“Our Judy has arrived, so let’s get to this,” called Nate.
“Showtime,” Tyler muttered.
She dropped her bag into one of the front row seats and headed up the steps to her place on stage for the cast party scene. It began easily enough. There were lines to remember, dance moves, and lyrics. And then Piper-Betty went off in a snit and Myles-Bob stared after her in flustered confusion. It was time.
Tyler delivered her line invoking the announcement of the phony engagement, thinking, Is this really absolutely necessary?
Brody played his role, turning to their pianist and requesting his attention grabber. It was hard to remember that this was a part as he turned and called everyone’s attention to them. Nerves skittered along Tyler’s spine as all eyes turned to them. These were the same looks that had been following them for the last month since Brody walked back into Wishful and into her life. They all wanted to know how this was going to go down.
I am a professional, she told herself for the millionth time.
He announced the engagement. They hugged. Tyler was actually glad of Brody’s arm around her because she wasn’t quite sure she could stand steadily just now. Her smile felt brittle as congratulations and hugs were given. Piper-Betty squeezed her hard between delivering her lines. Tyler appreciated the support and wished she could make a swift exit stage-anywhere. As she turned to Brody, Piper seemed a little fiercer and more serious than necessary as she played the protective big sister, then made her exit to help Emma with champagne.
Tyler didn’t hear the next lines. Not until their General Waverly piped up, “Well don’t just stand there. Aren’t you going to kiss the bride?”
And then Brody looked at her. “Oh! Yes, sir.”
He swept in, dropped a quick, chaste peck, exactly as he was supposed to. But he didn’t pull off the goofy, cheerful smile as he looked down at her, eyes going dark.
“Yes, sir,” he said again—only this time, it was more of a gro
wl.
All the air was promptly sucked out of the room. Brody framed her face, blocking her view of the others and ensuring her focus was only on him. As if she could possibly think of anyone else. One thumb brushed along the arch of her cheekbone in a caress that made her knees liquefy. His mouth settled over hers, warm and sure and desperately, deliciously familiar. Tyler didn’t give a damn about the part, the performance. It took everything she had to hold herself still and non-reactive, waiting for him to finish.
But Brody didn’t finish. He used his mouth to strip away every layer of her defenses with a brutal gentleness that left her wrecked and aching. Everything and everyone faded away except for him. He devastated her. Sliding right back into the chasm he’d left in her heart like a key into a lock. On a helpless, needy sound, she surrendered, damning herself and him as she ran her hands up his chest, into his hair and held on, as if sheer force of will would change the truth and hold him here as it hadn’t before.
Cheers and wolf whistles broke out. She could feel Brody’s lips curve, tasted his half-laugh before he eased back, and wanted to weep. With every inch, reality intruded. All these years, all the effort to put him out of her mind, out of her heart—undone with one kiss. Defenseless, she stared at Brody, waiting for her system to level. But her heart continued to pound, her stomach twisting into slippery knots. Something hot and hard lodged behind her breastbone, and she couldn’t quite breathe past it.
What have I done?
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he whispered.
The tears spilled over, hot and fast. Mortified, Tyler shoved away from him, stumbling back. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
“Tyler—”
She had vague impressions of shock, concern.
Out, out. I have to get out.
Piper stepped toward her, but Tyler spun away, desperate to escape. “I can’t do this,” she repeated. And she ran.
~*~
Shit!
Brody’s head spun, his world-class balance shaken. He’d gone well beyond what was called for by the part. Not on purpose, but at his first taste, he’d fallen into the kiss, into her. So he’d gone with it, pouring out everything he felt, everything he couldn’t say, because he realized he would never get enough of this woman. Brody expected to see heat in her eyes—temper and lust in equal measure. And maybe, after how she’d kissed him back, something of the way she used to look at him. But she’d looked…utterly devastated. She’d cried. He was caught somewhere between shock and feeling like ten kinds of ass as she made a running exit stage left.
What the hell just happened?
The backstage door banged open as she hit the metal bar and kept going. The sound echoed through the cavernous space like a gunshot and jarred him into action. Brody made it to the door before it had relatched, slamming into the alley behind the theater. There was only one way she could go, so he took off at a sprint. He burst out on Front Street and veered to the right, knowing instinctively she’d head for the fountain on the green. She was already two blocks ahead.
God, he’d forgotten how fast she was.
“Tyler!”
She poured on the speed that had won countless track meets in high school, as if she was running from hell hounds instead of him. And that just added a layer of pissed off to the confusion and concern. Brody lengthened his stride, long legs eating up the distance between them. Tyler darted across Main Street and into the park. He raced after her, narrowly avoiding being clipped by an SUV that laid on the horn and swerved with a squeal of tires.