Don’t let go, he thought. Don’t ever let go again.
They stood like that beside the fountain, until her tears stopped and the tension bled out of her shoulders. Lifting her wet face, Tyler studied
him, frowning. “I don’t know what to do with all the feelings you stir up in me.”
Brody stroked the length of her back, soothing both of them. “You don’t have to do anything with them right this second.”
“We have to talk about this.”
“And we will. Later.” He brushed away her tears. “Right now, you need to pull yourself together, and we need to go back to rehearsal.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious.”
“If you don’t go back and face everyone now, it’ll be that much worse at the next rehearsal. And there will be a next rehearsal because you can’t and won’t let the Madrigal down.”
She winced and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “You’re right. You’re right. I really hate that.”
“No one’s going to hold it against you. No matter how much it looks like they welcomed me back, I’m still the outsider here. They’re all on your side. And I’m pretty sure from the look she shot me when I left, Piper may be planning to string me up by the balls.”
“That would be merciful compared to some of what we planned at the time.”
“Yeesh,” he said, making an exaggerated pained expression to try and tease a smile out of her as she stepped back. He only got one corner of her mouth to lift.
“Tyler, I am sorry I hurt you. That I hurt us.”
She glanced up at him with unreadable eyes. “So am I.”
~*~
Ready or not, thought Tyler, tugging open the auditorium door. She’d stopped in the lobby restroom to wash her face, but that was just delaying the inevitable. Any hope she’d entertained that they’d shifted scenes to rehearse something else was dashed as all talking came to a screeching halt and all eyes turned to her. Tyler froze in the sticky silence, knowing she’d been the topic of their conversation. This wasn’t at all like being the center of attention on stage for a show. This was her life.
Brody stepped up behind her, pressing a hand to the small of her back. Part comfort, part nudge. The touch made her pulse leap and her chest tighten.
I never stopped loving you. Ever.
His words echoed through her mind, mending something long broken inside. How could she think, how could she act, with that hanging unresolved between them?
“I’m right here with you,” he murmured, and his breath tickled her ear, stirring something considerably lower.
The sooner I face them, the sooner this rehearsal is over, and the sooner we can talk about this. Though talking wasn’t exactly her body’s preferred first order of business at the moment. Tyler straightened her spine—and still she couldn’t move.
Brody stepped beside her and held out a hand. She eyed it, knowing that taking it would be the best thing for the show, would put the rest of the cast at ease and prove that she and Brody could work together. But she couldn’t help feeling he wasn’t thinking about any of that. His gaze was steady on her, ignoring everyone else, and Tyler understood he wasn’t asking about facing the cast or doing the show. Could she really bridge the gap of those eight years, give him another chance?
Don’t think about the past or the future. Just focus on the now.
She laid her hand in his. His fingers curled sure and solid around hers, and it felt…right.
They made their way down the aisle, up to the edge of the stage. Because she still wanted to mumble, Tyler lifted her chin and her voice until everyone could hear. “I apologize for the disruption. I’m ready to get back to rehearsal now.”
“Well, everyone is allowed one diva moment per show,” said Nate with a long, measured look. “Except you, Myles.”
Myles affected a crestfallen expression and everyone laughed. The tension level dropped perceptibly.
As they made their way back to their places onstage, Nate continued, “Just to be clear, it’s Betty who hurries off and Bob who chases after her. And Brody, remember this is White Christmas, not Basic Instinct.”
“I’d pay money to see that,” muttered a woman on the back row.
Tyler felt her face flame.