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I touch the offending mark on my face, feeling the slightly puckered skin against my fingertips.
"To be honest, it doesn’t look that bad. If anything, it adds to your personality. It makes you stand out, actually."
"I’m not sure that’s a good thing—"
"It is a good thing." She leans forward. "It really is. It makes your face unforgettable."
"But how many people will want to see a scarred woman playing a lead role in a film?" I shift around in my seat.
"Don’t go second-guessing yourself. If the casting director believes in you, surely, they see something in you that others will, too."
I bite the inside of my cheek. "We’ll see. It’s too early to be worrying about that, anyway. I have yet to audition with the director."
"And you are going to ace it, I’m sure."
I laugh. "I wish I were half as confident as you."
"You are enormously talented, Olivia, I’ve seen you work so hard at your craft. And you’ve been so proactive, so hungry for every opportunity that has come your way. And you didn’t allow what happened to you to hold you down. Anyone else would have taken the scarring as a sign to move away from trying to make a career out of acting, but not you. You were even more determined to prove your prowess as an actress. You deserve the successful audition. You deserve to get this role."
A pressure builds at the backs of my eyes. "You’re going to make me cry," I sniff.
"Aww, don’t, babe, I was only stating the truth. If only I had half the drive you do." She laughs. "But I’m too easygoing for my own good sometimes."
"And I wish I were half as carefree as you. I wish I had the patience to let things unfold, instead of always trying to push my way forward, you know?"
We smile at each other.
"It’s what makes us so good for each other." She chuckles. "Now, Jeanne, though, she’s somewhere in between. She knows when to push and when to take it easy."
"The three musketeers. No wonder the three of us get along so well. How is she doing, anyway? I bet the two of you killed the performances in the musical."
"You know my part was minor, but Jeanne, she was amazing as Belle. She stole the show. No doubt, finding her own beast in real life had something to do with it, too." She peers closely into the screen. "Have you forgiven her for taking the role from you?"
"Given I was injured, and she was my understudy, it’s not like she had a choice. Also, if you remember, originally, I was the understudy, and she was the main actress. So, the role did, in effect, belong to her."
"But the director wanted you to play the main role instead."
"Only because Jeanne missed a very important rehearsal. Because she had been kidnapped. I never felt completely comfortable about how I got it, anyway. It all worked out for her, though. If she hadn’t been taken, she wouldn’t have met Luca. If they hadn’t met in that cell, they wouldn’t be married now," I remind her.
"And if you hadn’t made it to your sister’s engagement, you wouldn’t be married now," she murmurs.
My stomach ties itself in knots. My chest feels like someone stabbed a hot sword through it. Something of my emotions must show on my face, for her gaze widens.
"Oh, sweetie, I didn’t mean to upset you."
"You didn’t." I swallow the ball of emotion clogging my throat. "I mean, you did, but I know you didn’t mean to."
"Are you going to tell me what’s happening between the two of you?"
Yeah, I’ve told her everything work-related, but talking about what’s happening between Massimo and me? Nope. I’m not sure I want to tell anyone about it. I mean, what am I going to say? I realized I loved him, then shot a man for him, then asked him for time apart to figure things out? It sounds confusing, even to me.
"It’s okay to share, you know?” Penny says softly, “Of the three of us, you’ve always been the most closed-off when it comes to your feelings."
"Well, not all of us can be like you, wearing our heart on our sleeves," I sniff, then slap my palm to my forehead. "Shit, didn’t mean for that to come out like that, I promise."
She chuckles. "It’s true, though. I wake up every morning, convinced today is going to be the best day of my life. And I’m never able to keep my emotions from showing on my face. So, you’re right, I can come across as annoyingly chirpy and all sunshine-and-rainbows, and sometimes people think it’s all an act, but it’s not. It’s just how I am."
"I know." I half-smile. "It’s why I like you so much. Although I confess, there are days when I look at you and think, how can anyone be so cheerful all the time? But then I remind myself it’s you. It’s how you’ve always been. And it does perk me up. It’s a good foil to all that intensity that Jeanne and I bring to our friendship."
