“This is your second chance, son. Most people don’t get more than one shot at their dream. Wolf wants you on this project, but he can’t afford to have the family values lobbyist groups banging down his door because you can’t keep your pants on.”
Noah bit the inside of his cheek to keep from firing back a snarky response. An official meeting in Uncle Stu’s office in the ivy-covered brick building, surrounded by more framed diplomas than any one person should hold, was not the time to talk back to his uncle, even if he did take offense at the suggestion that his sex life had anything to do with his ability to compose a documentary film score.
The implication wouldn’t have stung so much if it hadn’t come from Wolf MacMillan, an award-winning documentary producer and one of his father’s oldest friends. He’d have thought that all the years of friendship between his family and Wolf would have earned Noah the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, he’d been mistaken.
“How did he even get a copy of the student newspaper?” Noah grumbled.
He knew it was beside the point. Some college kids had decided to run an article on the “Most Eligible Professors of Burnett” and now he was in danger of losing his chance at breaking into the film industry. He had come in second, thank you very much, beaten only by Liam who was no longer a professor at the university anyway, so it was basically like he’d come in first.
“If I were you, I’d be more concerned with how those students got photos of you wining and dining half the English faculty.”
Noah bowed his head, his face hot. It’s not that he was ashamed of the photos (they were all sufficiently tame), or of having slept with all those adjuncts—it was, rather, the embarrassment of a child being called on the carpet by a parent. Uncle Stu had practically been a father to Noah and Liv since their actual father, Stu’s brother, passed two decades prior. The idea that Noah’s sex life was somehow reflecting poorly on his uncle made him feel like he was ten years old again, getting in trouble for trampling the neighbor’s flowers with an errant soccer ball.
“I’ve assured Wolf that the article greatly exaggerated the facts,” his uncle said.
It hadn’t, though, and Uncle Stu knew it.
“Why does who I sleep with matter? If he likes the music—”
“You’re not that naïve. The senator wants this documentary to be airtight. I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes a cornerstone of her presidential bid in four years. Her weak spot is always the family values groups who take issue with the fact that she’s a lesbian. You could be the next Vivaldi and she still wouldn’t let Wolf put you on this project if she thought you were a liability.”
“What am I supposed to do? I can’t change what I’ve done in the past.”
“Wolf will be at your sister’s wedding next weekend.”
“I didn’t know mom had invited him,” Noah said, surprised.
“Wolf was one of your father’s best friends,” Uncle Stu scolded, as though Noah hadn’t heard all the stories of Wolf, Uncle Stu, and his dad wreaking havoc during their prep school days. “You know, your father wanted to score one of Wolf’s films, too, but by the time he got up the nerve to talk to him about it…”
“I know.”
Noah knew all about the things his father had left unfinished, the dreams he hadn’t had a chance to realize. Over the years, therapists had questioned whether Noah truly wanted to be a film composer, or if he was just checking off the boxes on his father’s final to-do list. Most of the time he was certain—he’d dreamt of being a composer for as long as he could remember. He had a niggling suspicion, however, that his father had more to do with his determination to work on this particular project than he’d like to admit.
Uncle Stu cleared his throat, returning their conversation to the present. “The wedding is your chance to prove to Wolf that you’re not going to be an albatross for this project. So, no getting caught in broom closets with drunk bridesmaids.”
“Not a problem. Liv would murder me if I hooked up with any of her friends.”
“Even more reason to keep your nose clean.”
“And if I can’t change his mind? I’ve already taken the sabbatical.”
“Then I guess you’d better be convincing. Opportunities like this don’t come along often. Don’t throw it away…again.”
His uncle returned to the pile of papers in front of him. Noah knew when he was being dismissed; conversations with his uncle had ended the same way for the last twenty years. Between the August heat and the older man’s disapproval hanging thick in the air, the office was stifling, so for once Noah didn’t mind the abrupt end to a conversation.
“Are you heading up to Rhode Island tomorrow with Mom?” Noah asked, getting to his feet.
Uncle Stu shook his head. “I’ll be there in time for the rehearsal dinner. But I can’t afford to spend a whole week lazing about at some hotel just because your sister decided to extend the celebrations.” He glanced up at Noah, his face softening.Slipping into uncle mode,Noah thought. “The music is good, son. You deserve this job. I’ll do whatever I can to help sway Wolf when we see him.”
“Thanks, Uncle Stu.”
Noah emerged from the office onto the nearly deserted campus, taking off his blazer as he made his way across the quad toward his own office in the music building. A week at a beachfront resort for his little sister’s wedding sounded like exactly what he needed. He retrieved his briefcase—and with it, the sample compositions he’d sent to Wolf when he’d first thrown his hat in the ring for this documentary score—and locked his office, ready to head home and pack. He was mid-daydream about going on the road with the film crew and the senator when his phone rang.
“Welcome back to the States,” he said when he answered. “When did you get in?”
“We just landed in Boston,” his sister replied. “Daemon’s renting the car right now.”
Liv and her fiancé were both successful musical theater actors. They’d spent the last few months in London, reviving their popular production ofChessfor a limited engagement on the West End.
