expected of me here. It would be an easy swap,” I say. “It’s good business.”
“There is no way on earth that I’m going to let an untrained, unseasoned aerialist try to replicate my best act. It would be a disaster,” Simon says. “You don’t hire a child to stand in for a lead in a Broadway show. Because it doesn’t matter how talented the kid is—they’re still a kid. And you, kid, are not ready for the spotlight.”
My face gets hot. “I’m not a kid. I will work harder for you than any act you’ve ever had. I will be better than Maggie. I just need you to give me a chance.”
Simon shakes his head.
“Just one night to show you what I can do. Please. I can do this,” I say.
“I told you a long time ago, I’m not in the business of doing charity.” Simon waves me aside.
“I’ll train her.”
Simon stops, his eyes widening.
I turn around and see Vas walking toward us, hands stuffed in his pockets like he’s been there awhile.
I don’t understand. Vas is a musician, and learning the violin isn’t going to get me a place on the static trapeze.
I also don’t understand why Simon looks so intrigued.
“I’ve been spotting her in the evenings. She’s really good—she could be great, even,” Vas says, and I realize there might be a hint of admiration in his tone. “I’ll train her every night, make sure she’s at the level she needs to be at. We both know how hard it would be to get a replacement trapeze artist here at the end of the season without paying a fortune anyway. It wouldn’t hurt anybody to give her a chance. If anything, it works in your favor.”
“You really think she can handle it,” Simon confirms slowly.
“I do,” Vas says. “She’s talented. She just needs to be trained.”
Blood is rushing through my body. Since when does Vas know anything about the trapeze?
He’s talking about it like he knows more than I do.
“I don’t want Maggie’s act replicated,” Simon says finally. “It wouldn’t work. Nobody in the world could do it exactly like she did, and I’m not settling for a half-baked version of the best act we had.” He looks between Vas and me, the spark in his gemlike eyes growing with every second. “But a new act? Well, that I could get behind.”
Vas’s jaw shifts like he knows what’s coming.
I’m staring wide-eyed between them like a lost animal.
“A double static trapeze act, the way you and Maggie used to perform all those months ago,” Simon says. He wags his finger at the two of us. “You give me that—get something ready in the next three weeks—and I’ll consider using it for the new season in January.”
The entire world spins.
Vas is an aerialist?
An aerialist who used to perform with Maggie?
Vas still hasn’t looked at me. His eyes are locked on Simon’s the way someone would watch a poisonous snake in the grass. “I’ll agree to perform again, but only if I can compose an original song for our act.”
Simon opens his mouth to argue, but Vas is in no hurry to let him derail his plans.
“I’m not asking for the entire set list. Just one act,” Vas says firmly. “You let me have a song, and I’ll give you your double act back.”
Simon stares at him for a long time before relaxing into a smile. He holds up three fingers. “You have three weeks. If it’s not performance-ready by then, I’m hiring a new trapeze artist.” And then he pushes past us, patting Vas on the shoulder once before heading off toward the rehearsal tent.
For the first time since the bike ride, Vas looks me in the eyes.
“I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped,” he says stiffly. “I… wanted to help.”
I feel torn between throwing my arms around him and yelling at him for casually forgetting to mention that he was a professional freaking trapeze artist.
I try to find something earnest in his eyes, but I can’t read him. All I see is the heaviness in his brow, and those green eyes that drink the world in but hesitate to give anything back.
“Thank you for your help. I have a million things I want to say right now, but ‘thank you’ is probably the most important,” I say, my words clipped because I’m too worried my brain will betray me and I’ll word-vomit all over him.
I need time to think. Time to process. Time to cradle my words carefully before setting them