Wait, she’d already hi’d him.
As she floundered, he just kept smiling, like he was honestly glad she’d come. “You look great. Can I hug you?”
When he held his arms wide, she blinked for a second and then went in for a quick embrace. “I probably smell like turpentine.”
“Not in the slightest. How was your class?” He pulled back. “Good?”
“Yeah, we’re studying shadow, light sourcing, that kind of thing.”
“Sounds fascinating.”
She lifted a brow. “Are you being charming again?”
“Maybe. It comes easily with you.” He nodded over his shoulder. “How’d you like a little tour on our way down to the break room? You’ve got to see the stage, it’s incredible—and we’re taking a breather from rehearsing.”
“Now, that would be a treat.”
Falling in beside him, she had to look up to meet his eyes, and from that angle, she was struck again by the thought that she’d seen him somewhere before. “I’ve been to a number of shows, but never behind the scenes.”
G.B. casually put his arm around her. “Let me be your guide.”
Nice gesture. Nice guy. Now, if only she could shut her mother’s voice up in her head, she might stop feeling guilty and actually enjoy this.
No doubt she needed a shrink more than a tarot card reader.
More black curtains, now falling vertically in their path so they had to push them aside. And then a preamble open space that was filled with mile-high scaffolding, and huge background props, one of which was a townscape, the other a park scene.
“It’s so vast,” she murmured, looking way, way up to a ceiling she couldn’t see. “Hey, is that what they call a catwalk over there?”
“Check you out with the theater lingo. Yup, that’s where the lighting guys do their thing. And here’s…”
He led the way around one last curtain, and then…
“Oh … my … God …” she whispered.
Stepping out onto the golden floorboards, she was astounded by the breadth of space before her, the expanse of the ceiling, the regal nature of it all: Five thousand red velvet seats rose up in three sections, the concentric rows moving away from the black orchestral pit like rings from a stone thrown in still water. Articulated plaster molding that was gold leafed ran up the side walls where the box seats were and across the balcony of the second-story seating area and all around the Greco-Roman murals that were painted on the walls. Red-carpeted aisles striped down toward the stage, and red velvet curtains hung next to all the exits…
And far, far above, directly in the center, a chandelier the size of a house hung in the midst of a glorious painted scene of cherubs.
What an honor to perform here. To just stand here, as a matter of fact.
“When was this built?” she wondered aloud as she walked around a long table that was littered with scripts and pens and Starbucks coffee mugs.
“Late eighteen hundreds, I heard someone say.”
“It’s breathtaking from the audience … but like this? It’s … awe inspiring.”
G.B. wandered around, too, hands on his lean hips, eyes searching out into the space. “I’m so glad you think that, too. I feel it every time I get onstage here. It makes me want to be a Richard Burton kind of actor.” He laughed. “I mean, the singing is great, but could you imagine doing Shakespeare from here?”
As he assumed an orator pose, she measured him. “I can totally see it for you.”
“Really?” He turned to her. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He smiled after a moment and came over to her, the sound of his hard-soled shoes rising up. “You know, they say this place is haunted.”
“By who?”
“Are you scared of ghosts?” He rubbed her arms. “People talk about all kinds of suspicious noises and feelings of dread—”
Something in her face must have given her away, because he stopped abruptly. “What’s wrong?”
Cait brushed off the concern. “Oh, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Did you say something about a break room?”
As she went to walk away, he moved in front of her and stayed there. “Talk to me.”
“It’s nothing—I just, you know, I had … a strange thing happen to me last night.” She pushed her hair back. “It’s …” Crap. She might as well tell him. “The truth is, when I went to will-call after you left to go warm up? The ticket wasn’t there—”
“What do you mean, there wasn’t a—”
“—so I went home to wait—”
“What the hell—”
“No, don’t get angry. I’m sure it was just an innocent mix-up. Anyway, when I came back so I could meet you at the end of the performance, I parked in the garage and … someone chased me, or something—”
The change in him was so abrupt and complete, she actually took a step back: Fury in his face contorted his features, making him look like someone who could go out and put a serious hurt on a person. But it wasn’t directed at her, not at all.
“Are you okay?” he demanded.
“Yes. I wasn’t hurt because I was able to get into an elevator and lock the doors. The police—”
“You had to hide? And you called the police! Jesus Christ, why didn’t you tell me?”
“It all ended okay. I promise you.”
G.B. broke off and paced around in a tight circle. “You were smart. But for f**k’s sake, that never should have happened.”
“Well, it’s an iffy part of town.”
“I’m talking about the ticket. I gave it to—” He stopped and blew out a curse. “I just … you should have been here, with me. Not out in the dark, getting mauled by God only knows who. Come here.”
With a quick shift, he pulled her into his body and held her, dropping his head into her hair and running his hand up and down her back. “I should have been there to protect you.”
“Breathe deeply, feel the breath going in and out of your nose, down the back of your throat, expanding your lungs…”
Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me.
The demon Devina had her ass in the air, her hands and feet planted on a smelly purple mat, her hair and her double Ds in her face—and that seventy-pound Rubbermaid dumb bitch in the front of the class wanted her to breathe?