Chapter 12
“Why hasn’t Zoe called or texted?” Derek paced the rehearsal room at Prestige Rep. “I don’t have a backup plan for our costumes.”
“Chill, Derek.” Th ? o grabbed him by the arms and guided him into a chair. “It’s a big ask. Give her time.”
“What if she hated the songs? Or I remembered our version incorrectly and fucked it up?” Derek took off his glasses and rubbed
his eyes. “Then she’ll never want to go out with me.”
“That escalated quickly.” Th ? o laughed.
“I’m pathetic.” Derek dropped into the metal folding chair in front of their makeshift worktable. The sticky notes on his
laptop screen fluttered.
“You’re not. You’re in love,” she reassured him. “I’d be flattered if a woman felt that way about me.”
“Would you date her if she were your best friend?”
“Maybe. Depends how hot she is.” Th ? o grinned unabashedly.
“Not helping.” Derek tossed her a pained expression.
“Kidding. Bros before—”
“Don’t you even,” he cut her off sternly as her chest shook with silent laughter. Th ? o may not be his sister by birth, but she’d acted like one ever since they met working at the diner. He was shit at waiting
tables, but thanks to her, he got better at it. Not great, but passable enough to get decent tips.
“I would never, but seriously, Derek, you have to tell her how you feel.” Th ? o gave him one of her sisterly looks of concern that he was all too familiar with. “You can barely focus on our work now.
The more time you spend together and the longer you go without—”
“I know. Let me figure it out,” he snapped. Then immediately regretted it. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. I thought it’d be
easier.”
“What makes it so hard to tell her how you feel?”
“I finally have her back in my life. Sunday night felt like we’d barely spent a week apart. What if I tell her and she pushes
me away for good?” Derek closed his eyes. His chest hurt at the idea of losing her again. “I’d rather have her in my life
as a friend than not at all.”
“I don’t have any good advice for you except don’t wait ten years to tell her how you feel.”
“Way to make me sound like a pining fool.”
“We’re all fools when we’re in love,” Th ? o consoled.
Derek sighed. Normally he thrived under pressure, but this was the first time that he’d written and directed a production.
Add in Zoe and Greg’s expectations. He was trying to do too much at one time.
“Since you can’t control what she decides, let’s focus on the script. The entire reason we’re here.” Th ? o tapped her notes.
“You’re right.”
“I’m always right,” Th ? o gloated. “The first scene still isn’t working.”
“You know the opening number is supposed to be the hardest to write,” Derek said with more confidence than he actually had.
“We should save it for last.”
Th ? o huffed. They’d known each other long enough that she saw through his fake-it-till-you-make-it energy.
“The cast arrives in two weeks. I want to have a finished script for them.” She groaned in frustration.
Her foot shook with nervous energy. The tapping against the keyboard stand echoed in the Prestige Rep’s large rehearsal room. The room wouldn’t feel so big when the cast and creative team came together for the first time. The idea was both exhilarating and terrifying.
“You can’t rush the creative process,” he reminded her. And himself. The two of them had been working on the show on and off
for several years. Thanks to Prestige’s sponsorship, they’d been able to dedicate time to it the past year.
“Everyone will be at the first read through,” added Th ? o. “Which means Greg, the board, donors, and producers will be judging us.”
“Add the entire world while you’re at it,” he muttered. All he could think about was disappointing everyone. Especially Zoe.
“I heard that! As if I don’t know that we have to be twice as good to prove ourselves.”
The legs of Th ? o’s chair scraped the floor as she abruptly pushed away from the keyboard. She paced back and forth in front of him as she
mumbled to herself. This freak-out was all part of her process.
Derek hadn’t told her everything about his dinner with Greg on Saturday. Th ? o was stressed enough that he didn’t need to pile on more. He was the one who’d wanted to produce this musical in the first
place, so he’d deal with Greg’s expectations on his own.
“Story of our lives.” He stopped her as she made another pass. “We’re going to finish in time. Promise.”
Th ? o tilted her head and bit her lip. Derek smiled as her eyes began to soften. Though they’d worked on projects together before,
his process was more laid back than hers. Derek preferred to allow the feeling of the piece to move him while she hammered
away until the music and words came out.
“Fine,” she said finally. “We’ll save the opening number for last. What about the scene where T ? m and Cám are reunited at the palace?”
“The first or second time?” Derek flipped through his notes. Portraying the sisters as best friends changed the entire dynamic
of the Cinderella story. Their retelling of the folktale focused on friendship and love instead of jealousy and hate.
“First,” she replied as she settled back down in front of the keyboard.
“Whose brilliant idea was it to sing the entire musical?”
“You and that big brain of yours.” She tapped his head.
He groaned. “And you let me?”
Th ? o laughed, then played the opening notes to the scene. Derek waved for her to continue. He hummed along as he closed his eyes
to imagine how the scene would play out on a stage.
“This scene should be hopeful and exciting until the end, when T ? m reveals her concerns about the emperor’s feelings for her,” suggested Th ? o.
