See You Soon Broadway (Broadway Series Book 1)

by Melissa Baldwin

  I’m so glad I met Miranda because having coffee with her has been the best part of my trip. How pathetic is that? Here I am in one of the most exciting cities in the world with the love of my life and the best part of my weekend has been a thirty-minute meeting in Starbucks with a stranger.

  I tell her all about the students, including Mimi. No matter how upset and hurt I feel over everything that happened I would never let my feelings of her recent behavior affect her future. I even mention that Mimi is working with both Ash and myself, although admitting that was like stabbing myself in the stomach over and over again.

  “Well, it sounds like it’ll be a great show and we’re always looking for fresh talent.” She glances at her phone. “Livie told me that you used to sing as well. Why did you stop?”

  Why did I stop? How do I answer this question when I don’t even know? I’m starting to wonder how I’ve gotten to this point. All of sudden I feel anxious—maybe I’m having a panic attack or the start of a midlife crisis? I don’t really know what a midlife crisis feels like or at what age you should be to have one.

  “Maris?” she interrupts my thought.

  “What?” I answer absentmindedly. “I’m sorry. I zoned out for a second.”

  I’m so embarrassed but thankfully Miranda gets a phone call and excuses herself. In my mind I rehearse a few “good” answers to her questions.

  “I hate to do this but I have to rush out,” she says as she hurries back to the table. “So, great meeting you and I look forward to seeing you at the performance, if not before.”

  She quickly leaves and once again I’m alone in New York. Now I’m definitely ready to go home.

  ~*~*~

  “So, you are telling me that you guys hardly spent any time together? I don’t understand.”

  When Georgie gets off her shift, she immediately demands I tell her about our trip. I’ve been home for one day and this is the first time we’ve seen each other. Kyle and I have texted a few times but the awkwardness remains and I hate it. I give Georgie the play-by-play and I didn’t realize how bad it was until I have to relive it.

  “But, he was willing to do anything you wanted and you got mad at that? I don’t understand what’s going on with you?”

  I close my eyes and hang my head. I could blame it on the possibility of a midlife crisis but I don’t think she’ll buy that. In my defense, he promised me that we would spend our evenings together—not that he would fall asleep or be two hours late.

  “Because I wanted him to be happy to be there and to fall in love with the city so that he would want to go with me if I ever decide to move there. I love Kyle and I want to be with him, but I don’t know if we want the same things, at least not right now.”

  Georgie doesn’t respond right away, no doubt she’s processing my admission that I’m thinking about moving so I tell her everything.

  “Yes, I’ve been thinking about moving because I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing right now. Things at the studio are not great, my parents are selling their house, and I really miss performing. I just feel like I’m in a rut in my life and I have to do something.”

  All of a sudden I think about a few things Grandma wrote in the journal.

  “I have to show you something.” I make Georgie follow me to my room and I reach under my mattress and pull out the journal.

  “I found this in a box at my parents’ house, it belonged to my Grandma.” I finally hand over the journal after spending weeks keeping it hidden.

  After reading several pages, Georgie looks up.

  “Wow. This is amazing, and this is how you found out about Beatrice. Very interesting.”

  I can see the look in her eye. I’m silently praying that she doesn’t say a word about Trevor. I don’t need her and Beatrice teaming up and complicating things even more than they are.

  “Does Kyle know about this? I mean, about what your grandmother did and about you finding this? Maybe you should be honest with him.”

  “I was honest with him and his answer was that I could find an agent and commute when I was needed. He doesn’t grasp that I want to perform in New York. I’ve always wanted that. But, I want to be with him, too—so, what am I supposed to do?” I feel like I’m begging for someone to give me an answer. But the truth is that neither Georgie nor Cassie can decide this for me. This decision is all mine and I need to make the right one.

  Chapter 13

  It’s been a little over a week since the New York trip disaster. Thankfully, I’ve been really busy so I haven’t had much time think about it. Lucy has kept our schedules packed with lots of rehearsals, meetings, and costume fittings. Ash and I haven’t spoken a word to each other, which has been really nice for me but I know it makes things really uncomfortable for everyone else. I don’t care though because this is not my fault and Lucy knows it.

  “I wish I knew what we could do to get her out of here,” Sophie says in between chomping on her ice from her drink. I really wish she would stop that because it drives me crazy.

  “Come on, you know that will never happen. As long as she continues to kiss Lucy’s butt, she’s staying put.”

  “Yeah.” She takes another mouthful and starts chomping. “So tell me about your trip. You haven’t said anything about it.”

  I cringe at the thought of having to relive that horrible trip.

  Kyle and I’ve seen each other a few times since then and things seem to be okay. Neither of us has brought up the trip. I figure I need to let things play out until after the recital and then decide what I need to do. Thankfully, he agreed to attend Beatrice’s birthday party with me this coming weekend. I’ve never been less excited to attend a party than I am for this one, but I called her personally to tell her I, along with my whole family, would be attending.

  I’m trying to take Cassie’s advice and continue to build her trust so I can figure out the whole thing with Charles and Grandma.

