I glance at Lex, watching his face soften with a warm glow.
“Thank you,” he says. “My agent helped me set it up when I moved back to LA. I wanted to give back, make a difference. It helped me work through some things.”
“A truly inspiring cause. Come, let’s get you a drink.”
Lex releases my hand and joins Mr. Hamlin at the bar as his wife whips up cocktails and pours beer from the tap.
Smiling, I turn my attention to the mini stage where I often perform, watching as Joplin sits at the piano and plays “Let It Be” by the Beatles. Mom and Dad slow dance a few feet away, lost in their own world to a love story I’m on my way to recreating.
I make my way over to my sister, and she wiggles her eyebrows at me when the last chord rings out. “Not too shabby, huh?”
“You sound great.” I prop a hip against the instrument. “How’s school going?”
“I love it so much.” Her eyes brighten as she twists toward me on the bench. “A few weeks ago, we had a hands-on lab where we examined actual evidence from cold cases. It was incredible to see how the theories we’ve studied apply to real-world scenarios.”
“That’s amazing.”
A wistful smile touches her lips. “We’ve come a long way from playing dress-up in your bedroom, right? I swear I wake up in the middle of the night and still feel that dreadful mustache glued under my nose.”
The memory makes me snort. “That was love right there.”
“Always.” She glances across the room at Lex. “Do you think you two will stay in California? I can’t lie and say I won’t miss the shit out of you.”
I follow her gaze, my chest prickling with unknowns. “I’m not sure. We still need to discuss the future. I had an audition with a really great producer while I was out there, and it went well. He called me a few days later and offered me the role…but I ended up turning it down.” Swallowing, I look away, shrugging my shoulders. “I think music is where I want to end up. As much as I love acting, I’m not sure the lifestyle is what I’m envisioningthese days.”
She nods. “Follow that big heart of yours. It’s never steered you wrong.”
The other half of my heart catches my eyes across the room and gestures me toward him. “I’ll be right back,” I say to my sister, giving her arm a squeeze before floating over to my boyfriend and his show-stopping grin.
He drags me over to a quiet corner of the room, seating us in a plush velvet booth. “I think I need to make a phone call,” he says.
“Oh yeah? One of your producers?”
“My agent.”
We huddle up together as Lex pulls out his phone, clicks on Rudy’s name, and holds the device between us. The video call connects, and Rudy’s face materializes on the screen. “Where the hell are you?” He’s in some sort of club, winding through people and flashing strobes, looking for a quieter place to chat. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“Yeah, I did hear your fifty-two voicemails about how you think your neighbor’s parrot is spying on you and is sending your secrets to some shadowy government agency.”
A pause. “Look, I’m not saying it’s confirmed, but I’ve got evidence.”
“What would you say if I decided not to come back for a while?”
My heart caves in.
I latch on to Lex’s bicep, my eyes instantly filling with tears. “What?” I mouth to him.
He grins, squeezing my inner thigh.
Rudy pushes through a pair of double doors, the backdrop replaced by a peppering of crystal stars. Leaning back against a brick wall, he gives a contemplative nod. “I’d say please donate your high-rise condo to me so I can impress my future wife—and as a thank-you for my top-tier services—and we’re golden.”
“Done.”
“You’re a saint.”
Lex slouches back, widening his legs and tapping his foot, while I try not to have a meltdown beside him. “But for real…I’m thinking about lying low for a bit and taking a break from the spotlight. Maybe a career change,” he says.“Writing would be cool.”
“I can see it now. ‘How My Amazing Agent Turned My Life into a Masterpiece, and I’m Still Trying to Figure Out the Plot: The True Story of Lexington Hall.’”
