Cut her off at the knees when she was already at her lowest point.
After all that, why would she be comfortable enough to let him carry her for a while? He craved the chance to help her. To be her rock while she figured things out. But she couldn’t rely on him like that because he’d damaged her faith in him. In them.
About a million times, he’d come an inch away from asking his father to find Reese a chorus position. It wouldn’t even be a favor. She was good. Good enough to win an audition with Bernard. If she hadn’t missed it, she’d already be working. No question. But Leo knew she’d never accept the help, as badly as he needed to give it, so he somehow refrained.
Forcing himself back to the present, Leo asked about the customer’s dog breed and bagged up her key lime tarts, running her credit card and sending the woman on her way. With the bakery empty, he rested his elbows on the counter, massaging the ever-present throb in the center of his forehead. It was nothing compared to the emptiness inside of him, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. Not without Reese.
Voices outside drew Leo’s attention and he lifted his head to see Jackie chatting with the mailman. She laughed and accepted the small bundle of letters, bills and advertisements, wishing him a good day and dancing into the store. Leo guessed he looked about as shitty as he felt, because Jackie drew up short at the sight of him, sending him a sympathetic smile.
“Hey, boss. How was the after work rush?”
“Decent. Sold out those cronuts,” he said absently, turning for the back room. “Let me know if you need me.”
“Oh, Leo.”
Something in Jackie’s tone had him turning around, eyebrow raised. “Yeah?”
She stared down at a powder blue envelope in her hands. Started to say something, but held up the envelope instead. His heart almost stopped dead in his chest when he saw it was from Reese. Reese Stratton. A Wisconsin address. Had she written him a letter?
Leo reached for the envelope and opened it carefully, not wanting to screw up his first chance to hear from her in six excruciating weeks.
Inside was a theater ticket. Just one.
For tonight’s performance of Chicago.
Hope almost caused his knees to lose power.
But neither of those emotions came close to the pride that expanded his chest.
“You don’t think…” Jackie started, a smile curling her lips.
“She did it.” God help him, his eyes were burning. “She did it.”
And after everything, she still wanted him? Is that what this meant?
Please God. Please let her still want me. Need me. Like I need her.
A splotch of moisture fell onto the ticket and he wasn’t sure whether it came from him or Jackie, who was openly weeping. “Well, you have to bring flowers. Roses. Find something nice to wear.” She checked her watch, a laugh bubbling out of her mouth. “Better get started, boss. You only have a couple of hours.”
Two hours and one ripped dress shirt later—apparently his shoulders…and the rest of him had bulked up since college—Leo found himself in an aisle seat, anticipation tensing every one of his muscles, his hands in a white-knuckled grip on the carved armrests, a bouquet of red and white roses in his lap.
Reese was in the building. The same building as him. Somewhere within these walls.
How was he supposed to breathe normally?
Leo had accompanied his parents to Chicago years ago, so he wasn’t expecting the lights to dim halfway, an unfamiliar song drifting down the occupied rows like smoke in a speakeasy. A murmur passed through the audience when a dancer appeared in one aisle, and then a second performer in the other, a spotlight swinging between them. Even with the hats pulled low over their brow, he could tell they weren’t Reese right away, though. Where was—
A beautifully familiar girl in a black vest and tights rolled off the stage, landing on the ball of her right foot, extending her left leg in a seamless high kick—and it was the combination of the move and her feline smile that earned her whistles and applause from the crowd. And suspended Leo right where he sat, thunder clapping in his ears.
It was her. Reese.
Not ten yards away.
The cellophane crinkled in his lap, thanks to his hard grip on the flowers. One thread of sanity held him to the seat when all he wanted was to rise, wrap her in his arms, kiss the mouth he’d missed like lungs without oxygen for a month and a half. Slowly but surely, the spotlight moved with her inside of it until she was dancing within arm’s reach, holding the audience members in the palm of her hand, disappearing into the role of jazz hall stunner.
At least until they made eye contact, her gaze softening, her arms falling down at her sides gently. In that moment, she was all Reese. His Reese. And when she walked toward him, crooking her finger at him as the spotlight fell away, leaving them in the dark, Leo was powerless to do anything but stand up and go to her. Her smile wobbled and she gave a watery laugh, his lips cutting off the sound. The taste of her ran through him like a riot, her curves turning pliant, giving against him, her back curving over his arm and they kissed. Great, devouring kisses that weren’t fit for public and made him wish like hell they were alone.
When she moaned in her throat, Leo forced himself to break away.
“Is this going to get you in trouble?”
“I cleared it with the director,” she whispered, her hands warm on the sides of his face. “She seemed to think it might sell more tickets if we started a rumor that the audience members might get a kiss at the show.” She wiped lipstick from his mouth with the pad of her thumb. “But it’ll only ever be you,” she said, a sheen in her eyes. “It’ll always be you.”
