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“Maybe you and I can try to play it together on your dad’s piano later?”

“Definitely—!” A stitch stole her breath.

Nick did a double take, his brow knotting. “Tigs, you okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. I’m just, you know, tired and a bit crampy.” Skirting his gaze, Evie folded the Starlight Express t-shirt as Nick joined her on the bed. “I ate something I shouldn’t have yesterday. Stupid, really…” The lie didn’t sit well, and another cramp twisted in her abdomen. Gritting her teeth, she relinquished the t-shirt to her bedside table.

Nick gently stroked her leg. “It’s hurting a lot, isn’t it?”

“It’ll fade. Always does.”

Lifting her bare feet, he placed them in his lap then began massaging the arch of the left one firmly with his thumbs. “Is there anything I can do?”

His tender touch, kneading and caressing, unlocked the knotted tension in her lower back and shoulders. “Ahhh! More—more of that! Your hands”—Evie’s eyes flitted closed—“pure magic.” She sighed, her body blissfully liquifying into the pillows. “Stay with me for a bit?”

“You got it.” His doting hands swept along her foot, working their way around her left ankle and back again. “So, I have some news.”

“Me too,” she murmured lazily, catching his sly grin.

“Go on, then.” Nick broke into song, “What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s a-happenin’!” He winked. “Ladies first.”

“No. You know the drill, Balfour. Guests go first.”

“Right.” Rubbing and pressing, Nick’s fingers circled her foot. “Well, I don’t know if you’ll remember, but before my fifth callback for Plunder, I was reading a script for a new musical.”

Evie nodded. “That didn’t go anywhere.”

“Yeah, the writer and director had creative differences. Didn’t even reach the audition stage.”

“Such a shame,” she said. “All that work…for nothing.”

“But here’s something…the director called me in last week.” Hands stilling, Nick’s mouth quivered into a full-on, eye-shining smile. “Evie, he offered me a job!”

HELL YES! Adrenaline zipped through her veins faster than a sugary energy drink. “NICK! OHMYGOD—this is AMAZING!” She flailed with glee. “So, what IS it?!”

“ONLY Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar!”

As if her heart couldn’t race any faster. “What?! That’s a dream role! Oh my GOD! NICK!”

“I know! I-I still can’t believe it. I figured I had no hope in hell, but then he offered it to me on the spot.”

Evie waved him closer. “Come here!”

Nick shifted her feet off his legs and crawled up the duvet. His embrace was eager yet cautious like he didn’t want to cause her further discomfort. Evie, however, was having none of it and nuzzled into him, tugging him tight.

“I knew someone would snap you up!” She inhaled deeply, losing herself in his scent. “Didn’t I say?”

“You did!”

“This is the biggest news EVER! Nick, you deserve this so much.”

“Thanks. Yeah, it’s huge—so huge I’ll have to defer my final year of uni and pick it up next September.”

She lifted her head. “Oh! Opening night is soon, then?”

“September 21st.” Nick laced his fingers through hers. “Four weeks away.”

“That is soon.”