His Dream Role

by Shannyn Schroeder

  Edging along the wall, she tried to find a space to just think, but the noise was overwhelming.

  “Samantha?”

  Sam turned and looked at the man who’d called her. She didn’t know him, but he looked vaguely familiar.

  “It is you.” He shook his head quickly. “I’m sorry. We’ve never actually met. I’m Cary. Free’s brother.”

  Now she understood the familiarity. He had the same eyes and smile as Free. “Hi.”

  “Can I get you a drink?”

  “No. Uh . . . I was just trying to find a place to think for a minute. I don’t even know if I belong here.” She felt like she was yelling even as he lowered his body to hear her.

  He crooked his finger at her and led her back out the front door. Although the thumping beat could be felt out here, the door kept the majority of noise at bay.

  “I’m glad you came tonight. Free has been really bummed since the office party.”

  “So I guess he told you everything.”

  “Kind of. He’s confused and not sure why you got so mad.”

  Sam bit her lip. “I’m not entirely sure myself. I feel like he lied to me about who he is.”

  Cary sat on the steps leading to the upstairs apartment and patted the step next to him. She sat.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Nothing happened. I met this great guy who made me laugh and dressed in silly costumes to make his brother’s life easier. He turned out to be something different.”

  “He’s the same guy.”

  Sam shook her head. She wanted to believe that she’d been falling for the real Free, but she couldn’t get the image of him as a banker out of her mind.

  “You have to understand that the office party was hard for Free. He doesn’t like the bullshit end of dealing with clients. He wants to run the numbers and make them money. Me, on the other hand, I like the wining and dining aspect. He put on the face he needed to for the party.”

  So he’d been playing a character like any other role. “But he said his dream is to be a banker like your dad.”

  “He does want to do that. Is there something wrong with wanting to make money and build a good life?”

  “No. My frustration sounds crazy when you put it like that.”

  “It sounds crazy because it is crazy. I’ll tell you the truth. I’ve never seen Free so into a girl before. He’s been moping around not knowing what to do.”

  “I haven’t been much better. I’ve been trying to sort this out in my head.”

  “What did you come up with?”

  Sam shrugged.

  “Why did you come here tonight?”

  “I don’t know. The whole way here, I tried to figure it out. I needed to come. Part of me thought I would look at him and want to break up with him. But then I saw him. He’s Doctor Who. That’s the guy I fell for.” She slumped over and held her head.

  “If you care about him—and it’s pretty obvious you do—why do you care what he does for a living, especially if he likes it?”

  “I don’t want to be married to a guy like my dad.”

  Cary laughed. “Don’t they say that girls grow up to do just that? I know your dad through work. He seems like a good guy. Dedicated, hardworking. He sucks at golf, so he’s not infallible. And he loves his daughter.”

  Sam’s head snapped up and she stared at Cary.

  “He’s talked about you at every meeting we’ve ever had.” He opened his arms. “I guess he is like Free because that guy hasn’t been able to shut up about you.”

  “Really?”

  Cary nodded. “You know, it doesn’t matter if the guy is perfect or if the girl is perfect, as long as they are perfect for each other.”

  “Do you steal movie quotes, too?”

  “Good Will Hunting. I thought Free would appreciate it.”

  Sam stood.

  “You decided something?”

  She smiled and nodded. “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

  Cary barked out a laugh that echoed through the hall. “I don’t know if it’s in Free’s best interest that you just quoted The Godfather.”

  Sam smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  She turned and went back into the party to find Free.

  Free roamed through the apartment, unable to find Kelly. He hoped Adam had had better luck in distracting Hunter’s former girlfriends. As he squeezed behind a couple making out, he caught sight of something familiar, a waterfall of brown hair that had him spinning to make sure he hadn’t imagined it. Could it be that Sam had come?

  But when he turned, he saw nothing. He crossed the room to where he thought he saw her. Nothing. He rubbed his eyes. How sad was it that he’d been reduced to imagining his girlfriend?

  Cary came up next to him and bumped his shoulder. “Did Samantha find you?”

  “What? She’s here?”

  Cary nodded.

  Free left him standing there and pushed through the bodies and had zero luck finding her. Finally, he gave up and fought his way back to the living room, where Hunter’s band played. He strode up to Hunter and tapped his shoulder. When Hunter leaned over, Free yelled, “I need the mike.”

  Hunter nodded and waved Lance over, who brought the microphone with him.

