Page 76 of A Certain Step
Willa wasin Declan’s room, recording a video with him before their evening show, answering a question about whether he had his shirt on.
“Unfortunately, Dec has his Wickham costume on right now. But Sam is best at catching him without one.”
Declan choked on a laugh. “Nosy, nosy people,”he remarked. “I’m going to have to start wearing a shirt and change all my ways. What’s a man got to do to get some privacy in his own dressing room?”
Willa laughed loudly, and his screen lit up with her smile. She had Elizabeth’s first wig on and makeup fully done, but she was still in her own clothes.
She walked out of the room, still holding the camera to her face.
“Let’s see who else we can go bug.”
Sammade an appearance behind her, trying to scare her but failing. Tanya came into the frame, placed a kiss on her cheek, and then strolled away. The video cut off, but another one came in where she answered about the show’s biggest prankster. She’d found Sam again.
“This guy. This one. He is the worst of them all, and by worst, I mean the absolute best. He tries to startle everyone, but he’s never gotten to me because I don’t spook easily. Poor Sahar, on the other hand…”
“Listen, I’m going to get you someday.”Sam chimed.
“Aww, mate. It’s been almost two years and you’ve still yet to. And you know what? It’s not your fault. I grew up with an older brother; absolutely nothing can phase me,”she said with a chuckle.
Sam pursed his lips and nodded in defeat. “Yeah, okay, fair. But let it be on record that I’m the show’s best.”
“Co-signed,”Willa confirmed.
She was back in her chair, swirling around, answering a question about what she missed most in London.
“Oh, God. Everything? My entire family is there, so I miss them a ton. Good fish and chips, which you just can’t get here, no offense, Americans. It’s not the same. Yes, Target is great, but M&S is better. I miss my mum’s cooking a lot, too.”
Damn, he wished he could order stuff from M&S for her. Or maybe he could find a place with good fish and chips, but everywhere they’d gone, she’d had at least one complaint about it. One place got the fish right, but the fries—er, chips—weren’t.
Still, in her dressing room, she replied to a question asking what the first musical she ever watched was.
“Specifically on Broadway, it was Miss Saigon, but my first musical ever was Beauty and the Beast at the Piccadilly Theatre.”
She answered the next question so eagerly that his heart swelled. Someone asked what other Jane Austen production she’d like to see a different version of.
“Oooh, I want to say Persuasion because Captain Wentworth in a role like this would be aces. But it would also be so fascinating to actually see Northanger Abbey in this light. The spooky and more gothic elements could do so well with the sultriness we have here, so I’d love that. And plus, good boy Henry Tilney growling? I’d lose my shit.”
Ethan laughed out loud. God, he loved her.
He loved her so much he didn’t know what to do with himself.
24
WILLA
Willa had no idea how she made it through the day. She was more knackered than the singular meme of a child crying and wanting to fall asleep on a beach shore. She wanted nothing more than to go home and tumble onto her bed. But at the same time, she wanted to be with Ethan. It was all so new with them, exciting, easy.
She concluded her account takeover with a few more questions at the night’s end, then recorded a video of the fans waiting outside at the stage door for her final frame. It wasn’t nearly as anxiety-inducing as she’d imagined, so that made for a pleasant surprise. Without any inappropriate questions or remarks during her takeover, it gave her a bit more hope for the eventual point in time when her relationship with Ethan was publicized.
Willa showered first, then went to his living room to turn on the TV to reruns of one of her comfort shows,The Great British Bake Off. She’d had enough of social media and her phone today. Ethan came back out shortly after and flopped beside her.
He pulled her closer and squished her into him, the sea salt and cedar from his body wash filling her nose with the delicious notes of a crisp morning walk underneath a canopy of majestic trees. He whispered something incoherent into her hair that sounded likefuck,andyou’re amazingwhile his lips traveled down to her neck. She brought her legs to the cushion, curled them toward his torso, and leaned further into him.
He drew away from her body and cupped her cheeks with both his hands. He had his glasses on, but she noted his sapphire blues sparkling with an admiration that she could swim in for hours and still not find all the hidden treasures in their vastness. “How do I spend all day with you, then still need you the second you’re away from me?” Ethan rasped.
“It’s the honeymoon phase. Give it a month, and you’ll get over it.”
A flash of annoyance evidenced in his gaze. “Is that your way of telling me you’ll get sick of me?”
