Page 867 of One More Kiss

Chapter3

Audition day.In all the grueling days of producing a play, Lu believed audition day might be one of the hardest. Not the longest, but the hardest.

Hard because so many good performers try out. Not all are great, but they all arrive hoping to play the lead, and not everyone can. Not everyone was good enough. And more people tried out then there were roles available, so by the end of the day those who hoped to be on the stage would be backstage, working on props, costumes, make-up and sets.

All vital roles in producing the play, but were Lu being honest, nothing matched treading the boards in the hot spotlights.

It’s where she found her salvation freshman year, as Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. She could be bawdy and funny and loud, appreciated for it. Something she’d not been allowed to be back home in Tennessee. After that, there was no getting her out of the theater.

Lu took a seat in the middle row of the theater and studied her notes about what she was looking for in each character.

She was early, as usual, but she soon realized she was not alone. He’d offered no audible warning, and instead, she was taken off guard by his warm, inviting scent as he slipped into the row and eased into the seat next to her.

“Good morning, Miss Danvers.”

Damn his warmer-than-whiskey-in-dark-coffee voice. It gave her a zing more intense than the beverage in question ever had.

Lu glanced at Max, and his dark brown eyes appeared to drink her in.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, pushed her hair back out of her face, and squeezed herself to the edge of the seat opposite him.

Being so close to him was uncomfortable in a way that made Lu want to get even closer. It made no sense to her, but the only way to relieve the discomfort was to get as far away as she should.

Since she couldn’t move seats, she did her best to be comfortable.

Her predicament was cemented when Dean Clark took his customary seat to her left. Though he made no final casting decisions, he always came on audition day and sat next to her making notes as choices and cuts were made.

He liked being vested in the production, and Lu didn’t mind, since he’d always supported the theater department wholeheartedly, and let her make all decisions regarding the production.

Until now.

Now she had to come to a consensus with someone she didn’t even want to be around.

“Do you have your, uh—” Max’s words tickled her ear as he leaned in close—“Elixir?”

Code word for whiskey.

She shook her head briskly. Even if she did, she would not have pulled it out in Dean Clark’s presence, something Max had to understand.

Betty and Clyde appear on the stage under the two spotlights illuminating the boards. “Ready?” Betty chirped.

Lu and Max replied, “Yes,” simultaneously. Lu, still sore she must share this task with Max, pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in his direction. His easy smile, however irked her, showed her he was unflappable.

So much so, he did the unspeakable.

His smile broadened, and then he winked.

Her insides shook. He was so infuriating.

She snapped her head toward the stage, to see the first performer.

“Thanks for coming,” Max said to the young woman on stage. “Tell us your name and the part you’re reading for.”

“I’m Frannie Lewis, trying out for Beatrice.”

If he’d been at the school for any length of time, he would have recognized Frannie’s name. One of the most dedicated students Lu had, Frannie had grown from shy, behind-the-scenes set painter to leading-lady material in the three years since she started at Asheville.

Her audition, though it was the first of the day, left little doubt in Lu’s mind they’d already found their Beatrice.

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