“Oh, sorry. I’m so amped up after the show—and a bit jetlagged, I’ll admit—I forgot to tell you who I am.” He pulled out his wallet and handed her his card. “I’m the producer forBronx Girl,the autobiographical Broadway musical by Meli Mendez. We want you to come to New York and audition for the lead role. After the finals, of course.”
Hold up. Had he really just said what she thought he said?
Gina stared at the card in her hand, the printed letters blurring as she replayed his words in her mind, trying to make sense of them. Meanwhile, Hector kept going.
“Meli had wonderful things to say about you after she was a guest judge here, and your producer said you’ll be in Manhattan the day after the finals. You’re from New York originally?”
It took Gina a second to find her voice. “The Bronx,” she said. “Same neighborhood as Meli.”
Hector’s face lit up. “That’s even better. It will be great for promo. I have to tell you, we were worried about finding someone to play Meli, and when she saw you, she came back and said, ‘that’s her.’ We haven’t even opened auditions to anyone else yet.”
Gina blinked as his words sank in. A smile spread over her face and she pressed her hands to her cheeks, which flooded with warmth. “This is… this is more than I could have dreamed. Thank you.”
“So, you’ll come to audition?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Excellent. Oh, can you sing?” He waved the question away before she could answer. “Not that it’s a dealbreaker if you can’t. That can be taught.”
“I work with a vocal coach.”
Hector grinned again. “Perfect. All right, well, I’ve got a flight to catch. I look forward to seeing you next week.” He nodded at Stone. “I hope you win. Goodnight.”
As he hurried off, Stone rubbed Gina’s shoulder gently. As amazing and wonderful as the conversation with Hector had been, she’d never lost track of Stone’s presence, solid and strong at her side.
It would have been easier to hate him, to wish him gone, or banished. The fact that she wanted him here, and was glad that he’d been present to share her wondrous moment with Hector, was only going to make the coming conversation that much harder.
She swallowed hard. “We have to talk.”
Twenty-Nine
After a tense and silent drive home with Stone’s big body crammed into the passenger seat of her car, Gina was vibrating with stress and ready to snap at any moment. When they reached her apartment, she headed straight for her bedroom out of habit. Stupid mistake. Stone followed her in and shut the door behind them.
“So, that was good news, right?” He crossed his arms over his chest and hunched his shoulders, something he did when he was trying to appear smaller and less intimidating. She wanted to tell him not to bother.
“It was.” Shit, itreallywas. It was more than she’d ever dreamed possible, and when she did dare to dream that big, it was much further down the road. “But that’s not what I brought you here to talk about.”
Stone came toward her and took hold of her shoulders. “Gina.”
Just that. Just her name. As always, the way he said it made her knees weak, and loosened her resolve to steel herself against him. In the past few months, he’d figured out how to bypass all her defenses and access her heart.
Tonight, she wished she’d left a few walls in place.
He rubbed her arms, warming her, relaxing her. “You deserve to celebrate a little,” he said. “This is a big deal.”
“It’s just an audition.” Inside, under the hurt, she was leaping for joy. “Stop trying to distract me from being angry at you.”
“Can’t.” Slowly, he bent his head and brushed his lips over hers. “I’m too happy for you.”
She trembled. She fucking trembled. All the reasons for staying mad tumbled aside, and she plastered herself to him, kissing him back with a vengeance.
Things moved quickly after that, which suited her fine. If they slowed, she’d think about what she was doing. If she thought about it, she’d pull away.
She should pull away. She was mad at him. And sad. And mad. Or more sad?
God. She wasboth.And not even about his mistake. He wasleavingher, and the thought of him boarding a plane back to Alaska devastated her heart. She should never have gotten so wrapped up in him that it would hurt this much when he left.
She needed to stop thinking about it. Just feel. Let him wash it all away with his touch.
