The words catch in my emotion-clogged throat, and I shake my head, attempting to dispel the fog surrounding me as I finish.
I love him… But only…
My breath hitches, and I miss the last note the accompanist plays. The darkness behind my closed eyelids is a welcome reprieve from the simple pain of being as my voice follows in a bare whisper.
On my own…
The silence that ensues brings me back to the present, and when I open my eyes, my gaze is drawn to the farthest shadowy corner of the theater. I blink through my blurred vision severaltimes, suddenly conscious when tears track along my cheeks, and I’m altogether sure I’ve made a complete mess of everything until a single clap makes me jerk upright.
Another clap follows, and another, and my forehead creases when I tear my eyes away from the darkened space, focusing on a smiling Liebermann instead. His applause quickens as I push myself to stand and shoot a confused glance at a wide-eyed Hayley.
“Brava.”
At Liebermann’s single word, my eyes pan back to him as he rises and moves closer. His feet eat the ground when he jogs up the stairs and onto the stage. Once we’re toe-to-toe, he clasps my hands between his much larger ones as his eyes bore into mine.
“Blonde hair aside, you’repreciselywhat I had envisioned in my Éponine.” His eyes flicker between mine as my heart races. I’ve never seen an audition go like this for anyone before, least of all me. I’m good, not great, and though I have a passion for theater and acting in general, my true desire lies in fulfilling Mom’s dying wish. To follow her steps into the theater and all the wonders of acting. “I guarantee you are destined for greatness, Miss Hart, and the first step toward it shall be to grace this stage every night and twice on Sundays for atleastthe next six months.”
I blink owlishly, goosebumps of anticipation pebbling my skin, not quite grasping what he’s saying, and I can’t keep the incredulity from my voice when I stammer, “You…youwantme? After that…”
I trail off, wondering desperately what Liebermann saw in me that made him offer me the part on the spot. He barks a laugh before throwing his arm over my shoulder and spinning me to face the would-be audience. Extending his free arm dramatically, he showcases the empty seats before us.
“You’ll bring down the house every night if you can reproduce that level of raw emotion.” Then he angles his head toward me, delight evident in his gaze. “Be my Éponine, Miss Hart. Step out of the shadows of obscurity and into the spotlight with me.”
CHAPTER 1
FORD
Present Day - Aged 28
Manhattan
My sister,Felicity, strums the final notes to the latest piece she’s working on, her hopeful eyes raising from her guitar to find mine through the screen connecting us.
“Wh—what do you think, Fordy?” She sounds so hesitant, completely unaware that she possesses a gift I’ve rarely seen in person aside from the exceptionally talented North family.
My friend, Caden, his son Jesse, and father, Sutton, are some of the most musically gifted people I’m privileged enough to know. And I have no doubt our Lissie is just as talented as each of them.
And so, I tip my head to one side as a genuine smile overtakes my face, putting a mirroring one on her own. “I think you’re destined for greatness, Lissie.”
The familiar words from that day so long ago twist the knife that perpetually resides in my gut, the one I buried there myself, and my smile falters for a beat before I get a handle on my emotions.
Don’t go there, Holloway.
“Hey you!” Mom’s smiling face appears on the screen, centering me, followed by Faith and Finley. As usual, Fallon, the eldest of my four younger sisters, is nowhere to be seen. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen her since I left Texas, not that I can blame her. I wouldn’t want to see me either. “You’re looking very smart for a Monday evening. Where you off to, baby?”
I open my mouth to answer, but a smirking Faith cuts me off. “Hot date, by the looks of it, Momma.” She tosses me a devilish wink, and I shake my head with a grin.
“Nah, ’fraid not, Pest.” She sticks out her tongue at my long-time nickname for her, and I chuckle. “I was out of town for the weekend, so I’m catching up with the guys tonight.”
Mom heaves a wistful sigh, and I know immediately where this conversation is headed. “Oh, Fordy, it’s well past time to settle down. I wassohoping for a wedding, baby.”
I roll my eyes as my sisters barely manage to disguise their amused snorting as coughing fits. Mom, bless her, continues obliviously—either that or she’s pointedly ignoring everyone, which wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.
“Maybe even a couple of grandbabies to love on, but since all of that seems like too much to ask for, I’d settle on a hot date?—”
“Oh, would you look at that?” The car grinds to a slow stop, indicating we’ve reached Rogue, my destination for the evening. “Gotta dash, Momma. We’ll talk soon.”
The sound of my sisters’ howling laughter is the last thing I hear before I end the call, and as I exit the vehicle, nodding to my driver, Lloyd, I can’t help but smile. My mom is nothing if not persistent.
