“No, no, no. I have a presentation in Boston in the morning. I need to be on that plane.”

“We all have somewhere to be, but sometimes you have to accept defeat. Cinnamon pretzel bite?”

“What are you doing? Why are you getting comfortable with the pretzel things? We should argue. Or call someone. Someone important.”

Just like Lauren had noticed the night before when they’d read, Carly’s version of Ashley came alive. Not that it wasn’t good before. It was. But the readings they did together were other-level for Carly. It’s because she has something more to respond to. So Lauren continued to give, and Carly continued to come up with new and exciting line deliveries. By the time they’d worked their way to the end of the scene, Lauren noticed that she’d abandoned her stage management duties and had lost herself in the world of Starry Nights and Ashley and Mandy. The result was her standing face-to-face with Carly when the scene ended.

“You have no concept of how helpful that was,” Carly said quietly. Lauren’s focus fell to Carly’s bottom lip and the subtle pink lip gloss that gave it a small shine.

“Well, that’s what I’m here for. To help.”

“Then you need a raise,” Carly said sincerely. “I really feel like last night and this morning have amounted to a major breakthrough for me. I can see the path to this character now, and it’s because of you.”

“Good. That makes me happy.”

They stared at each other.

Lauren closed her script and remembered herself, heated cheeks or not. She had only a short amount of time to finish her rehearsal prep, yet she found herself completely out of sorts. She wasn’t complaining. The buzz she got from reading lines with Carly reminded her of the days she used to act herself, and with such a capable scene partner, her enjoyment level only doubled.

Reading Mandy’s and Ashley’s lines as they discovered each other in the play reminded Lauren so much of her personal journey with Carly, who she had yet to fully figure out. Just when she thought Carly was a spoiled, entitled starlet, Carly would do something to showcase her humanity and kindness. She was beginning to care about this production, and seeing her cry yesterday had been eye opening for Lauren. No, she hadn’t pinned Carly Daniel down just yet, but Lauren also understood that was part of her appeal. Carly was a lot of things, some of them unexpected.

“All right. I’m back with some scheduling details from Chuck.” Lauren blinked. Ah, yes, she’d sent Trip to speak to The McAllister’s resident technical director about their transition to the theater. Chuck was known for his grumpy side, and she’d come to learn that Trip’s cheerful disposition offset it nicely.