Sandcastle Beach (Matchmaker Bay #3) - Jenny Holiday Page 0,117
a bad one, in retrospect.”
His dad, never a very demonstrative guy, reached out and copied his wife’s gesture from earlier, laying his hand on top of Law’s. Suddenly choked up, Law had to swallow hard. He blamed Maya for making him all weird and emotional lately. But he also noticed that his dad’s eyes were extra shiny.
“Speak for yourself,” his mom said to his dad. “I personally trust Maya way more than you, Benjamin.” As she turned toward Law, her twinkling eyes telegraphed that she was teasing. “If your new business is tied to hers, I don’t think you can go wrong. That play last week was phenomenal.”
She was kidding, but it was true. Somehow, having Maya on his team made everything seem easier. Made his dreams seem more in reach.
“Why don’t you invite her out for dinner tomorrow?” Mom said. “You two can sit outside and work on your application.”
Nope. As much as sitting with Maya on his parents’ patio overlooking the lake sounded like heaven right now, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t see her until Saturday. “So about that. There’s actually something else I have to tell you.”
When he was done relaying his second big piece of news of the evening, his mom got up, kissed the top of his head, and headed out of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” He’d thought she’d be all aflutter about his plan. Or that she’d tease him, at least. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
“Oh, my darling, yes. I will be back momentarily, and I will say many things. But first I need to go buy some theater tickets for Saturday.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
It hadn’t occurred to Maya that maybe she shouldn’t have trusted Holden’s sudden about-face. But at ten to two on Saturday afternoon, she started wondering if she’d been betrayed. Again.
Maya: Where are you? Curtain is in ten minutes!
He had said he wouldn’t be able to make the preshow cast meeting, and frankly, she hadn’t wanted him there. But they were on imminently.
“Let me take that, hon,” Eiko said, reaching for her phone. “I’ll keep it safe for you during the show.”
Huh?
“It’s stressing you out,” Eiko added.
“What are you even doing here?” Maya looked around. What was everyone doing here? Eve and Nora had come backstage to keep her company and calm her nerves while she did her makeup, but here they still were, and they had Sawyer and Jake with them. And her brother was lurking. He’d been acting as a jack-of-all-trades through the run, but as far as she knew, there was nothing that needed his attention right now. And…“Karl? Why is Karl here?” She turned in place. It felt like the whole town was here.
But on the other hand, a handful of people in town knew about the Holden drama, so word had likely gotten out. Everyone was probably here thinking they were “helping” or “showing support” or whatever spin they wanted to put on their nosiness.
She clapped her hands. “Hey, folks! I’m going to have to ask everyone who isn’t part of the cast or crew to go take your seats.”
No one moved. They all just looked at her, many of them with strange smiles. Pearl—what on earth was Pearl doing backstage?—was grinning so wildly, she looked a little unhinged.
“Listen, I appreciate all the support, but—”
Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Ah, her tardy star. That explained the odd facial expressions. Everyone was still starstruck by the jerk. A burst of annoyance exploded in her chest.
“It’s about time!” she snapped as she whirled and came face-to-face with…
Benedick. Definitely Benedick, dressed as he was in the military officer’s garb of the opening scenes: double-breasted, gold-buttoned jacket; tight-fitting breeches tucked into knee-high boots; a scabbard at his hip.
It just wasn’t Holden.
“Ben…,” she said, trailing off.
“…edick?” he finished with smiling eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked weakly, though she supposed it was obvious.
“Saving the play?” His usual public-facing, breezy confidence was nowhere in evidence.
Maya was not a swooner, generally. She was more of a get-on-with-it-er. But her knees suddenly felt like they’d gone on strike.
“I know my lines and everything.” He winced. “Mostly.”
“That’s where I come in!” Eiko stepped up. “I made cue cards, so we have backup. I was going to crouch in front of the stage, but it turns out I can’t really crouch thanks to my crappy hips, so Jake is going to be the croucher.”
“That’s why I’ve been hiding all week,” Ben said. “I’ve been memorizing my lines.”