See You Later Broadway (Broadway Series Book 2) Read online

  “Is there any update on the production?” I ask. Of course, this is just to make the decision more difficult.

  She rolls her eyes. “The last I heard they were still working on it. Who knows how long it’s going to take.”

  I have to admit this does make me feel a little better. At least I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything . . . not yet anyway.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to tell the students,” I say sadly, the lump in my throat is getting bigger by the second.

  “Of course,” she agrees.

  After I’m finished talking to Selena, I walk back to my office and stand in the doorway. Now I really feel like I’m going to cry. Change is good. I need to keep reminding myself of this.

  ~*~*~

  “Good for you, babe.”

  It’s eleven o’clock at night, and I’m finally able to talk to Zack for the first time in weeks. Okay, so it hasn’t really been weeks, but it’s certainly been longer than I would want. I tell him about my meeting with Giselle. I’m still not sure if we called a truce or if we’re just playing nice for Liv’s sake as well as the sake of LivElle. And then I tell him about my conversation with Selena.

  “I’m proud of you. We will celebrate the next time I see you.”

  I groan because I still have no idea when that’s going to be.

  “I’m ready for you to come back,” I blurt out.

  He laughs. “Good, because I’m ready to come back. So how about this coming weekend? Do you think you can make some time for me in your busy schedule?”

  I jump up from my bed. I would start screaming but I don’t want to wake Layla or the neighbors. Not to mention I’m still trying to act cool despite the fact that Zack has already seen me at my worst.

  “Of course I can,” I say excitedly. I’m giving up on playing it cool because I’m tired of the games. I like Zack and I don’t care if he knows it.

  We finally hang up after talking for at least an hour. I’m so wound up that I doubt I will be able to sleep. I reach into my drawer and pull out the folder that contains the contract for LivElle. I grab a pen, take a deep breath, and sign my name. I feel exhilarated for the first time in months. Big things are happening, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

  I flip through the papers in the folder and beneath the contract is the music and lyrics for my new song. I will be performing this for Liv very soon, so I need it to be on point. I begin to rehearse and finally sing myself to sleep.

  I’m back in my park again. How does this keep happening? I look around and notice there are pieces of paper littering the ground, so much that I can barely see the grass. Once I get a closer look, I notice that it’s sheet music. I pick up a few of the papers and read the lyrics out loud. Every piece of paper says the same thing over and over . . . Trevor or Zack, follow your heart.

  When I wake, I sit up in my bed and let out a sigh. I glance at the time, at least it’s already the morning so I don’t have to try to fall back to sleep. This dream felt so real, and the strange thing is the last time I had dreams this vivid was when I was trying to make a life-changing decision about whether I should move or not. I guess my personal relationships are weighing on my mind now that I’ve made another big career move.

  I think back to my conversation with Giselle and something she said really stood out to me. She said that Trevor is never satisfied. I don’t know exactly what she was referring to but that’s definitely a trait I’ve seen in him as well. If we were to pursue a relationship, I wonder if he would grow tired of me (not that I’m going to do that).

  Stop it, Maris. You can’t let yourself be drawn in again, especially now that you work for Giselle. I think it’s time for me to get out of bed and start my day.

  I’m sitting at the kitchen table drinking the most disgusting green drink that Cassie recommended. She says it will alkalize my body and make me feel amazing. After seeing a shirtless Zack, I’m fully committed to living a healthier lifestyle. And this drink damn well better alkalize me if I have to drink it every day. On second thought, I should probably just chug it. I start to imagine everyone around me chanting chug, chug, chug . . .

  “Good morning.”

  I start coughing on my green drink as soon as I see Kyle. When did he get here?

  “Sorry, are you okay?” he asks worriedly.

  “Yes”—cough—“fine”—cough.

  He stares at my glass and grimaces. “What the hell is that?”

  I clear my throat. “It’s one of Cassie’s daily greens drink. It’s supposed to alkalize your body, and I guess I won’t be alkalized because I will never be drinking it again.”

  He chuckles while I get up to rinse out my mouth. Both of us are silent; I know he’s here to see Layla and I’m totally fine with that. I just didn’t realize I would be seeing him so often. Maybe it is a little weird, but I know I just have to get used to it.

  “So, I quit my job,” he blurts out.

  I turn around and look at him.

  “You did? Why?”

  This is shocking to me. Kyle worked a long time to get promoted. That was one of the reasons he never wanted to move to the city, because of that job.

  He sits down at the table. “Things hadn’t been good for a while, so I finally took the plunge.”

  “Wow.”

