“A nice treat for you, you mean,” Penelope scoffed.

Luke was pleased to note that his sister sounded just as exasperated with his friend as she had been with him. “Yeah, Jay.”

Vijay threw a piece of popcorn at his head. Luke opened his mouth and caught it.

“No throwing food backstage,” Penelope ordered. She nudged Jay through the curtain. “Stop acting like a child and go manage the guests for the wedding; make sure everyone is settled.” She turned to Luke. “Showtime in five.” She pushed him toward the roped-off section of the audience that had been reserved for performers. “Go.”

Luke grumbled, but he went. He owed his sister for yesterday. When Julia had put together that he and Pen were siblings, he’d thought that was the end of any chance he had with her. Pen had stepped in and saved the day. His sister might have stretched the truth, but nothing she’d said had technically been dishonest. And when Julia had asked him point-blank if he was one of the actors and he’d said no, technically that also had been the truth.

But “technically” wasn’t making his conscience feel much better. It had been eating at him all day. He’d spent most of the afternoon practicing the magic act with Julia. On the surface, they’d had a great time together, laughing and talking and generally enjoying each other’s company. But an elephant-size shadow of doubt had lurked in the room.

He’d hoped to smooth things over with her last night, to spend time convincing her of the very real nature of his feelings … but that plan had been a bust once her friend the reviewer had been caught in flagrante delicto with Zach.

Perhaps it was for the best. Considering what Luke had been doing with Julia—what he still wanted to do—he was far from a place to judge. But it wasn’t like he was getting paid to be with her. Another technicality his conscience wasn’t buying.

Luke slid into the chair Julia had saved for him. She smiled and his heart lurched sideways. He didn’t deserve her. Didn’t deserve her forgiveness for hiding things. Wasn’t worthy of the affection shining in her beautiful hazel eyes. But he was discovering that when it came to Julia, he was greedy and unprincipled and would take whatever he could get. Whatever she was willing to give.

“Nice cape,” Julia whispered.

“Like it?” Luke adjusted the bright red satin monstrosity over his shoulders. “I borrowed it from Mrs. W.”

“Are you a magician or a vampire?” Andie asked.

Julia and her friends snorted with laughter.

“Maybe he’s a vampire magician,” Kat suggested, leading to more giggles.

“Maybe,” Luke agreed. He leaned closer to Kat. “Sorry you don’t get to perform tonight,” he told her. “Julia mentioned you’d been looking forward to doing that dance.”

“Thanks.” Kat sighed.