Derek had loved the new libretto. Albeit he had only said, "Yeah, great," but he hadn't done his signature eye roll or let loose a string of "Bloody Hells," so Julia knew he was pleased. Tom was still fuming, however.
"'Yeah, great'?! We bust ass for 24 hours, you get an epiphany from God at the eleventh hour and produce this work of art, and all he can say is, 'yeah, great'?!"
"Tom-"
"It surpasses great! It's fantastic!"
"Tom!"
He stopped mid rant and fixed her with his sassy "Oh-Lord-woman-what-now" face. Julia suppressed a smile. Tom's hopping hen was adorable.
"I know it's fantastic. You know it, I know it, and that's all that matters. Let's just try and get through today's rehearsal with as little drama as possible, okay?"
Tom tapped his foot and huffed. "Okay. I still believe it's a heinous understatement, but okay."
Julia kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."
Tom grinned. "You're welcome."
They went into the studio and Julia pre-set her things. She kept shuffling her papers and glancing in the mirrors so she could try and find that one stray hair that always stuck out a little too far. She glanced at her phone. Five of, the actors would be arriving shortly. She couldn't glance up at the door, that would look to needy and Tom would instantly know who she was looking for. But Julia didn't want to hide behind her tote bag, that would look like she was flat out ignoring him. And Julia didn't want to ignore him. She just wanted to look at Michael's chiseled face and never stop looking.
"Hey."
Julia nearly jumped a foot into the air. She turned around. there he was. How did he look so calm and collected? Julia was having a hard time keeping her heart from exploding out of her chest. "Hey."
Michael leaned in his head ever so slightly. "How are you doing?"
Julia smiled serenely. "Good. And you?"
"Great...wonderful." Michael gazed wonderingly at her. If only she didn't hide herself behind chunky scarves and over-sized glasses. Then everyone could see how beautiful she was. Just as beautiful as when they were dancing at Derek's party. He had wanted to kiss her in front of everyone then and he wanted to do it now.
The other actors filing in the studio gossiping brought them out of their reverie. Michael smiled back sweetly. "I think we're about to start," he said with the slightest raise of his eyebrows. He went to the piano, staring after Julia all the way. She closed her eyes and savored the warmth that washed over her.
