The following night I decided to go out with the cast after the show. Everyone was planning to head over to a bar in midtown that Jenner co-owned. He had promised that our drinks would be on the house.

The bar was really nice, though a little sw.a.n.ky for my taste. I noticed that Jasmine seemed to be perfectly in her element. After we arrived, I watched her for a minute. She was still throwing herself shamelessly at Jenner, always standing close to him, touching his arm when she was talking, thrusting her chest out whenever she had his attention. It was nauseating. At least he didn't seem to be at all affected by it. Maybe there was hope for the male species after all.

"So, you decided to join us tonight," Tyler said, sliding up to me at the bar. "Whatcha drinking?"

"Newcastle," I responded, avoiding making eye contact.

"Nice," he said. "I had you pegged for a fruity c.o.c.ktail kind of girl."

"Guess you don't know me so well," I said.

"You're p.i.s.sed at me," he said suddenly, smiling like he thought the realization was amusing.

"Why would I be p.i.s.sed at you?" I asked him. "I barely know you."

"You didn't like me talking to you last night in front of your boyfriend."

I turned to him, feeling annoyed. "Okay, first of all, you can talk to whoever you want. I couldn't care less what you do. Second, he isn't my boyfriend. He's just a guy I'm dating. And none of this is any of your business."

"He sure didn't like me talking to you," Tyler said. "He looked like he wanted to punch me. Not your boyfriend, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "He did not want to punch you."

"I caught that little move he did," Tyler said, grinning. "The way he put his hand on your neck it might as well have been a collar."

"You know what, Tyler?" I said, my face flushing. "f.u.c.k off, okay?"

He only laughed. "Relax, Annie. I'm just messing around."

I glared at him.

"Look, I'll change the subject, okay? Word is, the suits are really excited about the press we're getting."

In spite of my irritation, I felt a little glow of excitement at that. We had been written up in the weekend section of the Free Press that morning. It had been a glowing review and I had been singled out. Jen cut it out and hung it on our refrigerator.

"If things keep going like this, we're a shoe-in for Chicago. The investors are meeting with Jenner next week."

"Do you think they'll re-cast?" I asked, deciding to forget how irritated I was with him.

Tyler shrugged. "Maybe some parts. I think you're safe, though. You seem to be coming out of this with bells on."

"What can I say," I said drily. "I'm destined to be a superstar."

"You joke, Annie, but I actually think that might be true."

Tyler motioned to the bartender to refill us.

"Seriously, you're really good. And you have the looks to go far, that's for sure." He looked me over in a way that normally would make me want to slap a guy, but something about the joking light in his eyes only made me laugh.

"Have you ever tried to get work in Chicago or New York?"

I shook my head. "I was never really interested, to tell you the truth. I like it here."

"Yeah, but how much opportunity is there to really act around here?"

"A lot," I said, feeling defensive about my city. "People are doing shows all over the place."

"Yeah, but none of them are going to make you famous."

"That's not really a consideration for me," I said.

Tyler burst out laughing. "Yeah, right," he said. "An actress who doesn't care about fame?"

"I'm serious," I told him.

"You might think that now, but just wait until we get to New York. You can't get off on standing up in front of a bunch of people, demanding their attention, if a part of you didn't like it. The need for validation is what drives all actors. It's in your blood."

I shrugged. "I don't know about that."

"You'll see," he said. "So, now that you're not mad at me anymore, can I ask about the suit?"

"Who?" I asked.

"The guy in the suit. Your not-boyfriend boyfriend. What's the story there?"

Now that I had another beer in me the thought of talking about Nate didn't bother me so much. "We met in Vegas," I told Tyler. "In September."

"But he's from here?"

"Yeah, Birmingham."

"What does he do?"

"He works for Ford. He's an engineer." Tyler smirked at that. "What? What's the matter with being an engineer?"

"Nothing," he said, holding up his hands. "Just doesn't quite seem your type. Suit-and-tie guy and all that."

"He's very nice to me," I said, feeling the need to defend Nate. But wasn't Tyler saying the same things I had thought from the beginning?

"So what happens when you go to New York?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you stay with this guy? Once you're in an off-Broadway run, living in the most exciting city in the world, how does that work out?"

"I don't know," I said, feeling uncomfortable. "I told you, we're just dating. It's not some serious thing."

"I hope not," Tyler said seriously. "I don't think you realize how much things will change when we hit it big, Annie. Guys like him, they just won't understand your life. Won't understand your art. You need someone more like you."

Without my noticing it, he had moved his hand over the bar until it was covering mine. There was a definite flirtatious light in his eyes as he looked at me.

I grabbed my hand back. "As a matter of fact," I said coldly. "I don't need anyone. Thanks for the advice though."

I grabbed my beer from the bar and made my way farther into the room, determined to be away for Tyler and his mocking, smug flirtation. He might be a cute guy, and he might be funny sometimes, but he was also kind of an a.s.shole. And I didn't need that tonight.

"Hey, Annie," a voice said next to me.