  “The good news is I’ve already had three interviews here. So, I may be moving here after all,” he says with a nervous laugh.

  Well, isn’t this interesting? When Kyle and I were together, he was dead set on never moving to this city, but I guess things change. I’m assuming Layla’s much more persuasive than I ever was.

  “Good luck,” I say, grabbing an apple. I make my way to my room. While I’m getting ready, I think about this turn of events. I can’t say it doesn’t bother me a little that Kyle wouldn’t move here for me, but in the back of my mind I know things turned out the way they’re supposed to. I’m ready to take the next steps in my life, and I’m not going to look back.

  ~*~*~

  Okay, so I’ve never planned a bridal shower in my life. When Cassie got married, her friends, mother-in-law, and my mom planned it. Jeannie (Dr. Scott’s sister) is very particular about the plans, and she’s put me in charge of games. Of course, she’s emailed me a list of games that would be appropriate. I think she was just trying to be nice and give me a project. Obviously, the shower is going to have a nautical theme because the wedding is on the cruise ship. She was very clear that the prizes for the games should be tasteful and something that everyone can use. I’ve decided to go with gift cards, and I’m sure that’s going to give Jeannie panic attacks, but personally, I would love to get a gift card. I can’t believe the wedding is in a few short weeks. I’ve already spoken with Liv to let her know I would be in Miami, and then out of the country for those days.

  And speaking of Liv, she now has my contract along with a copy of my new song. We’ve spoken every day this week and she hasn’t said a word about it other than she would like me to perform it for her next week when she’s in town. Apparently, she’s busy planning a huge event for the launch, so LivElle will soon be in business. Now that it is official, I don’t have much longer at Selena and Company. This decision has been more difficult than I expected it would be. And I almost changed my mind a few times. My heart almost broke when I told my favorite student, Francesca, that I was leaving.

  I’m sitting in my office trying to soak up the remaining days when I get a text from Trevor.

  Meetings ended early. Can I come by to open letters?

  I reply immediately.

  Yes. I’ll be home in about an hour.

  I’m so ready for this to be over with and ready to move on. I’m not even nervous about seeing him. I’m sure Beatrice’s letter will be a repeat of what she told me in the hospital, that we need to be patient with each other and admit our feelings. I can’t deny I still have some kind of feelings for Trevor, but it’s not the same as the exhilaration I feel when I talk to
Zack or the excitement when I think about him coming to see me this weekend. With Trevor, it’s always been an unsettled feeling. Even though I just met Zack, it already feels different. We may not end up together, but I’m grateful I met him.

  Chapter 25

  Thankfully, Layla told me she was going to be out this evening. She never asked me about Trevor after he showed up the last time, so she must have been satisfied when she found out that he’s Beatrice’s grandson. The whole situation is so complicated that I wouldn’t know where to start if she did ask for an explanation.

  I just finish changing when there’s a knock on the door. I grab my grandmother’s journal and run to answer the door. When I open it, Trevor is there and waves the envelope in front of his face.

  “So you didn’t give in and open it after all?” he says with a laugh.

  “Nope. Did you think I was going to?”

  He sits down on the couch and stretches his arm along the back of the couch. “I sure did.”

  I scowl. “What about you? Why haven’t you opened yours?”

  “I told you I was waiting for you.”

  He has such a smug look on his face, and I already want to kick him out. Instead, I decide to tell him about my lovely visit with Giselle.

  “Did Giselle tell you we met up the other day?”

  His smug look begins to fade.

  “Yes. But she wouldn’t tell me what you talked about. All she said was that it was business.”

  I guess that’s one way of putting it. It’s technically not a lie because we did talk business. However, the majority of our conversation was about him.

  “Mostly,” I reply.

  “Did you two fight over me?” he asks playfully.

  Ugh. Now I really want to kick him out.

  “You wish,” I say flatly. “Come on, let’s do this.”

  I sit down across from him. I have no idea if we’re supposed to count down or open them at the same time or what. He’s watching me to see what I do, so I just rip open the letter and start reading out loud.

  “Dearest Maris and Trevor,

  Now that you’re reading this I’ve finally joined my beloved Charles. I needed to tell each of you how much I love you. I asked you to read these together so that it would force you to see each other. I have no doubt you haven’t seen much of each other since my passing.”

  I stop reading and look at Trevor who raises his eyebrows. I take a deep breath and continue.

  “Although I think you both should stop being stubborn, I’ve realized that even though my wishes are for you to be together that may not be the right thing.