  Free took a deep breath and brought the microphone to his mouth. “Excuse me. Sam? Samantha Wolf. If you’re still here, please come to the front. Sam?”

  On the other end of the room, near the kitchen, he saw an arm in the air. Then the crowd parted, creating a path between him and Sam. He handed Lance the mike and stepped forward.

  The band picked up where they’d left off, but the crowd watched his progress toward Sam before swallowing the empty space behind him. When he reached her, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I needed to see you.”

  Oh crap. She came to break up with him in person. He was going to need a whole lot more alcohol if this was how he was going to spend midnight. He reached for her hand and tugged her toward Adam’s bedroom. He closed the door behind them. “Before you say anything, please hear me out.”

  She opened her mouth, but he held up a hand to silence her.

  “I never meant to lie to you. We talked about the classes I was taking and I kind of thought they were self-explanatory. You made some assumptions about me and I didn’t correct you. That doesn’t make me a liar. I would never lie to you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and gripped his Doctor Who screwdriver, hoping it would bring him luck.

  “I know. I felt betrayed when I saw you at the party. All of a sudden you weren’t my quirky boyfriend anymore. You were like my dad.” She started to pace and twisted her hands together. “I love my dad. But even from an early age, I knew that money was really important to him. Not more important than his family, but a very close second. It’s like he couldn’t be truly happy without money. And he uses that money to”—she continued with air quotes—“take care of me.”

  She stepped closer. “I don’t want to be with a guy who overvalues money. I knew that wasn’t the case with you as an actor. Most actors don’t make it big. They do it because of love. I want to be with someone who loves what he does.”

  “I do. I love figuring out how to make money for other people. I make money in the process. I also love acting, but that’s my break from the real world. I never wanted it to be my real world. I need the security of a regular paycheck, something I can count on. Acting can’t do that for me. I would end up resenting it.”

  He adjusted his tie and searched for a way to explain. He filled his lungs and spoke again. “Acting is my release. I can be comfortable in whatever character I choose to be. But I need to keep the two parts of my life separate. I guess that in doing that, I neglected to fill you in on a huge part of me.”

  She nodded and went back to pacing. She paused near the pile of coats on Adam’s bed. “It’s important to me that you tell me things. That you don’t leave them out because you th
ink it’s boring or I won’t care. I want to know all of you. I’m not sure if I can get used to the banker you. I like the weird you.”

  He moved closer and reached out, smoothing his hand down her hair. “Does that mean we still have a chance?”

  She nodded and pulled him in by his tie. She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I want to be your Rose, Doctor. Your companion wherever you travel.”

  Free slid a hand over her hip. “Did you watch more of my favorite show?”

  She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I had to see what all the fuss was about.”

  “And?”

  “And I decided that the Doctor needed Rose as much as she needed him, even though they were so very different.”

  “It is gonna be fantastic!”

  “Kiss me, you fool.”

  “Hey, using quotes are my thing.”

  “Not anymore.”

  She pulled him closer until their mouths connected and no more words were needed. Having Samantha as his companion was more than he could’ve dreamed of.

  If you liked His Dream Role, don’t miss His Work of Art and His New Jam, available now! Turn the page for the opening notes of His New Jam in case you missed it.

  Be sure to also check out the first Hot & Nerdy trilogy as well as Shannyn Schroeder’s contemporary romance series, The O’Learys:

  More Than This

  A Good Time

  Something to Prove

  Catch Your Breath

  Just a Taste

  Hold Me Close

  Chapter 1

  Sydney shoved another spoonful of cereal in her mouth and stared at the calendar. Two weeks. That’s all she had left to suffer through until marching band was over for the year. Two weeks of practice and drills and football games. Then she could pack up the fucking cymbals until next summer.

  Her older sister, Trisha, came into the kitchen still in her robe. “Aren’t you going to be late?”

  “Whatever.” Sydney slurped at her milk to prevent Trish from nagging again. They were both well aware she needed the scholarship the marching band gave her for school. It didn’t mean Syd had to like it.

  “I don’t see what’s so bad about band. You get to play the instrument you love. The music’s not all bad. So the uniforms are a little dorky, but you look good on the field.” Trisha poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “I don’t get to play the instrument I love. I play the damn cymbals. Just once I would like to be given an actual drum. I sucked it up last year as the new kid, waiting, thinking that at some point, as guys graduate, I could step up. Instead, it’s this patronizing attitude. The drums are heavy. They’ll be awkward. There are already other players waiting. But the worst is that I’m so good at the cymbals, they don’t want to lose me.” She dumped her bowl in the sink. “It’s all bullshit. I don’t even know why I need to finish school. I want to play. I don’t need a degree to do that.”

