Cheyenne
Lakeshore Sweets smells like sugar and roasted coffee the second I walk in. Warmth wraps around me as the door swings shut, but it does nothing to calm the nervous energy rushing through my veins.
Callie is behind the counter, arranging a tray of cookies in the display case while Sloane rings up a customer. Rina, Lilah, and Kia sit at the table near the window with mugs and a plate of pastries between them.
“Well, look who finally showed up,” Rina says.
Lilah grins. “We were starting to think Knox had you tied up somewhere.”
“Like the bedroom,” Kia says with a smirk.
“Not today,” I say with a laugh, dropping onto the empty chair.
Lilah studies my face. “How are you holding up?”
I drag in a deep breath. “I’m okay. Just trying not to freak out every time the phone rings.”
“Have you heard anything?” Callie asks, setting a mug in front of me.
My stomach twists. “Not yet. But they said a decision would be made by the end of today.”
Lilah’s expression softens. “That’s good, right?”
“Yeah.” I wrap my hands around the mug. “At this point, I just want to know one way or the other.”
It had been a shock when I got the callback. A good one, but still a surprise. If I get the role, everything changes.
If I don’t… I’m right back where I started, trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my life.
Conversation swirls around me, but it’s hard to focus on any of it. Even when Hugh and Evelyn come up, the comments barely register. It’s the buzz of my phone against the table that makes every muscle in my body lock up.
The voices around me die a quick death as heads turn my way.
Rina glances at the screen as it lights up. “Unknown number.”
My heart thumps so hard I can feel it in my throat.
Callie carefully sets the towel in her hand down. “Go on and answer it. This is what you’ve been waiting for.”
My fingers are numb as I reach for the slim device. It’s ridiculous that so much can hang on one moment. One call. One person on the other end of the line deciding how my future will unfold. It’s enough to make me sick.
I swipe to answer. “Hello?”
“Hi, Cheyenne, this is Merrit from casting.”
It takes effort to keep my voice level. “Hello.”
“We wanted to let you know the team loved your audition and we’re excited to offer you the role.”
For a second, the words echo in my head, but I can’t quite process them. My grip tightens on the phone as the bakery blurs at the edges. Merritt continues talking, but her voice sounds far away. It’s like my body hasn’t fully caught up to the fact that this is actually happening.
“Thank you,” I blurt. “For letting me know.”
“Wonderful. In the next few days, we’ll send over a packet of information and the contract.”
She reviews a few more details, and I murmur something that sounds vaguely coherent before hanging up.
Even though I wanted this—prayed for it, hoped for it, then tried not to hope too much so I wouldn’t end up disappointed—I never truly believed it would happen.
The women stare at me.
“Well?” Lilah says. “We’re dying over here! Tell us what happened!”
I lower the phone as my hand continues to shake. “I got the part.”
There’s a beat of silence before everyone explodes at once.
“Oh my God!” Kia says.
“Should I tell you to break a leg now or later?” Sloane calls from the counter.
“Congratulations!” Rina cries.
“We’re so proud of you!” Lilah adds.
Callie presses a hand to her chest. “Chey, that’s so amazing! I’m so happy it all worked out.”
Rina is the first out of her chair before throwing her arms around me, with Lilah right behind her. Kia joins in next, and Callie scoots in while Sloane hurries over as soon as the last customer walks out the door.
For a second, I’m completely swallowed up by perfume, excited voices, and the solid weight of women who are becoming true friends. The shock dissolves and emotion rushes in so swiftly it nearly steals the air from my lungs.
“I got the part,” I say again, half laughing, half crying now. “I actually got it.”
“You’re going to be on Broadway,” Rina says, eyes filled with excitement.
Emotion swells within me. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Callie squeezes me tighter. “You did it. You really did it!”
And somehow that comment breaks me all over again. Because she’s right. I did it. Even though I was terrified, I walked into that room and laid it all on the line. I stayed when every part of me wanted to run. And now, for the first time in years, it feels like my life truly belongs to me.
The bell over the door jingles, and heavy footsteps hit the floor as male voices fill the sunny space.
“Hey,” River calls out. “What’s going on?”
Oliver looks around. “Did someone win the lottery?”
Jax snorts. “Or maybe Rina found the clearance rack at Saks Fifth Avenue.”
Knox, Steele, and Laiken walk in, bringing up the rear.
Knox stops the second he spots me standing in the middle of the bakery, surrounded by my new friends with tears streaming down my cheeks.
A grin breaks out across his face. “You heard already?”
I nod, barely able to get the words out. “I got the part.”
He crosses the bakery in a handful of strides before tugging me into his arms and lifting me off the ground.
“I told you,” he says, pressing his mouth against mine. “The second they heard you sing, you were a shoo-in.”
With a laugh, I cling to him. It feels like I could float away if I’m not careful. “Thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.”
His grip tightens around me as he lowers my feet to the floor. There’s a mixture of joy and pride on his face, as if this matters to him almost as much as it does to me. As if he never doubted the outcome for a single second.
River claps his teammate on the back. “Looks like your girl is staying in Chicago.”
Knox’s gaze stays pinned to mine. “Yeah, it does.”
That’s all it takes for the weight of this moment to finally settle into place. Not just the role or the relief I feel. But the fact that I don’t have to return to LA. I won’t have to crawl into the version of my life that never really fit just because it’s expected of me.
The future isn’t some box waiting for me to step back into.
It’s wide open and mine to choose.
When I look at the man who believed in me before I knew how to believe in myself, I can’t help thinking that maybe the life waiting for me here in Chicago is bigger and better than anything I could have dared to imagine.
And there’s something magical about that.