I turned to find Jenner Collins smiling at me.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Very much," I told him. He motioned for me to join him at his table. Over the past few weeks I had gotten over my intimidation in his presence-mostly.

"Did you see the write-up in the Free Press today?" he asked.

"Yeah. That was really cool," I said.

"You had a pretty nice mention. I was proud of you."

"Thank you," I said. "That's never happened to me before. I mean, some of our shows at Wayne had write-ups, but nothing like that."

"It's pretty cool," he agreed. "Especially the first couple of times. Eventually it starts to matter less, and you work on the things that mean something to you, you know? Rather than the things that bring you praise."

"Is that why you're in Detroit so much lately?" I asked.

He laughed. "Yeah, my agent is getting pretty annoyed with me, actually. He keeps sending me scripts, a.s.suring me they'll all be the next big box office smash."

"Any catching your eye?" I asked. Selfishly I wondered how him taking a role would effect our show.

"Not really. I'll have to commit to something in the spring, or else I'll be running out of money to fund this kind of thing."

I laughed. "So, what projects are you interested in?" I asked.

I was surprised by how easy he was to talk to. Up close I noticed that his eyes were ever so slightly off- center. It made him less perfect, more human somehow.

"I actually have some really big plans," he said, leaning forward. "But I'd rather this didn't get out to everyone."

"Of course," I said, leaning forward myself. Maybe he was going to tell me that he wanted to shoot a movie here in Detroit, staring me. He would make me a rich movie star and I'd never even have to leave home.

"I want to start a permanent company in the city," he said. "With a home theater and resident artistic staff. We would put on original shows, try to bring in as many local writers as we could."

"That sounds amazing," I breathed. "Wow." It might not be as glamorous, but in all honesty, what he was describing was more appealing to me than the movie fantasy.

"I figured it'd be right up your alley," he said, nodding in approval. "You work at a local theater, don't you?"

I nodded. "The Springwells Theater Company. We mostly do education and outreach for local kids."

"I think having an education component would be important," he said. "We could run camps and cla.s.ses, give back a little."

"Jenner, seriously, this sounds incredible," I said. I had never been good at selling myself or networking, but at that moment I didn't care. "If you need any help, please keep me in mind. I'd love to be involved in this."

Jenner smiled at me broadly. "I'm glad to hear that. You know, you're the first person in this cast who hasn't hinted to me about how willing you'd be to go to New York with the show."

I blushed a little. "I would be happy to go to New York," I said slowly. "I'd be happy to do anything that kept me acting. But a local company like this, with an outreach component...it sounds perfect."

"Well, I'll definitely keep you up to date with the details."

Over his shoulder I caught sight of Jasmine, glaring at me. I stifled a laugh, badly.

"What?" Jenner asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Nothing," I said. "I think someone is trying to crush my head with mind power."

Jenner must have caught sight of Jasmine because he turned back to me, rolling his eyes. "You'd think I'd be used to that garbage by now," he said. "Oh well, only a few more weeks, right?"

"Right," I said, happily thinking to myself that Jasmine might not be joining the cast in Chicago.

"I should really get going," he said, looking down at his watch. "I have a breakfast meeting pretty early."

"Thanks for the party, Jenner," I said sincerely. "And thanks for telling me about the company. Good luck with it."

Jenner clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you for all of your hard work. It means a lot to me. See you tomorrow."

He turned and left, saying goodbye to people as he made his way through the crowds. I caught sight of Jasmine struggling through the throng in an attempt to catch up with him.

For once I didn't feel at all grossed out by her. I was way too excited and happy to care much about anyone else. Jenner Collins thought I was doing a good job! And he wanted me to know about his company. What if he actually asked me to be a part of it?

I pictured myself, a year from now, teaching acting cla.s.ses to kids. Without awful Grayson to boss me around, I could get out of the office and spend more time on the creative side. Maybe I'd even get the chance to perform, or at least work on some of the shows in some capacity. A group of resident artists. The very idea sent a shiver down my arms.

I compared my feelings with how I felt about the possibility of going to Chicago, or even New York. The idea of acting every night was definitely a dream come true. And this play was great. But if I could still act and got to stay here? I had to admit, if it came down to a choice between the two, it would be a very, very tough decision.

Chapter Twenty-two.

*One of the best things you can do to solidify your new relationship is to create some new traditions with your man. The holidays are a great time to do this. Why not give him a taste of all the memories you're sure to create over the years once you have a family of your own? He may be hesitant at first-lots of guys think traditions aren't very masculine-but if you're persistent you can show him how much fun it can be!'-The Single Girl's Guide to Finding True Love "Come on, Annie, I really think this will be fun."

"Nate, seriously? What the h.e.l.l is fun about tramping around in the freezing cold to carry some sappy, half-dead tree home?"

"Why do you think it will be half-dead?" he asked, looking disappointed.

"Because it's almost Christmas. The trees in these lots are cheap rip-offs. Of course it will be half dead."