  “Have you lost weight?” Georgie asks when she sees me in my dress. Saturday has finally arrived and I’m getting ready for the party.

  “Yes, I have. Stress will do that to you,” I say as I reach for my hairbrush.

  “You look really good,” she says, sitting down on my bed. “Not that you didn’t before.” She adds, “Things okay with Kyle?” She and I have been on completely opposite schedules so we haven’t spoken much since I came home from New York.

  “They seem to be.” I shrug. “I guess we will see what happens.”

  In the mirror I can see her. She opens her mouth to say something but quickly closes it. I can tell she dying to say something. “What?” I turn around and face her. “Go ahead and say what you want to say.”

  She can tell I’m irritated because she shakes her head and tells me to forget it. Of course that’s never going to happen. “You might as well just say it.”

  “I was just thinking that Trevor would probably be at the party tonight, too . . .” she trails off, giving a look of pure innocence.

  I knew it. It’s been weeks since I showed her the journal. That may be a new record for her keeping her mouth shut.

  “Of course he’ll be at the party; he’s Beatrice’s grandson, and I’m sure Giselle will be there right by his side. So you can stop with the innocent act.” She gives me a smug look and saunters out of my room leaving me completely annoyed.

  ~*~*~

  I hope that if I live to be ninety years old someone throws me a birthday party like this. Or any age for that matter. As soon as I walk in I can see that Beatrice’s daughter has gone above and beyond to make this a memorable night. Although I don’t see Beatrice, I hope she hasn’t snuck out through a bathroom window and made a run for it.

  Kyle and I arrive a few minutes before my family, but as soon as they get there Cassie pulls me aside and wants to talk about the Charles/Beatrice/Grandma saga.

  “I don’t think this is the place to discuss this,” I whisper loudly. A few people standing nearby turn to look at me. Great.

/>   “Maris, I’m so glad you came,” Beatrice says. I turn to see her standing there in a floor-length black gown, her neck and ears full of diamonds, and a beautiful pinned corsage. I hope she didn’t hear Cassie and me talking.

  “Of course.” I raise my eyebrows at Cassie. “Happy birthday!” I give her a big hug and introduce Cassie

  “Hello, Beatrice, I’m so happy to finally meet you.” Cassie holds out her hand and smiles warmly at her.

  “Cassie, you’re all grown up. I remember when Maris sent pictures of you, your grandmother Maris not this one,” she says, pointing at me. “Of course you were much younger then but you look a lot like her.” Cassie smiles as she continues talking.

  “This is so nice of all you, it means a lot to have you here, more than you know.”

  Cassie glances at me and starts to look about the room. I’m sure she’s channeling the auras to help us get to the bottom of the mystery.

  If she starts chanting, I will pretend like I don’t know her. My parents join us and Beatrice seems absolutely overjoyed to see my mom especially. I see Mark and Kyle in a corner, playing on their phones. I don’t expect them to move from those spots for most of the evening, which is fine because things are still so weird between Kyle and me. We probably should’ve just left them home.

  “Hey, stranger,” a voice whispers in my ear from behind me. My stomach does a backflip and I cringe. I take a deep breath and turn around.

  “Hi, Trevor,” I reply flatly. Hopefully he doesn’t notice my discomfort at seeing him.

  “This is quite a party; your mother outdid herself.” I figure I might as well try to make conversation. Come to think of it, I realize I still haven’t seen his mother yet. I look around and see a stunning woman walking around greeting guests. She’s the spitting image of Beatrice, only younger of course.

  “Is that your mom?” I ask, pointing in the woman’s direction.

  “Yes, that’s Mom in all her glory. She’s been planning this party for months. So far she and Gran are getting along and I haven’t had to break up any fights yet.” He holds up two fingers crossed. He leans in to whisper something to me, “Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to ever get in a fight with either of them.” His warm breath on my neck gives me chills. I subtly move a few inches away. “Thanks so much for coming tonight. Gran was so happy, and I think the fact that you all came has made this party somewhat bearable for her. She kept saying something about life coming full circle. It didn’t make much sense but sometimes Gran rambles on.”

  I wonder what she meant by that? I will tell Cassie and she’ll be able to decipher it. “It must have something to do with her and my Grandma. I’m just glad we could be here to celebrate even though she doesn’t want to be here. Part of me was wondering if she was going to try to sneak out,” I say with a smile.

  “Oh believe me, I’m watching her.” He winks at me. He points to the drink in my hand. “Oh and I wanted to thank you for not spilling your drink on me tonight. This is a new jacket and my mom would be really pissed at me if I look the slightest bit disheveled.” What a jerk . . . I’m actually tempted to pour it on him anyway.

  “Ha-Ha.” I scowl and then crack a smile. I look over to see Cassie watching us curiously. Crap! Now I’m going to have to explain how I know Trevor. It’s practically impossible to hide anything from her (not that I have anything to hide.). I really believe that she could have superpowers.

  “I better make sure my mom doesn’t need anything. But I will catch up with you later, and I still need to meet your family.”

