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“Charlie, love, stop worrying so much,” Orlando said, taking my hands in his. “I’m sure he’ll ring you soon.” He leaned over and kissed me gently. “Just relax.”

I tried to smile, but the nerves that were knotting wildly in my stomach made it more of a cringe. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve been waiting for that phone call since I was a little girl.” I sighed and let him pull me closer to him on the sofa in my living room. “I never thought it would actually be a possibility.”

He kissed my head softly, his hands stroking over my arms as I laid my head on his chest. “If you’ve been waiting that long, then a few more minutes won’t make a difference,” he said. He tilted my head up so I was looking at him, and kissed my mouth gently, his tongue sweeping over my bottom lip as he teased me and deepened the kiss. All thought went out the window, and I marveled at the effect he still had on me. I twisted so I was facing him, never losing contact with him. My fingers were just toying with the buttons on his black shirt when the phone rang.

Immediately I jumped up and grabbed it, ignoring Orlando’s smirk. “Hello?” I said breathlessly. “Nick?”

“Yes, honey, it’s me,” Nick Gabriel, my director, said, chuckling. “Sorry, the announcements took a little longer than originally intended.”

I couldn’t read his voice, couldn’t tell if he was happy or disappointed, and it was driving me mad. “Okay, tell me,” I said, pacing the floor in front of the sofa while Orlando watched intently. I held my breath, waiting for Nick to say something.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, my darling girl,” he started, drawing out each word, knowing it was almost painful for me.

“Tell me what?” I snapped, unable to wait any longer. “For crying out loud, what happened?”

“You’ve been nominated for a Tony award, Charlotte,” he almost yelled, excitement creeping into his voice. “Congratulations!”

I gripped the phone in my hand as my brain processed what he’d just said. He’d just given me the news I’d been hoping for, and I couldn’t get my head around it, couldn’t believe it was actually happening. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment and let it wash over me, the fact that all of my hard work over the past eight months had paid off in a way I’d only ever dared to dream about. The Tony awards were the Oscars of the Broadway world, and to be nominated in the “Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical” category was a huge honour. I had to take a few deep breaths before I could say anything.

“Did anyone else get nominated?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I fought to keep my emotions from choking me.

“Adam did,” Nick said. “And I did, and we’re up for ‘Best Musical’. It’s going to be a huge year for the show, if all goes well.”

“Lisa didn’t get nominated?” Lisa, my roommate, was also my co-star in Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City.

“Not this year,” he said sadly. “But she will be eventually, whether it be for this show, or for something else, don’t worry.” His voice brightened. “You just enjoy your success, and don’t worry about anything else, okay?”

“Does Adam know?” Adam Pascal was the male lead in the show, and a very dear friend of mine.

“Yes, he’s here with me,” Nick said, and I could practically hear his grin through the phone. “He’s making phone calls on his cell. He said he’d talk to you later.”

“Okay, I have to call my dad,” I said, unable to keep the huge smile from my face, and the tears from my eyes. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Sure thing, kiddo,” he said. “Congrats again.”

“You, too.” We hung up.

I turned to Orlando, the smile on my face so wide it was starting to hurt. He stood up and took my hands.

“I’m guessing you were nominated,” he teased, pressing his forehead to mine as he gently squeezed my fingers. I nodded, unable to find the words as the first tear slid down my face. He scooped me up and began dancing around the apartment with me, laughing and planting kisses wherever he happened to hit as he did so. I held on to him for dear life, laughing as well, joy and excitement rushing over me like a waterfall. I’d been in New York less than a year, and Wicked had been my first starring role in a show of that caliber. Now I was nominated for the most prestigious award in the business, and I was only barely 24 years old. It just didn’t seem real.

“We’re up for ‘Best Musical’, too,” I said as Orlando put me back on the floor. “And Nick’s up for ‘Best Direction of a Musical’.” I hesitated before telling him about Adam. “Adam’s up for ‘Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical’.”

I felt Orlando tense for a split second, but he tried to shrug it off. “Good on him,” he said, trying to make his smile genuine, but I saw the sadness behind it, and knew there would always be that twinge for him when Adam was mentioned. When Orlando and I had broken up briefly a few months before, I’d had a brief fling with Adam, a rebound relationship for both of us, as he’d been separating from his wife at the time, and I was still dealing with my break-up. After Orlando and I had reconciled, we’d talked about what had happened between Adam and me, and agreed to put it behind us, but the fact that I worked with him every night, and the fact that we were still good friends, bothered Orlando more than he let on.

I kissed Orlando’s lips softly, wanting to take the sting out of what he was thinking, what I knew crossed his mind from time to time. “I’ve got to call my dad and tell him,” I said, as Orlando’s hands gently kneaded my back. My heart sped up as I realized he was standing with his body pressed against mine. I tangled my fingers in his shaggy dark hair, left loose today, instead of in its traditional ponytail, and pulled his head down to mine, wanting only to taste his kisses, to feel his warm lips on mine again.

All thoughts of calling my dad vanished from my mind as Orlando lifted me in his arms and carried me to our bedroom, laying me down gently on the bed.

“My little Broadway star,” he whispered, his voice husky, as he began to peel away my clothing. I had to admit his touch still made me mindless with need, and his kisses still made me squirm beneath him. I surrendered to the joy of being in his arms as he made my body hum with pleasure. At that moment in time, I definitely had it all.

* * *

Later that night, when I got to the theatre to get ready for the show, I felt like I was walking on air. I breezed into the backstage area amidst a steady flow of congratulations from my friends in the company, and went to the change rooms to get my undergarments on so I could be painted green. My character, Elphaba, was the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard Of Oz, and as such had green skin.

