Page 33 of Finding Finn
“It was… Wait. Your bakery was not what I was expecting. I was surprised by everything that you had there.”
“I trained in Paris and worked for a Michelin Star restaurant as their pastry chef. I moved back home when my parents said they wanted to retire and sell the bakery. I couldn’t stand to have anyone else own it, so I bought it and moved home. I still do the ordinary fare that the town loved, but I added some of my own specialties, too.”
“A Michelin Star,” I whistled. “That’s very cool.”
“Not as cool as being a Broadway performer.” He laughed. “I think you win.”
“It’s not as glamorous as you would think.” I huffed. “Trust me. I lived in a tiny apartment that I could barely stretch out in. It was hard, but I love every minute of it.”
“What shows did you do?” His eyes widened as I told him.
“I saw that on tour.” Ben jumped in. “I loved that show. The dancing was crazy. All those back flips while wearing hats was crazy.”
“When they fell off, it caused chaos. As did the papers every now and then when we slid across the floor on them.”
“I had no idea that was your show.”
“Oh, it wasn’t mine.” I laughed. “I was in the chorus. I didn’t even have a name. The Playbill just said dancer.”
“Do you know how many people dream of being in a Broadway show?” Jim reached over and put his hand on mine. “You actually did it.”
“I did,” I blushed. “You always say the right thing.”
“Truth is truth, Finn. Hell, even I’m proud of you.”
The waiter came and took our drink order, and we drank and laughed for the next few hours. It was lovely.
I forgot the flowers in the car and realized it after we had gotten naked. Jim ran outside in a towel and saved them.
I wanted to tell him, but the words wouldn’t come.
I was falling in love with him.
Who wouldn’t?
12
JIM
“If we push the stairs back another two feet, I think we’d still have room for crossovers in the back. I'll have to measure, of course, but I think it would work. Does that give you enough room for what you want to do?” I looked at mt stage drawings.
“Could you show me on the stage. This drawing, as great as it is, is beyond my skill set,” Finn grimaced.
I grabbed my tape measure and started marking it out on the stage. “It would push the stairs back to here.”
Finn stood up and slowly started going through the dance routine he created for when Annie is brought to the house. There are a lot of butlers and maids who dance and sing. It’s one of the biggest numbers in the show. Watching him was like watching Baryshnikov, at least to me. The way he caressed the stage with his feet, even if he wasn’t doing the routine full out, was magical. I felt honored to be able to watch him.
“I think that will work.” He stopped and jumped up and down quickly. “Thank you. Is there enough room for the crossover?”
I measured out the dimensions of the stairs and walls, and then looked at the back wall. “We have about three feet. It’s tight, but within fire laws. We can’t push it back any further, or it would be impossible for two people to cross at the same time in the center.”
“That’s great. I’ll try to stage it so there’s very little crossover if I can.” He turned to Buffy, who was sitting with her clipboard in the front row. “Buffy, can you remind me to speak to the stage manager about this, so she can keep me in line when we’re staging? Tell her to tell me whenever someone will have to use the crossover, ok.”
“Got it, boss.”
“Are you coming over tonight?” I asked as I unlocked the ruler and watched it roll back into place.
“I think I’ll stay in tonight and work on these numbers. I’d get no work done if I’m with you.” He turned and pointed his finger at me. “You are way too distracting.”
