Page 38 of For My Finale
But at that exact moment, as though summoned by Blossom’s act of denial, Lilah turned from across the hall and met her gaze.
Their eyes locked, and it was weirdly like everything and everyone else in the room just disappeared. A slow warmth spread through Blossom’s chest, and her skin tingled like alive wire. It was stupid. It was ridiculous. It was completely undeniable.
And she’d lied to Ives. Again.
Her mouth opened, she turned, she was just on the verge of admitting everything, of telling Ives that actually, yes, she had feelings for Lilah. Feelings that were more real than those she’d had as a teenager. Grown-up feelings even. That Lilah got under her skin, made her heart race, irritated her and…
And then Gloria happened.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Gloria announced loudly, throwing her arms in the air. “But I simply cannot perform under these conditions!”
Lilah turned back to the stage, her look of amusement shifting into irritation. “What now?”
Gloria pressed her hands to her chest. “It’s the accent. His accent.” She pointed at Arty, who was looking faintly bored. “He simply can’t get it right, he’s ruining everything.”
“Like yours is so on point,” Lilah said.
The room went silent. Gloria gasped, hands moving to clutch her heart as though Lilah had physically wounded her. “Excuse me?” she asked, eyes wide.
“Oh, come on,” Lilah sighed. “You sound like a Cockney trying to impersonate Scarlett O’Hara after drinking a bottle of gin.”
There was a collective inhale. Blossom closed her eyes.
“Well,” Gloria said, lips pursed. “If you think you can do better, Miss Hollywood, then by all means, grace us with your superior talents.”
“Fine,” Lilah said, folding her arms. She took a deep breath and then, with alarming ease, slipped into a smooth, honeyed southern drawl. “Whoever you are, I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers,” she purred.
And it was sexy, sure, but sad and filled with emotion all at the same time, just the way the line was supposed to be, Blanche’s delusions shining through, and Blossom thought she might actually swoon.
Gloria, on the other hand, looked like she might explode. “Oh,you just think you’re so special, don’t you?” she spat.
“I mean…” Lilah shrugged, returning to her normal voice. “Objectively, yes.”
Which was about when the rehearsal fully descended into chaos.
Gloria started yelling. Lilah smirked and leaned into it, clearly enjoying herself far too much and matching Gloria barb for barb. Arty tried to step in and mediate, which lead to Daisy bouncing onto the stage and getting involved.
Within seconds, people were arguing about everything from accents to stage directions to the ethics of having a celebrity involved in a small-town production.
And, as always, it was up to Blossom to sort it all out.
“Okay, okay,” she shouted, standing up on her chair, praying it would hold her, and clapping her hands. “That’s enough! Let’s all take a breath before this turns into a full-scale war.”
There was some grumbling at this, but the chatter quietened. Blossom shot a look at Lilah, who raised her hands in innocent surrender before taking a step back. Gloria huffed on stage, but didn’t argue further.
“It’s time for tea,” Blossom said, climbing down from her chair.
People began moving toward the tea table, and Blossom let out a slow exhale. She was exhausted. And annoyed.
Because while she could, right now, fully admit just to herself that she really did have some feelings for Lilah, she was wondering if Lilah could actually have any feelings for her?
The question of Lilah being a rich, famous movie star aside, Blossom had the feeling that she might just be another person constantly cleaning up Lilah’s messes.
She sighed, rubbing at her temples. One thing was absolutely certain. Her life had been a lot simpler before Lilah Paxton banged on her front door.
Chapter Sixteen
Blossom took a deep breath before knocking on Lilah’s door. She had made a deal, after all, and she was nothing if not a woman of her word. Lilah had agreed to trial three jobs, and in return Blossom was going to clean Lilah’s cottage. Not that she was particularly looking forward to it.
