Stars Over Alaska (Wild River #4) - Jennifer Snow Page 0,108
Selena to see the crowd.
“Holy shit, that’s awesome. Is Kaia nervous?” she asked.
Leslie had seen the little girl only momentarily when she’d arrived with Tank and Cassie, to wish her good luck with her performance, but she’d been almost vibrating. “I think she’s excited.” Leslie scanned all the parents around her. They were the ones who looked nervous. It had to be every parent’s worst fear that their kid would embarrass themself or feel disappointed in their performance, especially after working so hard...but Kaia was so lucky to have her brother and Montana and Tank and Cassie so invested in her. She was a lucky kid.
The school’s drama teacher appeared on stage at the microphone and a silence fell over the crowd as she welcomed everyone to the performance. A round of applause later and the red velvet curtain lifted.
The set was really well done and the familiar balcony from Romeo and Juliet had Leslie’s emotions acting up even before the iconic, romantic tragedy began.
What was wrong with her? These were preteens acting out Shakespeare and yet her heart was in her throat throughout the entire play. Lovers that weren’t destined to be together. Lives lost, wasted because of young love...
Beside her on the right, Tank and Cassie held hands, leaning into one another. On her left, Eddie and Montana were shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee.
Being the fifth wheel kinda sucked. She had thought of reaching out to Levi...but a junior high play with her brother and friends wasn’t really the right time, the right way she wanted to talk to him. She’d missed him these past few weeks and he’d been constantly on her mind. That meant something. Since admitting her feelings to Selena, they’d only gotten stronger. As if saying it, acknowledging them had given them permission to grow and overwhelm her with their intensity.
The final scene left not a dry eye in the room and a standing ovation rippled through the crowd as the final curtain lowered. Leslie wiped her eye quickly as the auditorium lights came back on and turned her cell phone to face her.
“She was so amazing!” Selena said. “I have flowers being delivered backstage right now—a lot of flowers. You guys might want to go help her with them,” she said.
“We’re on it,” Eddie said. “Meet you at the van,” he told Leslie before the four parents headed backstage to collect Kaia.
Leslie left the row and moved through the crowd to the back of the auditorium.
“So?” Selena said.
“So what?”
“I want to hear all about it. Every last detail. Leave nothing out.”
Leslie hesitated. “Hear about what?”
“You’re stalling...” Selena peered at her through the phone screen. “Oh my God, you haven’t seen him yet, have you?”
“I just got back to town.”
“Two days ago!” Selena’s shrill voice caught the attention of several parents and Leslie lowered the volume on the call as she headed outside.
It was actually a day and a half.
“Look, I’m just wanting to do it organically, you know. Let him find out I’m back through the grapevine and then...”
“Come to you?” Selena raised an eyebrow.
Yes. “No. Not like that. Just reconnect naturally...a casual encounter. Nothing forced or planned.” Truth was she was terrified. She had no idea how Levi was going to respond to her being back, to seeing her again...especially since the two of them hadn’t spoken in weeks. What if she’d hurt him too many times and he wasn’t interested in getting involved anymore? She loved him but was that enough? He was still working on the foundation, so maybe he’d decided that he wanted to put his commitment to Dawson’s memory above all else.
“He’s going to misread that as you friend zoning him again,” Selena said in a huff. “He’ll think you’re not madly in love with him. That you’re back because you lost your job over questionable judgment and have nowhere else to go.”
“That’s not true.” She’d decided to come back. And he’d been the most important factor in that decision. The only factor really.
“He doesn’t know that,” Selena said. “And no guy wants to feel like the fallback guy. Eoghan turned out to be a criminal, so you decide to choose Levi.”
“Again, it’s not like that.” But no one could argue her right to be careful. She’d lost one fiancé to his job and the first time she let her guard down again around a man—however casual—the guy turned out to be a stalker. Taking things slow with Levi was the only thing that made sense.