  “Maris, I was blessed to have your grandmother’s friendship and even more blessed to have yours. While I would love to have you as a part of my family, I know right now your greatest love is fulfilling your dreams. Just don’t let yourself become so caught up in doing it that you miss out on something wonderful.

  “My sweet Trevor, in order for you to be settled and happy with someone else you must first be happy with yourself.

  “So, my request for both of you is to go out and find what will make you happy and not be concerned about pleasing me. If you are meant to be together, you will find your way back to one another.

  “All my love, Gran.”

  Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that. I was sure she was going to ramble on and on about how we needed to give in to our feelings and run off to Vegas or something crazy like that. I look at Trevor who has his face buried in his hands. I can’t tell if he’s crying or not, so I move over to the couch and sit down next to him. I rub his back.

  “I know this is difficult for you,” I say softly.

  He finally looks up, and thankfully, he’s not crying.

  “You know, I was hoping she was going to tell us that we should be together. I wanted her to remind us of the crazy way we met . . . but she didn’t.” He pauses. “I do care about you, Maris.”

  I give him a faint smile. “I care about you, too.”

  He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug. I let myself sink into his arms, and it feels familiar.

  Our moment is interrupted when the door opens. Layla’s home early and she’s not alone. I pull away from Trevor so fast and jump up from the couch.

  “Zack,” I exclaim. I jump into his arms and he wraps his arms tightly around me.

  “Hey, you,” he says into my neck.

  “I thought you weren’t arriving until tomorrow,” I say excitedly.

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  After pulling away from him, I remember the scene they just interrupted. I look back at Trevor, who looks very confused, and for a second I consider running away.

  “It’s Trevor, right?” Layla says, trying to break up the miserable silence. I need to remember to thank her later.

  He flashes her his irresistible smile. “Hello again.”

  He seems to have recovered from his emotional moment very quickly.

  “I’m sorry. Trevor, this is Layla’s brother Zack,” I say, introducing them. “And Trevor is a friend of mine from back home.”

  The guys shake hands and everyone stands around wondering what to do next.

  “Well, we obviously interrupted something,” Zack says politely. “Come on, sis, let’s run over to Whole Foods so I can get a few things.”

  “You guys don’t have to leave,” I insist.

  Zack holds up his hand. “It’s cool. We’ll be back soon.”

  He practically drags Layla out the door. Although, it seemed more like he was dragging her gaze away from Trevor. When they leave, Trevor gives me a questioning look.

  “Please don’t telling me you’re seeing your roommate’s brother? That’s not going to end well.”

  I grab my letter from the couch and put it back in the envelope.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but he doesn’t live here. And to answer your question, we’re getting to know one another.”

  He snickers. “I didn’t live here either.”

  I glare at him. “Why are you so worried about it anyway? You still have Giselle on the side, right?”

  He shakes his head and picks up his envelope. “You need to grow up, Maris.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I need to grow up? I’m not the one who needed their grandmother’s approval for every move I make.”

  Okay, so maybe that was a bit harsh but it’s the truth. He heads toward the door but turns around before he leaves. “You know damn well that Giselle and I aren’t together.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Yeah, but you certainly let her comfort you after the funeral. And now that Beatrice has given you her blessing to be free, go for it.”

  “Good-bye, Maris,” he says, before he slams the door behind him.

  After Trevor leaves, I sit on the couch waiting for Layla and Zack to return. I can only imagine what they’re thinking right now. I’m sure by now Layla told him about Trevor coming by a few weeks ago, too.

  Ahhhh! I scream before falling back on the couch. Zack comes in a day early to surprise me and finds me in the arms of another man. This is awful. Granted, it was completely innocent, but if I walked in on something like this I would have to wonder, too. Every time he visits there’s a different man visiting me, first Kyle and now Trevor. I really don’t intend to get mixed up in these crazy situations.

  Zack and Layla return a little while later with bags full of groceries. I run to the door to help them by taking a few bags out of Layla’s hands.

  “Did your friend leave?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yep.”

  “Wow, what are you guys making?” I ask, looking through the bags.

  “It’s a surprise,” Zack says with a grin. I relax a little because he doesn’t seem to be bothered by Trevor being here at all.

  Layla excuses herself to get ready for her night out with Kyle. She says he’s going apartment shopping, so I guess he’s going through with the move.

  Once Zack a
nd I are alone, he pulls me by my waist and gives me a long slow kiss.

  “Finally,” he exclaims.

  I laugh loudly. “You said that last time.”

  He pushes a piece of hair behind my ear. “I know, and unfortunately it applies again today.”

  We begin to unload the grocery bags, and I’m trying to come up with the best way to bring up Trevor.