  A feeling of panic comes over me. No, he certainly does NOT need to meet my family. After he walks away, I’m careful to avoid Cassie and her curious stares. I make my way over to where Kyle is still sitting. At least now he has a plate of food.

  “You bored?” I ask. He looks up from his phone and shakes his head. Not like Kyle would ever admit if he were bored. Just as I’m about to sit down next to him, Cassie comes over and asks to talk to me in private.

  “Can we talk later?” I beg. “I’ve left my poor date alone in the corner all night.” I put my arm around Kyle.

  “It will just take a few minutes and Mark will keep him company. Right, babe?” she asks.

  “Yep,” Mark says without looking up from his phone. Typical Mark, he usually just goes along with anything Cassie says anyway.

  Cassie links her arm in mine and walks me out onto the terrace—drags me out is more like it. I fold my arms and mentally prepare myself for what’s about to take place.

  “Who was that guy?” she asks before I even have a chance to say a word. “And don’t say that he’s nobody because clearly he is.”

  I seriously wonder what I did in a past life to get Cassie for a sister. I feel like I’m in high school again when Cassie would tell our parents anytime I did anything wrong. She was always an overachiever and I just wanted to have fun and sing. Because of her, I got caught skipping school and sneaking out of the house. I’ve still never forgiven her for telling on me. Now that we’re older, she still watches what I’m doing.

  “First of all, that guy is Beatrice’s grandson, Trevor. He was just telling me how happy she was that we were able to come tonight, and he says she kept talking about things coming full circle. Do you think that could have something to do with Grandma and Charles?”

  I’m hoping that talking about Beatrice will take Cassie’s mind off whatever she thinks she saw while I was talking to Trevor.

  “Trevor, huh?” she repeats his name. She obviously didn’t fall for my plan to change the subject. “If he’s just Beatrice’s grandson, then why did you all seem to know each other so well? It almost seemed as if you’ve known each other for years or maybe even lifetimes.”

  Oh, here we go . . . I roll my eyes.

  “He brought Beatrice and I lunch the first time I was over there and he ended up staying,” I say nonchalantly. “He was there for the majority of the day, so we talked quite a bit. And just so you know, he has a girlfriend.”

  Which reminds me, I haven’t seen the lovely Giselle yet either. Maybe she got sick and couldn’t make it? Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky.

  “I see that now,” she says, looking over my shoulder. I turn around to see Giselle and she just happens to be wearing the tightest and shortest gold dress I have ever seen. Not exactly appropriate for an old lady’s birthday party or for anywhere other than maybe the street. She’s standing next to Trevor’s mother and laughing loudly. She must be drunk because she’s totally making a scene. Cassie is still watching her along with most of the guests at the party.

  “She’s a real piece of work, isn’t she?” Beatrice asks when she joins us as we watch Giselle make her way around the room. “I’m waiting for Trevor to kick her out on her ass but no such luck yet.” She makes a face.

  “My daughter likes her and I have no idea why. But then again, she’s always been a bit more trusting than me, which is probably a good thing. She’s just like her father; he would give anyone a chance. Not that that’s a bad thing, I guess we should all be more like that.” She stares off into the distance and Cassie and I exchange looks.

  “Your husband sounds like he was a wonderful man,” Cassie says. “If you don’t mind me asking, when did he pass away?”

  “A few years now. He was a good man,” she says with a smile. “He was damn annoying though, and he always cheated while playing cards. Most of the time I wanted to smack the shit out of him, but I loved him more than anything.”

  We all laugh.

  “I feel that way about my Mark, too, sometimes. That’s him sitting over there in the corner. He and Kyle are playing on their phones and being antisocial.” She points to the guys.

  “Who’s Kyle again?” Beatrice asks. Oh, this could be bad. I’m praying she doesn’t say anything about Trevor and me. Not that there’s an actual Trevor and me.

  “Kyle’s my boyfriend, remember I told you about him?” I remind her.

  She gets a c
onfused look on her face. I really hope she isn’t using this opportunity to be forgetful.

  “Yes, I do.” She nods her head and looks over at the guys. “He’s really handsome . . . but not as handsome as my Trevor.”

  Okay, I need to find a table to crawl under so I can die now. I try to avoid all eye contact with Cassie because that’s the worst thing I could do at this point.

  “Trevor, as in your grandson?” Cassie asks curiously.

  No eye contact, no eye contact, no eye contact, I chant silently.

  “Yes. My sweet Trevor, have you met him yet?” she asks excitedly. “Come on and I will introduce you.” She pulls Cassie away, leaving me frozen in my spot. Never mind Beatrice, I think I need to escape through the bathroom window.

  As the party continues, I’m now convinced that I am having a midlife crisis because I have absolutely no reason to feel this uncomfortable around Trevor. Every time I see him, I try to move as far away from him as I can. He’s never done anything to cause me to dislike him so much. Or maybe that’s just it; maybe I don’t dislike him at all. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Giselle is making her way around the room and coming right toward me. I look around but I have no time to escape.