“That’s good,” he said, his voice vibrating with emotion. “Because it’ll only ever be you for me, too.” He stooped down to inhale her scent. “Christ, I’m so proud of you.”
“I’m proud of me, too,” she said, haltingly. “I had to do it on my own, Leo. Not because of anything you did or said. Not because of our fight. I want you to know that. I just needed to believe it was real. That I reached this goal because of effort. I needed it to be honest. Okay? I disappointed myself by lying to you.” She took a breath. “Relying on myself was how I needed to fix it. For me. For us.”
There was nothing that could ever completely alleviate Leo’s guilt over his part in their fight, but the earnestness, the truth in her eyes evaporated the lingering self-loathing in his stomach like sunshine. Because that’s what she was. Light and warmth and strength. The girl he wanted to stand beside for an eternity, basking in her glow. “Thank you for finding a way.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “God, sweetheart. Thank you.”
The overhead lights starting to flash, signaling the start of the show. “Meet me backstage afterward?”
He rumbled a laugh. “Try and stop me.”
She started toward the stage entrance, but paused to look back at him. “Missing you made me love you even more. I hope you’re ready.”
They could hear his heart pounding on the moon. He was sure of it. “I love you, Reese Stratton. I’m ready for every damn thing with you,” he managed around the obstruction in his throat. “Forever starts tonight.”
Her smile was the last thing he saw before she vanished into the dark.
And it was the first thing he saw every morning for the rest of his life.
Epilogue
Eight Years Later
Reese took her time walking uptown, a bag full of produce from the farmer’s market dangling in her right hand. The summer breeze swished the skirt around her ankles, her free hand lifting to brush the hair back from her daughter’s head where she dozed in her sling. They were another fifteen-minute walk away from the Cookie Jar, but as she often did, Reese detoured through Times Square, inhaling the chaos of the beloved district where she’d danced for the last eight years, before deciding that once unattainable dream had been duly fulfilled.
She stopped outside of the Bexley Theater and though
t of the girl who’d missed her audition. A babe in the woods, wanting so badly to achieve a dream, but no idea how to proceed.
Well. If Reese had her way, she’d reach girls like her past self, one at a time.
She’d be the lifeline in this pitching ocean of a city.
“Won’t we, Lily?” Reese murmured, kissing her daughter’s head. “Very soon.”
With one last look at the locked theater doors, Reese continued to glide toward the Crossroads of the World, no longer pressured by the frenetic pace of the crowds. In the last eight years, she’d learned to move at her own pace. No one else’s. Or maybe her husband had taught her that. How to recognize setbacks as learning experiences, not failures. How to not be so hard on herself and to enjoy the moments, win or lose.
She’d taught him equally valuable lessons along the way—and their marks in the win column vastly outweighed the losses.
After all, Reese and Leo had each other, the biggest victory of all. They married a year after her return to New York City, exchanging their vows on the roof of the Bexley Theater, no one in attendance except for their parents and the pigeons. Up until last year, they’d lived and loved in his one-bedroom apartment, expanding to a two-bedroom when they found out they were expecting Lily. They’d traveled to four countries, their friendships had grown deep, abiding roots, and they lived every day with the kind of blinding joy that only came after almost losing the person one treasures most, knowing it would never happen again.
On her way through Times Square, Reese looked for Link and waved, gesturing to his new getup—Scooby Doo—and giving him a thumbs up. His laughter carried on the summer wind and reached her ears, the nostalgia of seeing her unlikely friend never failing to sweep her with a sense of belonging.
But there was no greater sense of belonging than when she walked into the Cookie Jar, the smell of chocolate and nutmeg and fresh coffee surrounding her in a welcoming cloud. She locked eyes with Leo over the display case, watching his hand pause in mid-air, love transforming his expression at the sight of them…and she lost her breath. She always did. The magnitude of her happiness never failed to knock the wind right out of her.
Especially when she saw he’d worn the Mean Baker apron she’d had made for him their first Christmas together. They’d expanded the shop years ago, adding a seating area along the north wall and pushing the kitchen out to double its size. They had contracts with restaurants, mainly in Hell’s Kitchen, their growing popularity even forcing them to turn down contracts. For now. Until they opened their second location this fall.
“Hey,” Reese mouthed at Leo.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he rumbled back, pulling up the hatch and ducking his six-foot-three frame beneath it, curving a big paw over Lily’s head. “I never get used to you walking in here.” He tucked some loose hair behind her ear, his throat muscles working. “Are you ready for today?”
She accepted his lingering hello kiss, gave him one of her own. “The question is not whether I’m ready…” They both turned to eye the back of the Cookie Jar where Bernard Bexley sat with his now-usual scone and black coffee, looking infinitely impatient, his dancer’s foot tapping on the tile flooring. “The question is…will your father and I be a good partnership? I still can’t believe he wanted to help. I strongly suspect he just wants more Lily time and Mentors in Manhattan is just an excuse to make that happen.”
