Lia placed a finger on his lips. “Honey, stop it. Nothing’s going to break or fall because you did a great job. It’s going to be spectacular. Our premiere will be a great success, and you’ll be a part of it. As Pages’ wonderful new technical advisor.”
Travis smiled at her gratefully. “I hope you’re right.”
Lia hugged him tightly. “I know I’m right.”
Travis kissed her hair, then gave a small sarcastic laugh. “I have no idea how the actors manage this stage fright thing. I’m about to die from nerves and I don’t even have to appear on stage.”
The bell sounded. Travis’ face lost all of its remaining color and he gripped Lia with all his might. “Oh my God, it’s about to start. What do I do? What do I do?” His voice was filled with panic.
Lia held him even tighter. “Trust me, I’ve been here before. It’s going to get a lot better when the performance has actually started. It’ll give you something to focus on, other than the dreadful anticipation. You won’t even notice you’re afraid. You’ll just do your job.”
“I hope you speak from experience,” Travis mumbled miserably into her hair.
“I do.” Lia gently extricated herself. She looked deep into her boyfriend’s eyes. “I just wanted to make sure you were OK. But I have to go now. Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.”
Travis nodded sheepishly. “Thank you.” He shook himself and took a deep breath. “All right. Let’s do this.” He gave Lia one last smile before he turned back toward the stage, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper from the back pocket of his jeans that contained all the instructions for the play. Not that he didn’t know them by heart, but it was nice to have something in his hands. Lia looked at him for one more moment, her heart bursting with love and pride, before she climbed down from the loading gallery and found her usual place beside Maggie in the wings.
“How’s he doing?” Maggie asked.
“Terrified.” Lia smiled affectionately at the thought of Travis’ uncharacteristic panic.
“Aww. Poor guy,” Maggie said with sympathy. “I hope you tried to calm him down.”
“Of course,” Lia replied. “And he has absolutely no reason to worry. He did a marvelous job. Our stage structures have never been better.”
“I agree.”
The lights dimmed in the auditorium and the chatter of the audience died down. Lia felt a delicious wave of anticipation wash over her. It was a brand new season and a brand new premiere in a newly refurbished Pages. Thanks to the generous donation of Paulson Tech, Pages was finally in the clear and they could stop worrying about their future, because they could be sure that there was going to be one. Now all they had to worry about was what to fill that future with. And Lia was already bursting with ideas…
The curtain opened and the actors playing Kent, Gloucester and Edmund walked onto the stage. The play began and everybody seemed to hold their breath.
Three hours later, the curtain fell and thunderous applause broke out in the auditorium. Cheering and calls of Bravo! could be heard above the deafening noise of hundreds of palms clapping at the same time. Lia and Maggie hugged each other in the wings. Lia felt tears of joy welling up in her eyes. “We did it,” she whispered. “We’re a success!”
A few of the actors appeared, joining them for a group hug before they went back on stage for their curtain calls. As expected, Christina earned the loudest cheers and clapping. It was well earned; her rendition of Cordelia was powerful and heartbreaking.
Ronnie came out from backstage and Maggie threw herself into his arms, squealing. Lia smiled and quickly climbed the ladder that led to the loading gallery. The metal rungs clanged under her feet.
Travis was sitting against the wall on the floor of the loading gallery. His eyes were closed and when Lia got close, she could see tiny beads of perspiration on his face. Hearing her near, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. He gave her a tired but triumphant smile and held out his hand toward her. “Baby.” His voice was raspy and raw, as if he spent the last few hours screaming.
Lia sat on the floor next to him and pulled his head to her lap. “Come here.” He snuggled into her embrace. He buried his face into her lap and encircled her waist with his arms.
“You were marvelous,” Lia said softly, stroking his cheeks. She smoothed his unruly hair out of his face. “Did you hear the gasp from the audience when the castle was rolled in? That was entirely for you.”