“I agree.” Derek sat up and snapped his fingers. “Let’s amp up the pop vibes—give it girl-band energy—until the final verse
where it starts to fall apart and become discordant.”
“Melancholy, too.” Th ? o nodded.
“Then we jump right into Cám’s number where she vows to repay T ? m’s kindness. For protecting her from the evil stepmother.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Th ? o rubbed the shaven side of her head the way she did whenever she was deep in thought. “But the audience needs to see what
T ? m means about the emperor. After all, they’re supposed to have their happily ever after.”
“To prove that she’s not imagining the way he takes her for granted.”
“Maybe the emperor needs a name,” said Th ? o.
“You know I’m terrible with names and titles.” Derek shook his head. “So many micro decisions. Should it be a Vietnamese name,
and do we want to base it off a real emperor or—”
“Keep him as ‘Emperor.’ To keep with the fairy-tale vibe,” spoke a feminine voice from the doorway. “And the story is focused on the sisters’ relationship with each other. Not him.”
Zoe! Derek spun around. How much had she heard? It was best to pretend that she’d been there for only a minute or two. He swallowed
and smiled brightly.
How could she look even more beautiful than the last time he’d seen her? She was wearing what had to be one of her designs.
At first glance, it looked like the Vietnamese traditional dress áo dài, but the light blue fabric from the waist down was
sheer, giving it a cropped look. Instead of the typical flowy, wide-legged pants underneath, she wore white capris.
“Hey!” He ran over to Zoe and pulled her to the cluttered table, where he and Th ? o had been working. “Th ? o, this is Zoe, my best friend from undergrad. Zoe, meet my cowriter and composer.”
“The famous Zoe!” Th ? o pulled Zoe in for a bear hug. She winked at Derek and mouthed Wow. “You’re the one who helped Derek survive college.”
“Nice to meet you,” Zoe said as she shot him a surprised look. “ Someone has barely mentioned you.”
Th ? o clicked her tongue with the same disappointing tone that his mother made when he forgot to take his shoes off at the door.
“If you’d responded to my texts, I would’ve mentioned Th ? o,” Derek shot back.
“So this is the room where the magic happens.” Zoe ignored him as she ran her fingers over the side of Th ? o’s keyboard.
“You play?” asked Th ? o.
“If you count scales as playing.” Zoe chuckled. “My parents quickly realized that Eddie and I weren’t music prodigies.”
“I can teach you a few bars of something fun if you want. It makes for a good party trick.”
Zoe shook her head. “I’ll stick to my riveting topics of stretch lace and corset construction.”
“You’re in the right place for it,” said Th ? o. “Speaking of places, what did you think about the video and script Derek sent over?”
Derek shot Th ? o a don’t rush her look, but she shrugged it off.
“That’s why she’s here, right? To give us an answer.”
“I meant to text you, but...” Zoe started.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it right now. Want to grab lunch?” He looked at his phone. It was only eleven o’clock.
“Or brunch?”
It was Th ? o’s turn to give him a what the fuck? look. If Zoe planned to reject him, he’d rather it be one-on-one and not in front of Th ? o. She’d be empathetic, but she’d want to over-analyze everything as soon as Zoe walked out the door. He was very capable
of overthinking every one of Zoe’s words and facial expressions on his own.
“No. I mean, I had a late breakfast with my friends this morning.” Zoe drummed her fingers on the top of the keyboard before
arching them over the keys. Her hands shook, but soon the familiar warm-up notes filled the rehearsal room.
Maybe he’d put too much pressure on her yesterday. He should’ve asked her if she even wanted to return to theater. He hadn’t
realized how the incident from senior year still affected her.
“Zoe, it’s okay if you don’t—can’t—do the costumes.” If he gave her an out, then her rejection wouldn’t sting so hard. Right. Keep lying to yourself. He’d be gutted, but he didn’t have time to wallow. The show had to go on no matter what.
“It’s not about can’t or won’t.” Zoe’s hands curled into tight fists at her sides.
Derek’s chest tightened as he braced himself.
“I have to do this. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t,” she whispered to the keyboard.
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Good grief, the woman has agreed.” Th ? o smacked him. “Don’t let her change her mind.”
“Yes. I’ll do the costumes.” Zoe finally looked at him with a wide grin. Her eyes were bright.
Derek wanted to jump up and down like a kid, but he kept his cool. Instead he smiled so hard that his cheeks started to hurt.
Operation Win Zoe’s Heart was going according to plan.
“Thank you!” Derek exhaled loudly in relief before he wrapped his arms around Zoe. “I knew you’d say yes.”
Behind them, Th ? o snorted.
“I’ll walk you to the production office so they can get your contract and the rest of your paperwork.” Derek turned to Th ? o. “Do you mind working on your own for a while?”
“Go,” Th ? o said indulgently. “Get out of here, you crazy kids.”
When Zoe turned back toward the door, Th ? o mouthed Tell her at him.
Derek shook his head. He wasn’t ready to turn their friendship upside down yet. Not when they’d barely had any time together.