Page 101 of Broken Romeo
“Yeah. I like the idea of being friends with you. And remaining friends even after the show.”
“And that’s never happened with you?”
He laughs in that uncomfortable way and rubs the back of his neck. “Not really. I mean, I guess I can stay friendly with some of my co-stars, but it doesn’t usually end well with my leading ladies once the show closes.”
A deluge of relief fills me, and even though the idea of being friends with a co-star isn’t foreign to me, I know that for Nolan this is a huge step. I push onto my toes and hug him. “Of course we’re friends, Nolan. I want to stay friends, too.”
His shoulder muscles release, relaxing against my palms and he hugs me back tightly. “I’m sorry for hitting on you in last week’s rehearsal.”
“It’s okay,” I say.
We pull back from the hug and Nolan laughs in that macho, uncomfortable way men do after exhibiting emotion. “Damn. That vulnerability exercise is powerful. Maybe you and Holden need to do that. Together.”
My laugh chokes. “Me and Holden? Wh—”
Nolan levels me with a look. “Kate. I may be pretty dense when it comes to a lot… but not when it comes to chemistry. I don’t know what happened between you two, but it’s pretty damn obvious you two didn’t just ‘meet’ in college.”
I’m immediately transported back to that day at the auditions. She wasn’t exactly memorable back then.
Enough is enough. Nolan’s right. I need to confront Holden about that. And a lot more.
Nolan sighs and grabs a handful of popcorn. “Look, I’m just saying, whatever history is there, you should work through it. I’ve known Holden for a few years. He’s always closed off. Guarded. It’s like no one in the theater knows anything real about him.”
“Even Missy Howl?”
Something intense rolls through Nolan’s expression that I can’t quite put my finger on. “I mean, I don’t know details. But with you? With you, I see sides of him that he’s never shown the world before. Not even when he was with Missy. You’re good for him.”
I gulp, tears stinging the backs of my eyes.
Nolan touches a finger beneath my chin, dragging my gaze to meet his. “I guess the more important question is, is he good for you?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Holden
Five Years Ago…
I had successfully avoided interactions with Katherine for the rest of the week.
Well, if we weren’t counting making out on stage at rehearsals. We still hadn’t blocked the sex scene, thank Christ. I wasn’t fucking sure how I was going to survive that.
There were only so many cold showers a guy could take.
After football practice, I got home a bit after Duncan did and he was already in the kitchen making some dinner when I came in the front door.
I put my shit away, then came into the kitchen to grab a Coke Zero from the fridge. He clapped me on the shoulder with a big burly hand. “Hey man, want some spaghetti?”
I winced, unable to hide my painful expression and he yanked his hand back. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was that bad today.”
I rolled out my shoulder doing some of the stretching exercises my physical therapist had taught me years ago. “It’s okay. It’s been extra creaky this week.”
Sophomore year, I tore my rotator and the damn thing never quite healed fully. I just kept playing on it as soon as I could lift my arm above my head again.
Now, it only took one wrong hit, one askew snap of the football, hell even one rainy day to flare the pain.
“Did you tell Coach?” Duncan asked.
I shook my head. “Nah. Didn’t need to. He sees everything.”