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Noelle put her hands on her hips and stared her sister down. “This is not the time or place, Holl. I can’t do this right now. The last thing I need is my mind off what’s right in front of me and what’s right in front of me is a mass of children waiting for me to guide them through a public performance.”
“All right. That’s fair. I just wish you could give me more to go on. You and Wes are good together and you know it. This is just a small bump in the road.”
Noelle snorted and moved past her sister. Holly followed as they walked past a group of girls practicing and two young boys going over their lines together for the acting portion of the show. “Good together? Give me a break. We’ve baked and had one night on the town in New York. A strong relationship that does not make.”
“It’s not only that and you know it. You two have a…connection.”
Holly was right, but Noelle wasn’t about to admit as much. Not when her heart was so torn, so full of doubt.
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! He’s here. I can’t believe it. He’s here!” Franchesca ran up to the two of them, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
Noelle’s heart pounded in her chest. Of course he was here. Wes wouldn’t miss his precious niece’s performance. Although a part of her wished he’d stayed home and wallowed in sorrow like she would rather be doing. She was sure his night of pity wouldn’t involve ice cream and an old movie, but hers would. Man, that sounded appealing.
“Who’s here?” Holly asked.
“Ronald Spellman!”
“The movie director?” Holly and Franchesca moved to stage left where they could peer out from behind the curtain and watch the audience without being seen. It looked as if it would be a full house.
Noelle’s tummy fluttered. Of course, she’d performed for much bigger crowds when she was dancing, but this was different. All her students’ parents and grandparents, not to mention aunts and uncles, would be watching. And yes, much could go wrong when young children performed, but she was in charge. All eyes would be making sure she led them through an hour of great entertainment.
“What’s he doing here?” Holly asked.
Caught up in Franchesca’s excitement, Noelle had forgotten for a moment that they weren’t talking about Wes.
“He’s in town to see about his investment in Marietta. Apparently he thought it would be fun to take in the local show, help support the arts.”
“Which one is he?”
“He’s in the back there, shaking hands with people. I heard he wanted to sneak in under the radar, not take attention away from the kids, but in a town this size, there’s no way.”
Noelle watched as the man signed autographs and smiled with people for photos. He was younger than she’d imagined. Dressed in a hoodie and jeans he didn’t look like a famous filmmaker. He looked like the guy who bagged groceries at the store.
As Holly and Franchesca chatted about a major Hollywood director being in the audience, Noelle’s eyes wandered to the other side of the theater. Like a homing device, her attention zeroed in on the man she couldn’t keep her mind off of and who still had the ability to make her heart race even though he’d broken it the day before.
Wes stood inside the back doorway of the theater, Mike beside him. The two really were quite a sight. Not because they were groomed to perfection, but because they both had a confidence too solid to ignore. Being gorgeous and groomed to perfection wasn’t hurting though either.
Noelle watched him, grateful for a moment to observe without him knowing. Before yesterday, she would’ve all but swooned at the sight of him, but now she questioned her feelings, unsure of how to move forward. Who was she kidding? There was no forward for the two of them. He’d come to visit family, approve of a business deal, the deal was going through, end of story. She was surprised he hadn’t hightailed it back to New York already. Ugh. Right. The Bake-Off. With all the hectic that was her life at the moment, she’d forgotten he still had to finish baking. Would he want her help with the third Bake-Off? Probably not.
“Okay, peeping tom. That’s enough looking for right now.” Holly’s whisper in her ear made her jump.
“Sheesh! Really?” Noelle glared at her sister.
“She’s right,” Franchesca chimed in. “You were definitely peeping. Not that I blame you.”
“I was not peeping.”
“Whatever.” Holly waved a hand. “Why don’t you talk to him? You need to work things out.”
“Work what out?” In the craziness of getting ready for that evening, Noelle had seen Franchesca, of course, but hadn’t had time to fill her in on details.
“She’s mad at Wes,” Holly offered.
“Why?”
“He knew about the deal with Spellman and didn’t tell her.”
“So?”
