A Tale of Two Centuries (27 page)

The desperation in his eyes turns to fury, and I swallow hard. Heat flushes through my body as my blood pounds through my veins.

I’ve never seen Austin this angry…
I’ve
never been this angry.

“Do you truly think I would choose that insufferable man over you? This isn’t about
us
. It’s about the man who gave me life. I can’t just forget about him or the rest of my family. My mother is my best friend. My brother is the most amazing man I know. I love them, Austin.” Then his words sink in. I reach out to grab his hand. “And what do you mean stay here with you? What happened to you coming with me?”

He scoffs. “And watch you marry someone else?”

My head jerks back in shock. “Marry? I wouldn’t marry him. Not if I had a choice—not if you were with me.”

Austin laughs, a cruel sound with a distinct edge that sends quivers shooting down my spine. “I hate to break it to you, Princess, but I’ve been sitting here doing my own research. You really think your parents will let you be with me? A stranger with no family, no money, no land?”

A vein bulges in his throat as he closes his eyes. And pain lashes my stomach. He’s right. My parents love me and would never do anything to hurt me, but a girl in my time does not have much choice in these matters.

Cat knows that most of all.

“Don’t you see, Alessandra?” Austin asks, opening his eyes again. “The only way we could be together is if we started our own lives, away from your family. So it
is
a choice between Domenico or me. You can either choose what we have together, the excitement I’ve seen in you the last few days, and fight for that…or you can do what you’ve always done. The
right
thing. The
expected
thing. Go back home to Domenico.” He pauses. “And get rid of me.”

In Cat’s bedroom, I promised him that would never happen. But I didn’t know everything then, didn’t realize the lives that could be affected by my oath.

I take a breath. “I just need time to think.”

“Then it’s too bad that’s one thing you don’t have.” And with that, Austin gets up from the table and walks out.

Chapter Twenty-eight

The beam of light shining down on me is just as bright as I envisioned in Reyna’s tent. I draw a deep breath, winded and spent from the rest of the scene, and look down at Reid as Romeo as he delivers his line on the stage before a packed theater. This is it, the last lines I may ever speak as an actress, and as I feel the energy in the room, hear the silence as the audience hangs on our every word, the realization is bittersweet.

“Sweet, so would I, yet I should kill thee with much cherishing,” I say, the words almost painful as I say them. My chest is so tight, it squeezes my lungs, and I draw a shuddering breath. I can’t believe I may have to give this all up tonight. “Good night, good night!” I tell Reid, and quite possibly this world. “Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow. Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast!”

And with those words, I step back through the set acting as my bedroom window, and away from the spotlight.

As Reid says his final speech, I jog down the makeshift staircase, skimming my hand over my hair, the color of which is back to the same old boring auburn shade it was when I arrived (thus appeasing the hairy, scrunched-up monster otherwise known as Mr. Williams’s eyebrows). My sweaty palm slides across the wooden banister, and I skip the last step, making it to the side of the curtain just as Reid walks off, applause already rising behind us.

“You were amazing!” he says, grabbing me around the waist. His smile is full of life and humming with the force of all we accomplished. “You ready to take your bow, Miss Forlani?”

I nod, unable to find words. He leads me out onto the stage, and the crowd’s praise and ovation swell into a thunderous wave crashing around me. I close my eyes and soak it in. The love, the adoration, the acceptance. This moment is everything I hoped it would be when I cried out for adventure in my courtyard. Yet it doesn’t feel complete.

The absence of Mama, Father, and Cipriano is like a living entity beside me, reminding me that I am straddling two worlds and will soon have to make a choice. And not being able to share this moment with the boy I’ve grown to love in
this
world nearly crushes me.

Here it is, opening night, and I’m standing on an enormous stage overlooking a sea of people. I just gave the first and perhaps final performance of my life, and Austin may not have even seen it. It was possible he left after Jamie’s scene, no longer feeling the need to stay for mine. I couldn’t look down from my perch on the balcony and know for certain he was watching in the audience, smiling and sending me encouraging thoughts. I can’t hear him now in the front row, yelling my name or letting out a sharp whistle. It isn’t that the roar of the applause and the congratulations from my fellow actors isn’t wonderful. But without Austin to share it with, it feels empty.

Cat and Lucas both suggested I give him space to calm down and to think, so I did. Twenty-four hours and counting of space. As tempted as I was to pick up the phone or ask Lucas to drive by his house, I didn’t. And when I saw his father’s assistant picking Jamie up from dress rehearsal, I didn’t stop and ask her where Austin was or what he was doing. I knew.

Avoiding me.

