Page 3 of Absolute Certainty
Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he glanced at the contact card. “I’ve always wanted to ask. Any relation to Gregory Peck?”
A guffaw struck out of her. “Ha! No, and thank heavens for that. I’d hate to withhold my attraction to him because we were somehow related.”
That got a real, honest smile out of Jay. Judging by the following expression on his face, it seemed like he wanted to say something else but stopped himself.
He stood up and straightened his stance. “C’mon, let’s get you your drink.”
Opening the door for her, Sahar walked in ahead of him. He strode behind the counter, turning to face her again. “Where’s Willa?” he asked, referring to her best friend, flatmate, and fellow cast member who was almost always with her when she got coffee.
“With Ethan,” she told him.
He gave her a look, examining if that meant anything more than the usual.Now it did.
Willa and theirMidnights at Pemberleyprincipal star, Ethan Everett, were best friends for two years before they finally professed their feelings to one another and got together a couple of months ago.
“Did you not know they’re together?” she asked.
“I wondered with the number of times they get each other’s orders, but I didn’t make a definite assumption.”
“You’re not on social media?” Sahar questioned.
“No,” he replied.
“Lucky you,” she remarked. “But yeah, the gorgeous fools finally admitted they’re in love with each other.”
He released a closed-mouth chuckle. “Well, good for them,” Jay stated, his tone earnest and less prickly now.
He started on her drink right away. She walked to the register.
“It’s on me,” he called out, stopping her mid-walk.
“Because?” she contested.
“For talking me out of a breakdown,” he replied simply. Oh, fuck, so it was bad. A part of her hoped she was seeing things and dramatizing the situation.
“You don’t have to do that,” Sahar said.
“I want to,” Jay disputed.
She tried to smile, but the wordbreakdownwas playing on a loop in her mind now. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
Jay handed her the lavender latte she always ordered, as his eyes held hers for a beat too long.
Sahar blinked, breaking their contact. “I’ll be waiting for those pages,” she reminded him.
“I’ll send them to you tonight.”
Sahar walked into the theatre,signed in, and sauntered over to her dressing room. Contractually, she was obligated toMidnights at Pemberleyuntil next March, so she hadn’t thought of what would come next. She’d been in such a happy bubble with this job that, for the first time in a long time, she’d almost forgotten that there was rarely ever a constant in this industry.
She ached for Jay. She selfishly feared for her own career after this role. Sure, most jobs had their downfalls, but the unpredictable nature of the entertainment industry was never-ending. One minute, everything was steady, and the next, you were running from audition to audition, trying to prove your worth again.
The fact that she even had a principal role shocked Sahar almost every day because she genuinely never thought she’d get the part of Jane Bennet when she first auditioned. She also never thought she’d be nominated for a Tony Award.
And though she was sure she wouldn’t win, it still felt like a dream she’d have to one day wake up from.
She took a sip of her lavender latte, and it was somehow even more excellent today than it had been before. She and Willa had basically sworn that they’d go to Amanda’s even if they were no longer working at the Hyacinth Theatre. It wasthatgood.
