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“Yeah, yeah.” Not the right one. My thoughts drifted to Kirill, which I hadn’t allowed to happen in almost a month. I’d been far too busy. Between catching as many shifts as possible at the bar and rehearsing on the play, I barely had time to sleep.
But now, the thoughts crowded in, slamming me hard with longing. He’d been so sweet after the audition, taking me to dinner as a celebration. Then he’d driven me to my apartment, explaining that it had been ransacked but that he’d bought some new things and he’d have the remainder of my clothes returned within a day, which he had.
He’d had the entire apartment refurbished, purchasing new furniture that I never would have been able to afford. He’d even had a baby grand placed in the center of the living room. He’d thought of everything.
But he wasn’t there. Ever.
The apartment upstairs had been vacated before he’d taken me home. The goodbye had been more like so long. No passionate embraces or words of adoration. Just… goodbye.
And I’d spent the night under the covers crying my eyes out.
Then I’d realized that he’d given me several gifts, including my freedom. But tonight was different.
“What’s wrong?” Tanya asked. “You’re going to do great. You have your entire family there to cheer you on.” Sadly, my mother and father couldn’t afford the trip.
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” I half laughed, grateful that they were so thrilled.
“But you want him there. Right?”
“Him?”
She rolled her eyes. “The godlike figure you mentioned, the one that was in here. The bad boy of the mafia world.”
I shook my head. “That’s been over for months.”
“Two months, sugar. Two. That means nothing in the scheme of life. Just admit it. You miss him.”
“Fine. Okay. I miss him. A lot. That means nothing right now. I have a career to worry about.”
“Right. I hear you talking but you’re lying.” She backed away, grinning. “You never know what might happen. Just allow fate to take over. I think tonight you’re going to become a star.”
Fate. Uh-huh. See where that had gotten me.
I totaled my receipts and took a deep breath. Maybe I was ready after all. A star. I liked the sound of that. Only it would be more wonderful if I had someone to share it with. As I gathered my things, I was surprised to see Rian standing in the doorway.
“I’m proud of you, kiddo,” he said.
“I’m proud of me too.”
He shook his head. “I never apologized for what I said to you. It was wrong. You are more than capable of living your life. You’ve proven that more than once. You’re very strong.”
“If you mean because I was able to walk away from Kirill, please just drop it.”
There was a thoughtful look in his eyes. Then he smiled. “Kirill isn’t such a bad guy. He did save my father’s life.”
“Yeah, he did, and he was wonderful to me.”
“Love has a funny way of finding you when you least expect it. Enjoy this ride, cuz. Second chances don’t come around often.”
“No, they don’t.”
Not for me anyway.
* * *
Exhilaration.
Applause.