Leo shook his head. “He offered to help because he knows a good idea when he hears one. What you’ve put together in such a short time? It’s incredible, Reese.”
Reese leaned into her husband’s shoulder, giving it a grateful kiss, and thought back to the morning last summer she’d announced over brunch that she’d be retiring from dancing to start her new consultancy for aspiring Broadway performers. Bernard, while calmly scraping the butter off his toast had looked up and said, “Sure, I’d love to help. Thank you for asking.”
It had taken a while—and a few awkward first meetings—to get Leo and his family back in the habit of spending time together. Frequent visits from Lorna had helped, as her mother’s humor and optimism were infectious. And now, it was understood that they ate dinner together on Friday nights and had breakfast every other Sunday. Although with the arrival of Lily, Leo’s parents were beginning to complain about not enough family time.
Now they would apparently be spending all the time together.
If someone told her eight years ago that Bernard Bexley would be her business partner, she would have fainted dead away. But now? Now…he was just her kooky father-in-law who could still execute a kick-ass barrel turn.
Speaking of…
“Is that my Lily?” Bernard crept toward them, rubbing his hands together. “Is that my little partner in crime? Where’s Lily. Where’s Lily?”
On cue, their daughter woke up, yawned and turned her head, giving her grandfather a drooling smile, two tiny teeth sticking up out of her bottom gums. Seamlessly, Bernard lifted Lily from the sling, the way he lifted Broadway chanteuses back in the day, holding her up in the air for a slow spin.
Leo and Reese traded a suppressed grin. “Are you ready for our first day of work, Bernard?” Reese asked, leaning into Leo when he put an arm around her shoulder, both of them watching their daughter bond with the legendary dancer.
“Sure, sure. Put my name on whatever you want. You get started,” Bernard without looking at Reese. “I’ll babysit.”
“Just as I suspected,” she laughed.
Leo’s fingers intertwined with Reese’s and he tugged. “Come on. I’ve got something to show you.”
Reese followed. She’d follow that big, beautiful back anywhere. “You do?”
Her husband hummed, shooting her a wink over his shoulder, but didn’t say anything else. On their way under the hatch and through the shop, Reese blew kisses to Jackie and Tad who stopped bickering over how to operate the new espresso machine long enough to wave back. Normally, she would have stopped for a chat, but Leo held open the familiar swinging door into the kitchen and signaled her inside. Assuming her husband just wanted to make out now that someone was watching the baby, Reese looped her arms around his neck, moaning when their lips brushed together, pushed apart and took.
Her eager fingers were beginning to walk their way down to his waistband when she realized Leo was backing her through the expanded and improved kitchen. Past the standing mixers, past the new ovens they’d added. All the way toward the back where Leo’s new office was located.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” he grunted, swooping back down and pressing their foreheads together. “I missed you all morning, sweetheart. Keep kissing me.”
She had absolutely no problem following that command. Kissing this man was her favorite pastime. But when her back touched a barrier, she couldn’t contain her curiosity and pulled away, arching a brow at Leo.
“Turn around,” he said.
When she did, Reese could only gape at the words Mentors in Manhattan stenciled to the door. “What is this?” she whispered, heart pounding.
“I know you were planning on working at the kitchen table at home for now. But, uh…” He sounded almost shy. “I’d love to have you closer, you know? Maybe I’m spoiled now that you’re not dancing at night, but I want you here with me. Lily, too.”
“Leo,” she breathed, turning the knob. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“Can’t you?” He used a finger to push open the door. “Haven’t I told you every day for the last eight years that you’re my Sweetest Fix of all?”
“And you’re mine,” she managed around the obstruction in her throat, eyes clouding.
The office was…perfect.
A feminine desk with a fringed, vintage lamp, exactly her style. A small crib tucked into the corner. Pictures of their travels on the wall. Paris, Berlin, Tokyo. Family snapshots in Brooklyn Bridge Park. A framed copy of her first headshot. A picture of them together backstage after her first performance on Chicag
o, staring into one another’s eyes. Playbills of the shows she’d worked on afterward. And finally their wedding day.
“What do you think?” he asked, kissing the side of her neck adoringly.
With affection overflowing in her chest, Reese turned, reached past her husband and closed the door. “I think I’ll show you instead.”
THE END
For more sexy, heartfelt romantic comedies by Tessa Bailey, head to her website: https://bit.ly/39HjYtb or find her on Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3sC0KOj — happy reading!
About the Author
Tessa Bailey aspires to three things. Writing hot and unforgettable, character-driven romance, being a good mother and eventually sneaking onto the judging panel on a reality show baking competition. She lives on Long Island, New York with her husband and daughter, writing all day and rewarding herself with a cheese plate and Netflix binges in the evening. If you want sexy, heartfelt, humorous romance with a guaranteed happy ending, you’ve come to the right place.
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