. I know you need an answer – "

"Honey, have I got news for you," Willa's voice bubbled so crazily with excitement Nicola was surprised her phone didn't vibrate from the force of it.

"What news?"
 

"The
Anything Goes
producers called. The girl playing Hope
and
her understudy were in a car accident."

"Oh no."

"They're fine, but anyway, they're
both
out for who knows how long and the producers still want
you
. Only now they want you for Hope Harcourt. You'll be
playing
Hope on the national tour
."

"Oh my goodness! Willa, that's amazing!" Even as she said it, Nicola almost felt as if her excitement were sitting on the surface, as if she were going through the motions. Acting . . .
why aren't I more excited about this?

A short pause followed, then Willa said, "Problem is, they want you to fly out to start rehearsing by this weekend."

Nicola turned away from Max, lowering her voice, "Willa, I can't do that. I'm committed to
Midsummer
until July."

"Hey, you don't worry about that. I can call Isabelle Elton first thing tomorrow and get you out of your contract. You'll be making more money on this tour, and it'll be good exposure for you. Your first big step on the road to Broadway. I can bring Isabelle around, don't you worry."

"But this weekend? Willa . . . "

Max was watching Nicola, his face impassive, but his eyes burned. He mouthed,
What's going on?

"Willa, I – can I call you back?"

"Tonight, Nic. Call me back tonight."

"Yes, Willa." She hit the END button and looked at Max. "Sorry."

"Was that about the
Anything Goes
job?"

"Yes. There were some new developments."

Max sank onto the foot of his bed. "Nicci, I lied to you the other day."

Sourness coated her throat. "About what?"

"About why I still have your engagement ring."

Her eyes prickled, and she glanced over to see the red velvet box was still on top of his dresser. She had forgotten to put it away. "Max, don't."

"I kept it because that's your ring, Nicci. It's always been your ring. You may have taken back your 'yes,' but I never took back my proposal. I still want you every day, all the time, for the rest of my life. If you'll have me."

Nicola blinked, tears blurring in her eyes, words tumbling through her head.
 

'Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers . . . '

 
'
Max asked you to marry him. You said yes . . . '

 
'Ich liebe dich, Nicci. Ich liebe dich so viel
.'

Quotes. Memories. Hopes . . . She shook her head, trying to silence the crushing noise of it all.Wetness trailed down her cheeks. "We tried it, Max. We failed. Let's not complicate everything."

"We were kids before. But I'm different now. I know you're different." He was beside her, and he cupped the side of her neck, his thumb beneath her chin, tilting her face so she had to meet his gaze. "I love you, Nicci. There's never been anyone else for me. There never will be."

"I thought it was a fling this time. Nothing serious?"

"It's not a fling." He stroked his thumb over her cheek, and his eyes were shadowed, sad. "Not for me anyway."

"That was Willa on the phone." Her voice shook. "The
Anything Goes
people want me now. They want me yesterday. And they want me for Hope. The lead."

Max frowned, tensing up. "But you're committed to
Midsummer
. We're about to start previews."

"Willa thinks she can get me out of the contract. It's the lead in a
national
tour
, Max."

"You'd do that? Screw the whole cast over? Screw me over."

She shook her head. "Even if I can stall until the original July date . . . I'm doing the tour. I'm leaving. I'll be gone for months. How can we make that work for a relationship?"

"Don't go on tour. Don't take the job."

"I can't do that." She put her arms between them, holding him off. "That's why we broke up last time, wasn't it? Because you thought I was living my life for you? Because I was willing to give up big, important chances to be with you. How is it different if I give up this job for you now?"

"You're sick of musicals. You said so. You don't really want to do this."

She twisted away from him, her blood throbbing in her veins, her temper like a whip lashing inside her. "You don't get to decide what jobs I take. And you for damn sure don't get to decide when I should give up opportunities and when I shouldn't."

Max threw his hands up and paced to the other side of the room before he whirled around and glared at her. "So, what, you
have
to take this job to prove you don't need me? I think you're scared to give us another real try. To go all in."

"
Of course I'm scared
," she shot back, touched on the raw. "You broke my heart!
Twice!
"
 

"
You broke mine too!
"
 

She caught her breath then wiped her nose and eyes. "Look, I don't think it's a great start to our third act as a couple if I give up a job to
what
? Come be an out of work actress and live in The Bunkhouse mooching off you?"

"No, yeah, you're right. It's a much better start to have you
fleeing the state
because you're chicken shit scared." He ran a hand over his face then gripped the back of his neck and looked at her again. "This isn't about your work or opportunities or any of that. This is about you still not trusting me. Trusting us."

"So, if I asked you to leave the RSF to come on the road with me you'd be willing to do it? Right now? Right this second?"

"What the fuck?" Max reared back like she'd punched him. "It's totally different. If you stay in LA with me you can find another acting job easy. Just swing a dead cat."

She scoffed, her anger blazing. "Right. So that's a no? You wouldn't give up your job to come with me, but I'm supposed to give up mine to stay with you?"
 

"I can't even sing. What am
I
going to do bouncing around on the road with a musical? Be your kept man?"
 

"And I wouldn't be your kept woman if I stayed
here
?"

Max held his hands up and took a long, slow breath. She forced herself to do the same. "All right," he said and focused on her, his blue eyes burning. "Let's make it easy: I love you, Nicci. Do you love me?"

She swallowed, a hollow pain in her chest, her eyes thick and wet with unshed tears. "It's not that easy."

"It's not that difficult either. Do you love me?"

"Of course I do."

A smile blossomed on his face; he started toward her.