I plopped myself down at my dressing table, and Janine, my make-up artist, gave me a big hug.

“Congratulations,” she practically squealed before releasing me. “Charlie, we’re all so excited for you!”

I smiled. “The whole show is nominated, so it’s congrats to everyone,” I said, handing her the green paint. “But thank you.”

“What does Orlando think about this?” she teased, a wicked gleam in her eye.

I grinned as flashes from our afternoon together ran through my head. “Oh, I’d say he’s pretty pleased,” I said, unable to keep the smirk from my face.

“Who’s pleased?” Adam said, flopping down beside me. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Hello, gorgeous,” he whispered in my ear.

“Hi,” I said, blushing. He never ceased to make me feel giddy, even though we worked together every night.

“So who’s pleased?” he said again. He looked so cute in his costume, with his little red vest, and his dirty-blond hair cut short, but still curling just enough to make it sexy. His blue-green eyes searched my face.

“Orlando’s pleased about my Tony nod,” I said, grinning at him.

“And well he should be,” Adam said, smiling. “You deserve it.”

“As do you,” I said, reaching out to give his hand a squeeze before letting go. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll sweep the awards this year.” I shrugged. “I’m just glad we get to go.”

“Are you taking Orlando to the ceremony?” I knew what he was thinking from the look on his face.

“I think so,” I said, jumping as Janine pushed my head forward and began spreading the cold paint on the warm skin at the back of my neck. “I haven’t talked to him about it, but I don’t see why not.”

“I heard Nick say something about all of us going as a group,” he said. “You know, because the show is nominated.”

“How can he even be talking about that?” I laughed, only to be silenced by Janine’s warning hand on my shoulder to keep me from moving. “We just found out a few hours ago, and the ceremony is still almost a month away.”

“It’s Nick,” Adam said simply, unable to hide the amusement in his voice. “There’s no other explanation.”

“I suppose,” I said, fighting the urge to shake my head. “Where’s Lisa, by the way? She hasn’t been home all day.”

“I believe she’s with Jeremy,” he said, his tone turning playful again. “Where else would she be?”

Lisa had met Jeremy Halster, a music executive with one of the larger record companies in New York, six weeks earlier, when he’d come to see the show and requested a meet-and-greet with the cast afterwards. He was about 30, very well-dressed, tall, over 6’3”, with jet black hair, cut short, and piercing green eyes. They had hit it off instantly, and had been almost inseparable ever since. I was glad she’d found someone, because with Orlando staying with us, I didn’t want her to feel like a third wheel.

“She’d better get here soon, or Nick will wring her neck,” I said, sitting up again as Janine began to move down my other arm with the green goop.

As if on cue, Lisa breezed past us, already in costume, frantically trying to pin her wild blond hair to her head in Glinda’s first updo, with Nick hot on her heels. He didn’t look happy. I chuckled as she disappeared into the change rooms.

“Bugger off, Nick,” was all we heard as the door closed behind them.

“Problem solved,” Adam said, grinning. “I wouldn’t want to be in there right now.”

I shook my head. “Me neither,” I said. “Me neither.”

The show that night went well, as they usually did, and Nick insisted on making Adam and I stay for an extra curtain call because of our nominations. When I finally got to run off the stage, I was breathless and happy.

“Are you coming out with us tonight, Charlotte?” Nick said as I came out of the showers ten minutes later. “We’re celebrating.”

“Uh, let me call Orlando and see if he wants to meet us,” I said, toweling my wet hair. I was due for a haircut, as it was getting long, and I had roots for days. I frowned at it in the mirror as I sat down to use the blow-dryer.

“How’s that going, anyway?” Nick sat beside me, using his ‘everybody-all-together-and-gossip’ voice. Sometimes he was worse than a teenage girl when it came to gossiping.

I shrugged as I combed out my hair. “He’s been staying with us for almost eight weeks now,” I said. “That’s the longest amount of time we’ve had together since we started dating.”

“Is that a good thing?”

I sighed as I started to put on my make-up. I couldn’t very well use the blow-dryer while we were talking. “After the first three weeks or so, I admit, I was getting a little tired of him,” I said, remembering some of the lower moments we’d had, some of the fights, the times where I didn’t want to see his face. “But we got through it.”

“When does he go back to work?” The gleam in Nick’s eyes was positively sinful. He was getting way too into talking about this. “I mean, the guy’s Orlando Bloom. He’s got to have a movie or something lined up soon, doesn’t he?”

“Not really,” I said, leaning forward in my seat to put my mascara on. “He’s got some promotional stuff to do next month, for his new movie, and then he’s filming again toward the end of the summer. After that, we’re not sure yet.”

“He’ll be around for the Tony’s next month, won’t he?”

“I believe so,” I said. “I don’t know yet, I haven’t talked to him.”

“Well, give Prince Charming a call and see if he’ll come out with us,” Nick said, standing up. “Because if not, we’re going to kidnap you anyway. We’ve even convinced Lisa and Jeremy to join us for a change.”

I laughed. They were so lost in the sex haze of a new relationship, they rarely did anything with the company. In fact, other than the two or three times I’d bumped into him in the kitchen at our apartment after he’d spent the night with Lisa, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d met Jeremy.

“You’d better feel special,” I teased, grinning over at him. “You’re taking precious alone time from them.”

He rolled his eyes and I laughed again. “Don’t be too long here, honey,” he said, standing up. “We’ve got some serious drinking to do.”

“I’ll just finish here, then I’ll meet you in the lobby,” I said. He kissed my cheek and left.