“I’m here for you. To tell you I disagree with what you said. We both want the same things.” Lauren stared at her, clearly unsure what to say or do. “I don’t know why you’re back in Minneapolis, but come home with me.”

“Home?” Lauren stood, gestured for Carly to come inside, and closed the door behind them. “This is my home, and it’s the best place for me.”

Carly squinted. “You were killing it in LA. What happened to the job on The Subdivision?”

“I politely asked if I could back out. They were understanding.”

“Oh.” Another pause. “You’re really serious about this back-in-Minneapolis thing.”

Lauren nodded apologetically, and Carly felt nauseous. “Wilks apparently already had me on the schedule with plans to replace me if I wasn’t back. So I just slid back in.”

“You’re an amazing stage manager.” She shrugged. “I guess I always assumed that if the people working on the production had the opportunity to be the actors, they’d leap.”

Lauren smiled. “Not everybody is destined for the limelight. I once thought it was all I wanted in the world.” She mirrored Carly’s shrug. “But as we grow and change and get to know ourselves, our goals change with us.” She looked around the office. “I really love my job.”

“You’re amazing at it.”

“I try to be.”

Carly blew out a steadying breath. There was more to say. “I realize that I got caught up in my own world, my own journey, and you paid the price.” She held out her hands. “All done with that now.”

“I’m happy to hear that. You were truly struggling. I hated watching it play out.” She shook her head. “I felt so helpless and my heart…” The words died on her lips.

“Lauren. I want to give us our shot. For real.” She tried to smile. She lost the battle in the face of such a daunting conversation that wasn’t going well.

Lauren closed her eyes. “The thing is, Carly, that it was for real the whole time. Life isn’t a do-over.” She sighed and studied the floor as if assembling the words she wanted. “When things weren’t going your way, I became an enemy to you. An obstacle on the path to what you truly wanted. That’s not who I want to be to anyone, and I would fully expect it to happen again.” She raised her arm and let it drop. “The acting thing was a lot of fun for a while. But maybe it’s time I get back to my real life, so I can feel like Lauren again.”

There was a knock on the door behind them, and not a second later, Tinsley appeared without waiting for an answer. “Everything okay, Lauren?”

Carly stared, confused. “Why would it not be okay?”