“What exactly are you saying?”
God, there was no way she could look at him. Instead, she looked at their hands, each curled around the worn wooden edge of the stage, separated by a couple of inches that were filled with years.
“I think you proved beyond a reasonable doubt that we still have chemistry. We always did, so that’s not much of a surprise. But I need to know—or maybe I need clarification of what you meant by what you said earlier.” Her chest felt tight, and Tyler found she couldn’t quite take a full breath as she waited for his reply.
“All right. Fair enough. You’ve said your piece, now I’m gonna say mine. I know we’ve got chemistry. I knew it the moment I saw you again, and I’ll admit that I shamelessly exploited that on stage tonight. I know all your buttons, and I pushed them with the intent to get a reaction, to make you remember how good we are together. Seeing as we both finally got the truth out of it, I can’t say I mind the end result. But I know I stirred you up, and I’ll understand if whatever you’re feeling is…residual from what we were before. It doesn’t feel residual for me, though. Not from the moment I saw you again.”
A painful sort of hope lit inside her. But she’d been through far too much to leap at a whim. “The fact is, Brody, you don’t know me anymore. I’m not the girl you left behind, and you’re not the boy who walked away.”
“Bullshit. You haven’t changed that much.”
Impatience simmered because she recognized that she was going to have to be the voice of reason here. “You don’t know that. You don’t,” she repeated when he started to speak. “Do I feel something for you? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But I don’t know if it’s real or just remnants of what came before that never got resolved. I can’t answer that question.”
“Isn
’t it worth finding out?”
Tyler studied his face, memorizing the lines and curves, noting how he’d changed, how he was the same. Tipping forward she brushed her lips over his, just because she could, because she ached for the taste of him. She knew that the sensible thing was to let him go, take this truth and whatever peace it brokered between them, and shut the door on the past.
I never stopped loving you. Ever.
Tyler fisted her hand in his shirt and let the whip of need lash through her. So long. So damned long. God, didn’t they deserve something? For a moment, she wavered, beyond tempted to be reckless, to take the heat they brought each other and ride it to whatever glorious end they could.
But she’d been left in the ashes before.
Heart still thundering, she flattened her palm and eased back, resting her temple against his.
“That felt pretty damned current to me.” The rasp of Brody’s voice stroked over her like a caress.
Uncertain whether her voice would work, Tyler made a noncommittal hum.
“We have something between us, Tyler. We always did.”
She couldn’t deny that and didn’t try. “Brody, I can’t just…fall back into this.” Yes, I absolutely could, she thought, with very little provocation. She wanted this, wanted him, on whatever terms she could get. But she had to be sensible. She had to think about tomorrow.
“I get it,” he said. “I respect that. But just…” He cupped her cheek and Tyler cursed herself, even as she leaned into the touch. “Think about it.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
Brody’s gaze slid down to her mouth, his eyes going dark. Tyler felt her pulse jump again, started to sway toward him. He slid off the stage, down to the floor and turned to reach for her. Because she was still short of breath, Tyler let him help her down, let him hold her until she steadied.
“Okay,” she said again.
“Let me walk you to your truck.”
5 Weeks 'Til Show
Across the stage, General Waverly stood, menus in hand, while Bob, Phil, and the Haynes sisters dined and discussed how to help him. Just as Bob rose to go place the call to bring the show to Pine Tree, a long, low groan echoed through the theater.
“What the hell was that?” asked Piper, stepping fully out of character.
“Obviously it’s the ghost of old Mr. Stanton himself opining about how that scene was running,” said Nate, “which was terrible. Brody, if you could take your eyes off Tyler for five seconds and actually play your part, we’d all appreciate it.”
Tyler looked over at him, startled, a pretty pink flush creeping across her cheeks. Brody could only grin at her. No sense in pretending remorse he didn’t feel. But he saluted the director. “Yes, boss.”
“Again, from the top.”
Brody took his position, started the scene over. He did his best to stay in character, to look where he was supposed to look, say what he was supposed to say. But his mind was full of Tyler.