As I exit the stage and make my way down the hall to the dressing room, I notice Kendal standing outside the door. Ever since Mrs. Shankle posted the cast list for
Back to the 80s: The Totally Awesome Musical!
and the class saw my name listed beside Tiffany’s—and Kendal’s next to Eileen’s, one of the
nerds
—we have given each other a rather wide berth. A part of me thinks I should step aside, give the role to her since there’s a good chance I won’t even be around for our first rehearsal—but the part of me that still believes in miracles, that is awed at winning the role and eager to play it, holds me back.

But even though I may not be willing to step down, there is something my adversary needs to know before I meet with Reyna. My steps quicken with determination, and Kendal’s eyes narrow in suspicion. “What do
you
want?”

Her snarky attitude is almost enough to make me keep on walking, but instead I bite the inside of my cheek and press on. “Kendal, I thought you should know that you did a wonderful job out there tonight. I have never seen the role of Katherina performed so well before.”

Of course, I have never seen the role of Katherina performed before ever, but she doesn’t have to know that. Plus she really
did
do a good job.

She scrunches her mouth and studies me—for so long I begin to wonder if anyone has ever truly given her a compliment. Then I see something I never thought I would. Kendal’s shoulders seem to relax…a smidgen…a very
small
smidgen…and her lips curve into what may be considered an actual smile.

“Thanks,” she says. Another miracle. She shrugs. “You did good, too.” Then, as if her praise wasn’t enough to stun me into total speechlessness, she adds, “I’m looking forward to working with you on the musical.”

And I burst into tears.

Kendal steps back, as if it is contagious. I almost laugh. For some reason, her unanticipated act of kindness took all of the fear I have about my meeting with Reyna, all my heartache over my fight with Austin and wondering if I’ll ever see him again, and all of my confusion over which path I should choose to fight for, and brought it to a blubbery head.

“I am, too,” I tell her through sniffles, although my future still hangs in the balance. “It will be an honor to share the stage with you again.”

Kendal eyes me quizzically, no doubt considering rescinding her extended olive branch on account of my apparent madness, and I decide it best that we part before I do something completely crazy like hug her. I bid her farewell, and watch as she walks confidently—and perhaps hastily—away, down the emptying hallway. Then I shuffle into the cluttered, deserted dressing room.

Romeo and Juliet
was the last scene performed in the workshop. While I stood in the wings, watching each performance and waiting to see if Austin would sneak backstage and find me, everyone else came in here, threw off their costumes, and changed, and then hurried to the awaiting media room for post-performance interviews. Ms. Kent expects me to make a stop in there as well, and I know that I should—hearing their accolades will be nice, although perhaps not quite as fun to hear their criticism—but right now, I need the quiet.

All around me, cast members’ discarded costumes hang off surfaces. Balloons and teddy bears sent by their well-wishing relatives and admirers cover the counters. And the cloying scent of
far
too much perfume clouds the air. I pad across the floor, careful to sidestep a dulled prop sword, and stop in front of the brightly lit table with the cardstock sign labeled
Alessandra
.

Amongst my scattered hairbrushes and makeup sits a dozen beautiful red roses in full bloom with an envelope floating above it, inscribed with Jenna’s swirly handwriting:
Congratulations, Alessandra!
Another card, this one sticking out of a bouquet of friendly white daisies reads:
Who owned that stage?

I smile as I open the cards my loved ones sent me, telling me how proud they are and how much they care. There’s even a small piece of folded parchment from Reyna, simply saying,
Well done.
But search as I do under the piles of makeup brushes and bottles of hairspray, there isn’t a single note from Austin.

In the mirror, my reflection stares back at me with dead eyes.

I have lost him.

A movement in the glass behind me captures my attention. I blink as an enormous bouquet materializes in the glass.

“Delivery for Juliet.”

My heartbeat stalls at the familiar deep timbre, then sets off again, hammering the now erratic pulse against my breastbone. I whirl around, breathless with hope.

“Austin?”

The vase of blossoms lowers. “Hey there, Princess.”

My fingertips tingle, and I clench them at my sides so I don’t just bolt into his arms—there’s too much I need to say to him first.

I swallow and wet my lips, open my mouth…and don’t know where to begin.

It’s not as if I haven’t thought about this moment every second since he stormed out of the library yesterday. I’ve rehearsed the same words over and over again—the words I wish I would have said then—so many times that they’ve now become meaningless. Yet now, standing here with him, none of it seems to be enough. So leaving behind my beautiful, well-prepared speech, I simply say, “Hello, yourself.”

Austin shifts his weight. “Look, Alessandra.” He thrusts his fingers through his hair. “Yesterday… Yesterday I—”

He breaks off, cursing under his breath, dumping the vase of blooms on the nearest table. With four long strides, he covers the distance between us and takes hold of my shoulders. “Yesterday I screwed up. I never should’ve left you like that. I just kept thinking about that guy putting his hands on you and I couldn’t stand it. The thought of losing you…” He swallows hard. “But when I was watching you tonight, I—”

“You watched my performance?” Everything about Austin’s speech has been perfect, but knowing he witnessed me up on that stage means more to me than any pretty promise or apology ever could.

