was not in the mood. I was about to tell her that when she waved, shut my car door, and drove off.
I stood on the sidewalk for a second, not sure what to do. A uniformed guard called to me from in front of a building. “Juliet Nolan?”
“Yeah?”
She smiled and waved me up the steps. “You’re supposed to come with me.”
My feet seemed to be moving of their own volition as my desperate curiosity was getting the better of me. She opened the glass door behind her and said, “You’re going to row two, seat B.”
It was then that I realized where I was. It was the theater where I’d met Noah. And that was the exact seat I’d been sitting in when it happened. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I brushed them away. I wished Shelby had made me dress up. At least she’d given me lip gloss.
Hope beat so hard in my chest, like a captured bird struggling to break free. I was both scared and excited at the same time, and it had been a while since I’d felt that way.
The theater was empty, and I made my way over to the seat, waiting.
I didn’t have to wait long.
Noah sat down in the seat next to me.
“Noah, I—”
He stopped me. “You’re not supposed to talk to the audience members unless they talk to you first, remember?”
I was about to tell him that he’d just spoken, but he was doing something and I didn’t want to ruin it.
He held out his hand. “I’m Noah Douglas. Nice to meet you.”
“Juliet Nolan.” I shook his hand, and it was such a relief to touch him again, even briefly.
“I’m not going to jump to any conclusions about why you’re here, and instead I’ll let you tell me. You’re in this seat because . . .”
For a second I couldn’t speak, because I realized what he was doing. What he’d said couldn’t be done. He was taking us back in time and letting us redo this night. “I’m a seat filler. There can’t be any empty seats. I’ll get up when your date gets back.”
He looked thoroughly confused. “I don’t have a date. I guess you’ll have to stay put.”
There was no place on earth I’d rather be.
“I’m an actor. You may know me from some of my more famous roles,” he went on. “I played Felix Morrison. And Malec Shadowfire.”
“Yes, I know. I know exactly who you are. I had a huge crush on you in middle school, and the Duel of the Fae trilogy is my favorite, even if they did screw up the ending. I think you are so talented and gifted, and I’m excited to meet you.”
He grinned at me, and in that moment I knew—absolutely knew—that everything was going to be okay. “And what is it you do for a living?”
“I have my own dog-grooming service.”
“That is very ambitious and entrepreneurial of you. I happen to have a dog I think you might like. You should come over and clean him up. He got really dirty recently.”
My heart was in my throat. “I would love to.”
“But only if you promise to wear those shoes.” Of course I had on my pink Converse, because I wore them all the time. “I love your shoes.”
He had on a pair of ratty Nikes, but I said, “I love yours, too. You have excellent taste.”
“I brought you something. Look under your seat.” He sounded like my Noah again, and I couldn’t believe how much I’d missed him.
Under my chair was a huge box of Snickers. Like the kinds grocery stores got and put out on their shelves. I picked it up and put it in my lap, fingering the edges. “Thank you.”
“It’s in case you get hungry,” he told me.
“You’re really thoughtful.”
“I try.” He shifted in his seat, putting his arm across the back of my chair. “So, is there any chance you might want to go out with me?”
“Pretty big chance,” I said. “But I have this thing about kissing, and you might need to help me through it.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“But,” I added, “only if you understand that I’m going to fall in love with you. I can’t just be your friend.”
There was so much softness in his eyes that I melted into my chair. Seriously, someone was going to have to scrape me off this thing. Then he made the melting worse by saying, “I can’t just be your friend, either. And I will definitely