The Man Most Likely

Tanya gave her a speculative look, then turned to Bryan. “Why don’t you have a seat down front,” she said. “We’ll take a break when we’re done with this scene. Angela, I think it’s your line.”

Angela forced her attention back to the script, trying to forget about the man seated only a few feet away and to put herself back into the character of the sixty-year-old woman recalling her glory days.

She got through it somehow and trooped off the stage with everyone else when they were done. Bryan stood as she approached his seat, the same front-row spot she’d occupied earlier. “That was great,” he said.

She smiled, determined to play it cool and not let him see how much his presence flustered her. She hadn’t really expected him to take her up on her invitation to visit, not after the mixed signals he’d sent during their meeting. “It’s a pretty funny play,” she said.

“No, I mean you were great,” he said. His eyes locked on to hers. She read definite interest there and struggled to quell the sudden uprising of butterflies in her stomach.

“Thank you. And thanks for coming tonight.”

“Hey, Bryan.” Austin joined them. “What brings you here? Decided to add acting to your list of new interests?”

“Angela and I are working together on the fund-raiser,” Bryan said. “I thought it would be a good idea to meet some of the other people involved.”

“Oh, business.” Austin looked sympathetic. “I’m sure you’d much rather be over at LoBar.”

“No, I’m interested in learning more about the group and what you do.”

Angela thought Bryan sounded annoyed. Austin did have that effect on some people.

“Hello, Bryan.” Tanya squeezed in next to Angela. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too.” He nodded to Tanya, and Angela waited for the inevitable. Whenever she and Tanya were together, every man in the room focused his attention on Tanya and forgot Angela existed. They couldn’t seem to help themselves. It had happened so often, it didn’t even bother Angela anymore.

Much.

But, while Bryan was friendly toward Tanya and listened to her explanation of the play and the makeup of the theater group and their plans for the money from the fund-raiser, his eyes didn’t assume the slightly feverish look so many men’s did in her presence. “We have forty or fifty people involved in the group off and on, depending on the size of the production,” Tanya said. “Crested Butte has had a community theater for over thirty-five years now, though I’ve only taken over as director recently.”

“It sounds like a great group,” Bryan said. “I’m glad Angela invited me to stop by.”

Tanya checked her watch. “We need to run through the next scene, but you’re welcome to stay and watch,” she said.

The next scene featured only Tanya and Austin, so Angela settled beside Bryan to watch. As usual, Tanya lit up the stage. For ten years prior to returning to Crested Butte, she’d worked in Los Angeles, acting in commercials. She even had a part in a popular soap opera for a while. She’d been a professional and her skill showed. When she spoke her lines, the audience was transported to that New York City apartment where the play was set.

When the scene ended, everyone applauded. “She’s brilliant,” Angela said. “We’re so lucky to have her back, with all her talent and experience.”

“I’m no expert, but you seemed every bit as good to me,” Bryan said. “Aren’t you the star, or the female lead, or whatever it’s called?”

She laughed. “You flatter me. No, I am not the star. That’s Tanya. I’m the supporting actress. The comic relief.”

“If the rest of the play is like the little bit I saw, you’ll steal the show.”

“Thanks.” She looked away, trying not to show how flustered she felt. Why would he go out of his way to flatter her so? After their meeting at the hotel, she’d asked a few people about him—very casually, under the pretext of wanting to know more about the man she’d be working with. Women invariably described him as good-looking and fun. Men said he was a good softball player and snowboarder.

“Hey, Bryan! What’s up?” Chad, one of the crew members who helped with set construction, emerged from backstage and headed for them. He and Bryan bumped fists. “I been missing you on the slopes,” Chad said.

“I’ve been busy,” Bryan said.

“Yeah. I heard you were working at the hotel.” Chad shoved his hands in his pockets. “What’s up with that? I hear you’re even, like, a manager or something.”

Bryan flushed. “I have a degree in hotel management. Decided it was time I put it to good use.”

Chad laughed. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d go over to the other side,” he said.

“What other side?” Angela asked.

“The suit-and-tie corporate side,” Chad said. “This guy—” he put his hand on Bryan’s shoulder “—was one of the slacker kings. He and his buddy Zephyr showed us all how it was done.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you gave up all that freedom for some job.”

Bryan shrugged off Chad’s hand. “I guess I figured it was time I grew up.”

“Oh, I’m wounded.” Chad clutched at his chest dramatically. “That hurts, bro.”

Bryan, a slacker? Angela considered the idea. It was true the picture his friends had painted didn’t exactly fit with the polished professional image he’d presented to her. The idea of him having this other side intrigued her.

“Rhiannon was asking about you at LoBar last night,” Chad said.

Rhiannon Michaels? Angela wondered. Chad had to be talking about the sleek, sexy siren pursued by half the men in town.

Bryan’s flush deepened, and Angela’s interest piqued. When Chad left and they were alone again, Angela decided to indulge her curiosity. “So you know Rhiannon,” she said.

“Yeah. We, uh, we dated for a while.”

That confirmed it, then. Bryan was definitely more party guy than serious businessman. Rhiannon only dated the wild ones—the men who only dated women like her.

Not that Angela believed she was ugly, but it took a particular kind of man to appreciate her and she was becoming less and less sure that Bryan was that kind of man. She hadn’t missed the disappointment on his face at their first meeting yesterday, but later, in the ballroom, she’d felt a definite zing of attraction. Those contradictory reactions had confused her—a feeling exacerbated by his appearance tonight. She didn’t like this push-pull sensation because it recalled times she hadn’t been so secure in herself. She had a great life without a man complicating things.

Of course, it wasn’t men in general she objected to, just ones who might break her heart. Like a good-looking, charming party boy out for a good time, a fling. A fling that was guaranteed not to lead to anything serious—since the very definition of a party guy was that he couldn’t be serious—was another possibility altogether.

Could she date a guy and not end up with her heart broken? Was she capable of that kind of cavalier, temporary engagement? Maybe with some guys, but with Bryan—she wasn’t so sure. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he laughed at something Tanya said. She hadn’t been this attracted to a man since Troy. And frankly, that worried her. A lot.

THE NEXT DAY was Bryan’s day off, so he and Zephyr went snowboarding. It felt good to trade his suits and ties for fleece and board pants. Fun didn’t have a high priority in his life these days, but it was still a fundamental part of him.

“Where were you last night?” Zephyr asked as they rode the Red Lady Express lift to the top of the mountain. “I looked for you at LoBar.”

“I dropped by the Mountain Theatre group for a while.”

“You thinking of going on the stage? Becoming an actor? That’s radical.”

“No. The hotel is hosting a fund-raiser for the group and they invited me to come by and meet people.”

“A fund-raiser? What kind?”

“A fancy party with chocolate desserts and a silent auction.”

“Chocolate!” Zephyr grinned. “Maybe Trish and I should make an appearance.”

“It’s a hundred bucks a couple.”