‘You forgot my card,’ Sam said softly. She looked up to see him standing in front of her, a silver envelope in his hand. Still her Sam, after all. Cesca took it from him, opening it up to see a postcard of Varenna inside. Her eyes lingered on the beautiful villas that lined the lake, and the lush greenery that grew on the banks.
‘Where it all began,’ she murmured.
‘The play?’ His eyes were shining beneath the bright lights of the dressing room.
She shook her head. ‘Us.’ Her heart was full as he cupped her face with his hand, his palm warm against her skin. She read the back of the card. Your play captured my imagination, but you captured my heart. Always yours, Sam.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘Thank you for always being mine.’
‘I always will be. And if I wasn’t covered in greasepaint I’d be kissing the hell out of you right now,’ he said.
‘If you weren’t covered in greasepaint, I’d let you. But since this is my play, and my reputation, I’d rather not ravish the leading man before he even gets on the stage.’
Sam laughed. ‘We’ll save the ravishing for afterwards then.’
‘Sounds good to me.’ She rolled onto the balls of her feet, lifting herself a couple of inches higher, enough to whisper in his ear. ‘Break a leg, Sam.’
He ran the pad of his thumb across her cheekbone. ‘You, too, gorgeous.’
Cesca blew him a kiss, then walked out, making her way back to the public areas. Tonight she’d be watching her play from the audience, seeing the action from a different side.
Sliding into the seat between her sisters, she grabbed each of their hands, squeezing them tight. A moment later the lights went down, and the hum of conversation dwindled to nothing.
She closed her eyes for a moment. This was finally it. After all this time, and all this angst, her play was making its West End debut.
What’s Past is Prologue. It couldn’t have had a better title.
‘It’s very different to movie acting, isn’t it?’ Randall, the older actor who played the father in the play, shot him a smile before turning back to the mirror and wiping off his make-up. ‘So much more immediate, so intense. The adrenalin rush, man, there’s nothing like it.’
‘It’s something else.’ Sam took a deep breath. Twenty minutes after the final curtain had fallen and his body still hadn’t recovered. It was like legal heroin. ‘Though I’m not sure if I can take that night after night.’
‘Oh, it gets easier. I bet you were just as nervous at your first movie premiere. And then by the second and the third, it’s like old hat.’
Sam frowned. ‘I wouldn’t go that far. At my last premiere poor Cesca was pushed over and pretty much trampled underfoot.’
‘Ah, I wondered why she was surrounded by security guards this time.’
‘I thought she’d probably prefer to watch the play unbruised.’
Half an hour later Sam was climbing out of a black Mercedes, his own security guard pushing his way through the crowds. Sam walked into the wine bar, where the after-party was being held, and was immediately surrounded by admirers.
There were familiar faces, too. Will Allen, his best friend, had flown in from Hollywood, and was currently flirting with one of the production staff. Izzy and Sienna, looking glamorous in full-length gowns, were arguing with his mother over whether they could have another glass of champagne. And in the corner at a table were Hugh and Cesca’s father, being clucked over by Cesca’s sisters as they brought them drinks and plates of food.
‘Congratulations, Sam.’ Hugh shook his hand.
‘You were fabulous,’ Lucy told him, kissing his cheek. Kitty hugged him tightly and gave him a wink.
‘Did you bring Milly with you?’ Cesca’s father asked. ‘I saw her acting with you. Are you in love with her?’
‘No, Dad,’ Lucy interjected, a harassed expression on her face. ‘This is Cesca’s boyfriend, remember? And that wasn’t Mum on the stage, it was an actress.’
‘Of course it was.’ Oliver looked annoyed. ‘That’s what I said. Well done, Sam. You were excellent.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ He nodded at Cesca’s dad, unsure about what just happened.
The only person missing in the room was Foster, and he hadn’t received an invitation. He was estranged from Lucia, after all. Not welcome here.
‘Have you seen Cesca?’ Sam asked the producer, who was surrounded by investors all talking rapidly.