to get her mind off Zach and onto her character, but everybody else was drinking champagne and having way too good a time to leave the couches.
Suddenly Paolo stormed into the dressing room. His expression was so serious when he yelled for everybody to be quiet that the uproar died instantly. He motioned for them all to leave, and because of his imperious manner, Paolo got what he wanted. They fled.
Normally, she would have thought his actions meant her reviews were bad and he’d come to tell her this bitter truth, but tonight she couldn’t stop thinking about Zach long enough to care.
Paolo took her hand, squeezed it fiercely. “Bella! I came to tell you your reviews are sensational! The critics loved you in the previews! They adore you! We’ve got a hit!”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Oh.”
“Is that all you can say?” he thundered, quite put out at her lack of enthusiasm.
“I’m thrilled. Of course, I’m thrilled,” she whispered dully as the overture began and places were called.
She was hardly aware of the music or of Paolo as she rose.
Paolo kissed her cheek and shoved her toward the door. “Go out there and break a leg.”
She was on her way out the door when she remembered her secret ritual on opening nights. Walking swiftly to her dressing table, she flung open a drawer and removed the white-leather volume with fading gilt letters on its covers. She opened it and pressed her lips gently against the withered, yellowed rose.
Then she replaced the cherished volume and ran.
Lightning lit the sky. Thunder reverberated almost instantly.
Then all was dark again as torrents of rain slashed the jet.
Inside, Zach jammed his cell phone into his pocket impatiently and began to pace the length of the plane. He should have been in Manhattan hours ago, before Summer’s play even started. He’d taken a box seat. He’d planned to be in it when she came onstage. He’d never make curtain call now.
He went to the liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of scotch. Splashing it into a glass, he drank deeply. Then he fumbled in his other pocket to make sure the tiny, blackvelvet box was still there. He’d told himself to get rid of the ring, but he hadn’t. Had he known even then that he couldn’t live without her?
Pulling the ring out, he lifted the lid. The enormous engagement diamond shot sparks at him as he imagined himself slipping it onto her beautiful hand. If only, she’d have him after he’d pushed her away.
He hated this feeling of being in limbo, on edge, vulnerable. Only his need for her could reduce him to this.
What if Summer said no?
“Stop!” Zach said when he saw Summer’s name blazing in red neon atop a brightly lit marquee.
Grabbing the dozens of red roses he’d bought her, he got out of the limo in the middle of traffic and made a dash across the street for the theater.
Brakes squealed. Horns honked. Cabbies cursed him. A reporter yelled his name and took his picture. But he didn’t care.
Maybe he could still catch her grand finale.
When he opened the doors of the theater, he heard the roar of applause and a thousand bravos.
They loved her!
His heart swelled with joy and admiration. He loved her, too, and he was nearly bursting with pride at all she’d accomplished. No wonder so many people craved the details of her life. They saw her as a princess in a fairy tale, and they wanted a place in the dream.
He remembered when she’d wowed everybody in Bonne Terre in her high-school production of Grease. Zach had believed in her dream then. He had wanted her to succeed, and now she had.
He was running down the center aisle of the orchestra section when she walked onto the stage in a glittering gold gown to take her final curtain call. At the sight of her, so slim and stunningly lovely, the crowd went even wilder, yelling her name along with more bravos.
There must have been two thousand people in that theater, and they were packed to the rafters.
She bowed gracefully as people stood cheering.
Zach waved and called her name, but she couldn’t hear him over the roar of her audience.
Everyone began to throw roses at the stage.
This was her moment. He stopped and waited, allowing her to shine.
There would be time later to take her in his arms, to tell her how sorry he was he’d hurt her, to swear to her he’d never do it again, to beg for her forgiveness. He’d tell her he wanted to marry her so he could spend the rest of his life making it up to her.
The past didn’t matter. Her fame didn’t matter. Only she and their baby and the life they would make together was important to him.
Blinded by the stage lights and feeling a little faint, Summer took another deep bow. When she straightened, she raised her hands and blew kisses as the audience continued to clap.
They stomped and screamed louder, so she bowed a final time.
This time when she straightened she heard a man on stage right call her name.
His voice shuddered through her, or did she only imagine him there?
Hoping, she turned and was overjoyed to see a tall man in a dark suit holding the biggest bouquet of roses she’d ever seen.
“Zach,” she whispered, not really believing what she saw, as she took a faltering step toward him. She sucked in a breath. “Is it really you? Or am I dreaming? Oh, please, God, don’t let me be dreaming!”
Then he came nearer, and his dear face with all those hard angles came into focus, and she saw that his eyes were warm and filled with love. He smiled sheepishly, but he dazzled her just the same.
“Oh, Zach. You came. You really came. I wanted you here so much. You’ll never know…how much.”
Handing her the huge bouquet of red roses, he swept her into his arms and kissed her.
Dozens of flashes exploded. The crowd roared, loving him, loving her, loving them together because their fairy tale had come true.
She couldn’t believe he’d come tonight, that maybe he still loved her. But then she could believe it because his kisses took her breath away as did the tears shining in his beautiful, dark eyes.
“Forgive me,” he whispered. “Love me… Please love me again or I’ll die.”
“Oh, Zach… With all my heart,” she replied. “Always. And forever.”
Although the corridor outside Summer’s dressing room was noisy, Summer was aware of nothing except Zach, who was on bended knee, looking up at her, his expression fierce, almost desperate, as he clutched her hand.
“Tell me you weren’t playing a part for the crowd when you promised to love me out there, sweetheart.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you were. I deserve that…and worse.”
“I’ve loved you since I was thirteen. I never stopped loving you. I never will.”
“I never stopped loving you, either. I’m sorry I was so brutal when you came to Louisiana to tell me about our baby. You were so beautiful in pink, so damned beautiful, so sad… And I deliberately hurt you. Maybe because I felt so much and was determined to ignore those feelings. Gram called me a fool for not listening to my gut and a coward for pushing you and your love away, and she was right.”