  Trisha sighed the same way their mom always had. “We made a deal with Dad. You get to live with me in the city as long as you’re in school.”

  “That was when I was underage. I’m twenty-one. I can live wherever I want.”

  Trish patted her arm. “But you don’t want to let Dad down. Suck it up. Only another year and a half until graduation. Only a few weeks until you can forget about band for a while.”

  It annoyed her how well her sister knew her. Of course she wouldn’t let their dad down. He’d decided the only way for them to have a good life was to go to college, as if college could solve every problem. He held fast to the idea that if he had gone to college his life, and by extension their lives, would’ve been so much easier.

  So she was in school, getting a graphic design degree that would be useless because all she wanted to do was play music. Real music, rock, with a band, for an audience who wanted to hear it.

  But Trish did have a point: only a few weeks and she could say good-bye to being out in the cold, stomping on hard grass, pretending to enjoy herself during a football game. She tossed her backpack into her car and drove to the field. She shoved a hat on her head and grabbed her cymbals from the trunk. Just as she slammed the lid down, someone whistled at her.

  Sydney’s head popped up, ready to berate whatever asshole thought it was okay to catcall, when she saw her friend Emma running down the aisle of cars. She skidded to a halt in front of Sydney. “Whoa. You look ready to bite someone’s head off.”

  “I thought you were some guy whistling at me.”

  “Lighten up. So what if I was? You look ready to commit bodily harm.”

  “I’m just extra cranky. It’s cold and I want the season to be over. Plus, that tenor hasn’t done his shit this week yet.”

  “What?”

  “You know who I’m talking about. The tenor sax guy who hits on anything female. Every week since the summer, I can’t walk by without him playing some song at me.”

  Emma smirked. “How do you know he’s playing for you?”

  They headed toward the field together. “He stands off to the side and waits for me to get within ten feet before playing a note. Trust me, he’s flirting, in his own lame way.”

  Emma nudged her shoulder. “His name is Hunter. He’s a huge flirt, but totally harmless. He’s having fun. He does it to make people smile. No one takes him seriously. As far as I know, he’s never dated anyone from the band. Plus, he’s cute.”

  Emma had her there. The guy was cute, but even Syd knew he had a reputation for dating around a lot. She hadn’t given him too much thought. Okay, that was a lie. Last season she had crushed on him pretty hard, but he hadn’t given her a second glance. She had no idea what had changed, but these past few months had been torturous.

  She had no desire to waste her time on a fling with some guy who would toss her aside next week. “Does anyone ever flirt back? Maybe that’s why he doesn’t date anyone.”

  “Oh no, plenty flirt back. It’s a game to keep things fun. How could you not have caught on?”

  “It wasn’t included in band camp.” Sydney wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. They neared the mob of people who would soon turn into organized rows of musicians. Sure enough, Tenor Guy stood off to the side, staring in her direction even as he carried on a conversation with another sax player.

  He said nothing as he brought his instrument up and played the first notes. Syd continued walking, trying to ignore him. She got a few feet past him when the notes of his song bounced through her mind and recognition hit. He was playing the damn Disney song “Let It Go.”

  Oh yeah, this guy was hilarious. So he thought she was an ice queen. He got close to the chorus and Syd paused midstride. Just as the ice queen accepted her fate, Sydney clashed her cymbals together and winked over her shoulder at Hunter. She was fine with being cold.

  Shannyn Schroeder is a former high school and middle school English teacher. She holds a BA in English and MAs in Special Education and Gifted Education. After having her third child, she decided to stay at home. She’s since worked as an editor for several e-publishers and currently works as an editor for an education company that publishes online current events assignments. She juggles writing around the kids’ schedules.

  In her spare time, Shannyn loves to bake and watches far too much TV, especially cop shows. She started her first book on a dare from her husband and has never looked back. She came to reading romance later than many, but she lives for the happy ending, and writes contemporary romance because she enjoys the adventure of new love.

  Readers can visit Shannyn online at www.shannynschroeder.com and follow her on Twitter @SSchroeder_.

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

  LYRICAL SHINE BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

>   Copyright © 2015 by Shannyn Schroeder

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Lyrical Shine and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

  First Electronic Edition: December 2015

  ISBN: 978-1-6165-0957-6