Page 131 of Apparently, I’m Trouble

“Yes.”

I raised a brow at her. “Then you'd give Lilly her job back?”

Rutton pursed her lips and folded her hands under her chin. “I’ve asked for five spots. Even I know that’s a difficult thing to achieve.”

“But if we get them?”

A small tweak of Rutton’s lips gave me all the answer I needed. She thought it was impossible. That there was no way we could ever meet that goal.

But she said, “Then yes. I’d give her the role back,” and while I knew it was just to get me to leave her office, I took it as the bit of hope I needed.

Chapter 50

Theo

SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL

Wednesday Evening

Time dragged on, and before I knew it, a month had passed since our breakup.

But it still felt like it’d just happened.

Seeing Mia didn’t make it any easier. All I could think about was the way she looked at me. She looked like she wanted to stay.

Knowing she wanted this as much as I did should’ve helped, but it didn’t. And it was getting more and more difficult to accept her decision as one day passed into the next.

I walked from the subway, down the street, and into the iron gates that shut South Bronx Classical away from the rest of the world.

Tonight, I was picking my daughter up from rehearsals. I’d wanted to pull her out of the play altogether, but after thinking about it, she decided to keep going.

Despite everything, I felt pretty proud of her then. She went after her goals and didn’t let anyone get in her way. As I turned from hallway to hallway, thinking about it almost made me smile.

The night had a frosty bite to it, but I couldn’t feel it down here, in these dark hallways. The strain in my eyes eased a little, and I shut them for just a minute as I made my way to the amphitheater.

“Owouf.”

Someone small and slight crashed into my chest. I took a step back but held both of us upright as my hands curved around two narrow shoulders. My eyes flew open.

“Sorry,” she muttered, her accent strong. “It’s so dark in here. I was about to turn on the lights–”

She cut herself off with a gasp. In the dark, I could still make out her face–her beautiful, stunned face.

My grip on her arms tightened as she stared at me, and I brought her closer. Close enough that I could graze the tip of my nose against hers.

Another slight gasp, and her hands were on my chest, fingers twining in my shirt, bringing me even closer.

Fuck. I’d missed her so much.

Chapter 51

Mia

His mouth was on mine–hot, hard, desperate.

His stubble scraped my chin as he caught my bottom lip between his teeth. His hands were rough, pressing into my waist and dragging me closer until his forearms were wrapped around the middle of my back.

My heart screamed with relief. But my head rattled off warnings. Even still, I couldn’t stop. Not yet.