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Two weeks went by after Orlando and I made up, and nothing had yet to come of our decision to make an official announcement about us. Orlando’s publicity team had called me a few times to discuss what I could and couldn’t say to the press in the meantime, but I’d been in the theatre so much, I didn’t have to worry about running into reporters. We were having technical issues with the show, and I’d almost been dropped from the wires twice during tech rehearsals. The second time it happened, Nick was fuming, and I wasn’t much better.

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The interview was set for the following morning at eleven, in the theatre lobby. I stood in front of my closet for a good half an hour, trying to decide what to wear. Orlando had his clothes laid out on the bed when I came out of the shower, and I envied his lack of options. I finally decided on a beautiful royal blue sweater Orlando had bought for me in Toronto, and my favourite grey jeans. Orlando was wearing black jeans and a white collared dress shirt, with a dark green sweater over top. He looked positively yummy.

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My heart sank the following morning when I woke up, knowing that Orlando was leaving that night, between my two performances. I had just enough time to see him to the airport before I had to be back at the theatre. It was after eleven when I awoke, and I had to be at the theatre for noon, to get into make-up for the two o’clock show. I leaned over and kissed Orlando’s sleeping face before getting out of bed to shower and get ready to go.

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Yesterday was a fabulous day for me. I received the phone call I’ve been hoping to get for almost a week. I applied for a management position at our local Claire’s Accessories store here in town, and after a 2-hour interview, a full reference check, and an online questionnaire, the District Manager called me yesterday to offer me the job! Needless to say, I was ecstatic! I still am, really, given that I’ve just returned from meeting my Assistant Manager and filling out all of the necessary paperwork.

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The next week or so seemed to drag by, as I anxiously counted the days until Christmas Eve. Excitement among the company grew every day, as we all looked forward to some much-needed time off. We were doing eight shows a week, with no days off, and it was starting to take its toll on us all. By the time the last night rolled around, we were all running on pure adrenaline.

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We were driven through the London traffic, and some time later, we pulled up in front of a beautiful two-story brownstone, in what I was told was Canterbury.

“Relax, darling,” Orlando said as we got out of the car. He paused a moment to take me in his arms, sweeping his hands lightly up and down my back. I tried to force my nerves to calm down, but the butterflies in my stomach wouldn’t listen. I inhaled deeply, taking in Orlando’s scent, which helped a bit, but even his arms around me couldn’t slow my rapidly beating heart. A million fears flowed through my head, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. Would she like me? Would I make the right impression? Would she see me the way my dad saw Orlando, as a fling? What would she think of the article in ‘People’?

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Orlando came out of the bathroom not too long later, a towel wrapped around his hips, his hair loose and dripping down his back. I was just putting the food on his plate when he came downstairs into the kitchen.

“Smells good, love,” he said, making himself a tea with the water I’d already boiled in the kettle. He kissed my cheek and went into the dining room.

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