His brows furrow. “Well, yeah. Of course.”

And that’s all I need to know.

Unclenching my hands, I do what I’ve wanted to do ever since I saw him walk through the door—ever since I met him, if I am to be completely honest. I leap into his arms, clamp my legs around his waist, and capture his lips in a kiss meant to show him exactly how much I’ve missed him. How much I am falling in love with him. And how much his being here for me means.

Austin hesitates only a moment, a surprised breath fanning my lips before he crushes me against him and returns the kiss stroke for stroke, moan for moan, and nibble for delicious nibble. When he wrests control of it, sucking my bottom lip between his teeth, my bones seem to liquefy, and I melt into the strength of his arms.

He presses a hot line of open-mouthed kisses on the column of my throat, and I tilt my head to give him better access. He licks the sensitive spot just under my ear. The rasp of stubble on his chin grazes my skin, and I shiver, never wanting this moment to end.

But all too soon, Austin leans back. I moan a protest, and he grins, a mischievous glint alight in his eyes. “Now
this
isn’t how a proper sixteenth-century Ice Princess is supposed to act.”

I laugh and lock my ankles around him tighter. “Then I guess it’s a very good thing I’m not one anymore.”

Then, just to prove I mean it, I kiss him again.

…

“Knock, knock.” Cat pokes her head around the open dressing room door and asks, “Everyone decent?”

Austin sits up from his slouched position on the sofa and wraps his arm around my waist. Tugging me tighter against him, he mutters under his breath, “Unfortunately,” and I slap his chest with a grin.

Cat frowns as she steps through the doorway, then looks back at Lucas and shakes her head. “Damn, I knew we waited too long.”

I smile at their teasing and the scandalous implications, then laugh when I realize a few weeks ago, I would have been completely horrified. Nestling myself farther into the warmth of Austin’s embrace, I pat the empty space on the sofa beside me. “On the contrary, dear cousin, your timing couldn’t be more perfect.”

Austin slaps hands with Lucas in a manly sort of greeting. “Though I ain’t gonna lie, another hour with her all to myself wouldn’t have sucked.”

I bite my lip and lower my eyes to the ground. The problem is that I do not
have
another hour. And the fact that the playfulness of Austin’s tone and gesture didn’t quite reach the deep blue of his eyes lets me know that is a fact of which he is well aware.

Apparently, so is Cat. A strange noise rises in her throat. I look up to see her fiddling with the hem of her shirt as she knocks her knees gently against mine. At first, she doesn’t say anything, choosing to let the silence say it all. Then, “Guess it’s about that time.”

Tension crackles in the room. It seeps into my muscles and makes my head feel heavy.

Cat looks to Lucas, Lucas to Austin, Austin to me.

The tick of an old clock on the wall hits my ears—
tick, tick, tick, tick
—and my pulse slows to keep time with the lonely, terrifying beat.

I try to swallow, but suddenly it feels as though my throat is coated with cotton.

Austin coughs and locks eyes with Lucas, communicating wordlessly. Lucas nods. “I’ll drive,” he says, digging his car keys out of his pocket and twirling them on his finger. That he has to try so hard to look at ease makes everything so much worse.

Austin mumbles his thanks and stands, then turns around and offers me his hand.

Staring at his open palm, I hesitate…and shake my head. “No.”

Austin’s hand jerks back, then lurches out to grab mine.
“No?”

Squeezing his fingers, I lift my gaze. The flash of incredulity in his stormy blue eyes is nearly my undoing, so I turn to look at my cousin and Lucas, seeing equal astonishment in them.

“I need to do this on my own,” I explain.

“No way,” Austin says, barely allowing me to finish. “Not happening. I’m going in there, and if she—”

“Hey, Marilyn needs you.”

We all jump at the intrusion as Reid stops midway into the room. His body tenses as he quickly surveys our faces. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Yeah, man,” Austin says, pulling me to my feet. “You kinda are.” He loops his arms around my waist, staking a visual claim. “Tell Marilyn Alessandra is busy at the moment.”

At the dismissive tone in Austin’s voice, Reid crosses his arms. He has changed out of his Romeo costume, and the buttons of his long-sleeved shirt strain against the hostile gesture. “I think the girl can answer for herself, don’t you?” He strolls the rest of the way into the room at a leisurely pace, belying the tick in his jaw, and stops just in front of us. “Alessandra just gave a kickass performance on opening night of a workshop directed by a famous director. Local reporters want to interview her. It’s part of the business.” He grins. “Or maybe you’re too threatened to let her out of your sight.”