“No, it was for all of us,” Travis murmured into her lap. “We did it together.” He sighed contentedly and Lia kept stroking his head, elation flooding her veins. They sat there for a while silently, listening to the noises coming from downstairs. Once the applause ended, the audience left with a lot of shuffling and chatter. The cast and crew ran around on stage behind the curtains, putting away props, congratulating each other and sharing their impressions about the opening night. Lia shared the excitement of her colleagues, but she was happy to be a mere observer for now, sitting alone with Travis, enjoying the calm after the storm. Or rather, between storms, because tomorrow, they had to do it all over again.
Once the stage was in order, the cast and crew prepared to leave for the after party. Lia gently nudged Travis. “We should go, honey. They’ll be looking for us.”
Travis groaned. “Do we have to? Can’t we just celebrate in private?”
Lia chuckled. “Look at that. Travis Paulson wants to skip a party?”
“No.” Travis raised his head and gave Lia a cheeky grin. “I just want to attend a more private party—Just for the two of us.” He leaned in and kissed her sensually. Lia melted into his soft lips.
“Believe me, I’d much rather do that,” Lia said, reluctantly breaking the kiss. “We’ll get to do it, I promise. But we have to attend at least the first few minutes of the official party. I need to talk to some of our sponsors. And I bet there are lots of people who want to congratulate you. This was your first premiere, after all.”
Travis nodded. “All right. But only if you promise me a dance.” With some effort, he shuffled to his feet, then held out his hand to help Lia up.
“You know, dancing’s quite grown on me recently,” Lia replied, smoothing down her dress. She wore her dark blue velvet evening gown to commemorate the fundraising gala all those months ago.
They descended the ladder to an empty stage. “There you are!” Maggie exclaimed. “We thought you sneaked away.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that,” Lia replied.
“Hurry up! Most of us have already left.” Maggie trotted off stage, heading for the exit.
Lia went to the office and grabbed their coats before leaving through the stage door. The early fall night was surprisingly chilly. The stars faintly sparkled on the cloudless black sky. A soft breeze danced in the air. Lia took a deep breath. “You know those pictures where the stars shine really bright, because there’s no light pollution? It’s supposed to be magical. I wish we could see that once. We’d have to leave the city for that,” she said, gesturing at the street lamps lighting their way.
Travis took her hand. “As a matter of fact, I know the perfect place for that. Though it’s quite far away. We could plan our first real vacation there. Maybe after Christmas?”
Lia snuggled up to his side. “That sounds like a plan.”
The after party was held in Red, the same club the Pages crew visited after the fateful fundraising gala. Lia took in the familiar sounds and smells with an amused smile on her face. The (fake) crystal chandeliers reflected the dim interior lighting brilliantly, the plush velvet carpets creating the image of the inside of a jewelry box.
“Wow, you made it,” Ronnie said as he spotted Lia and Travis. “Guys, they’re here!” He gestured at the crew of Pages standing around at the bar. All at once, people swarmed them. Hands kept patting their backs, shaking their hands, hugging them and congratulating them. Lia lost herself in the sea of people as she hugged them back, praising everyone’s performances and congratulating the
whole team. But throughout the whole commotion, she kept an eye on Travis.
He smiled and chatted with everyone and laughed at something Ronnie said. He even made a joke that got the whole group giggling. Lia’s heart filled with love and pride. He’s one of us now, she thought. But then his posture stiffened and a guarded smile replaced the genuine one on his face. Lia looked around and her heart skipped a beat. Maggie was advancing towards their group with Tom Paulson in tow. Travis’ father and Pages’ main benefactor.
Lia’s heart beat furiously as she took a step toward them. “Good evening, Mr. Paulson,” she said, extending her hand. “I hope you liked the performance.”
The group fell silent. Everyone knew how much they depended on Paulson Tech’s donation, and they watched the exchange eagerly. The volume of the music seemed to have turned itself down, as if the whole club wanted to listen to the main sponsor of the theater offering his judgement on opening night.
“Good evening.” Tom nodded curtly at the group. “Good to see you. I have to say that even though I know the original play well, you still managed to surprise me.”
Lia smiled at him uncertainly, not sure if that was a good thing. There was a non-committal murmur from the group, waiting for the rest of Tom’s critique.
“I have to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure about this revolutionary theater of yours. I don’t always like surprises. I mean after all, why fix something if it’s not broken, huh?” He looked around at the faces in the crowd. People shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. “But I have to admit, I quite enjoyed tonight. Your approach to Lear was both fresh and traditional.” There was a collective intake of breath. Relief spread on their faces and they started to celebrate again. Tom added, “I also liked your new interior. I see that you made good use of the money we donated. Keep up the good work.”
He turned to face Travis. “Son. May I see you for a moment?”
Travis nodded curtly, his lips pressed into a thin line. Lia squeezed his hand supportively. He held onto her tightly and didn’t let go as he started to walk toward a more secluded corner of the club with his father. He pulled her close behind him. “Please, come with me,” he murmured under his breath.
Lia complied, though she wasn’t sure Tom would be happy to see her tagging along.
“Oh, you’re here, too,” Tom said. “Good, because what I’m about to say concerns both of you.” He cleared his throat and regarded both of them with an unreadable expression. “Son, I never really liked the idea of you studying architecture instead of business or IT. I still think that I want you to succeed me as CEO of Paulson Tech when the time is right. I want the business to stay in the family and I hope you’ll honor my wish.”
Travis gave a half-hearted nod. Lia examined her feet, all the while holding Travis’ hand tightly.
“But I also see that it was wrong of me to prevent you from doing what you want. I have to admit that you did an excellent job with all the scenery and props on stage. The castle was indeed quite remarkable.” Lia sneaked a glance at Travis. His face was flushed at the unexpected praise from his father. Tom went on. “I have developed a solution that I believe will be satisfactory to both you and me. If you’re interested, please come to lunch on Sunday.”
“Yes, Father. Thank you, I’ll be there,” Travis responded, his head held high.
“Oh, and that goes for you, too,” Tom added, nodding at Lia. “I’ll see you both on Sunday.” With that, he turned on his heels and left.
Lia’s heart skipped a beat. Never before had she ever been invited to a Sunday lunch with the Paulson family. A nervous smile spread on her lips. What was she going to wear? What will they talk about?
But she had no time to ponder these questions in detail because Travis swept her off her feet. She shrieked, laughing and held onto him as he swirled them around in circles. She knew what he wanted to say but there was no need. His eyes were filled with love, pride, elation, gratitude, happiness and so much more that she felt her own heart bursting with joy.
“Let’s dance,” he whispered and drew her closer. She put her hand in his and held his gaze. Unconsciously and effortlessly, her body followed his lead, complementing his every move with her own.
How different this felt than the first dance they shared right at this spot! Lia remembered how she awkwardly tried to take the lead. It almost felt like a lifetime ago.
Lia was right where she belonged.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STARLA HARRIS loves all things romance. She especially loves reading and writing about bad boys, billionaires and playboys.
Starla would love to hear from her readers so feel free to write to her with any questions, comments, suggestions and requests for stories, or just to say “hi” at [email protected]. You can also find Starla on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/starlalovesromance/.
Also, join Starla’s exclusive reader’s list at http://eepurl.com/cqfbzH and you’ll be the first to know about hot new releases, promos and deals, including sneak peaks at upcoming books and cover art!
ONE LAST THING...
If you enjoyed this book or found it useful I’d be very grateful if you’d post a short review on Amazon.
Your support really does make a difference and I read all the reviews personally so I can get your feedback and make this book even better.
Thanks again for your support!
Starla
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
(Six Months Later)
About The Author
One Last Thing...
The Auction: The Billionaire Wins a Date Page 12