I love how excited the kids are about their big debut performance. I get tons of hugs and people jumping up and down in excitement. What I don’t expect, when we head out of the curtain afterwards and into the sea of parents, is how much everyone else loved it as well. Seriously, I’ve played shows from Oregon to Maine, Minnesota to south Texas, and I’ve never had so much enthusiasm from so many adults before.

“You know, I never would’ve thought to have the climax of Oliver Twist be on top of the US Bank Tower,” one of the parents marvels. She’s wrapped up in some kind of pashmina, already chowing down on grapes and expensive wine from the reception tables. She squeezes my shoulder, and the rings studding each of her fingers contain enough expensive stones to fund another ten productions. “You’ve got such a gift with the kids. My Adelina keeps going on about how much she loves acting now. I think I’m going to be mad at you in a few years when she majors in it in college!”

She laughs, and I laugh, but I get the feeling she’s serious and sort of sidle my way back into the party. Beyoncé gives me a hug, which is pretty much the culmination of my life up to this point. Everything that went before will be premature, and everything after will have the smack of anticlimax. While I gibber and try to shake as many people’s hands as possible without losing my mind, Suzonne comes up to me. She’s draped over D’Andrei, who I now realize is half a head shorter in addition to being way younger. Then again, the dude is jacked, tanned, and bleach blond, so I can understand her not caring about either of those things.

“Amelia sparkled up there,” Suzonne gushes, squeezing her man tighter. D’Andrei, meanwhile, looks at her like he found the greatest treasure of his life. Or scored the perfect wave. Or whatever it is professional surfers talk about when they talk about love. “You’ve made her so happy. Thank you.”

Aw, shucks. As I kind of demure and talk about how great the kids are just in general, I feel a presence behind me. A sexy presence. The kind of presence you want to bottle up and store in your vibrator, for the exceptionally needful times. Even I’m creeped out by that idea, and I vaguely understand what I just said.

Will. Will’s behind me. That’s what I’m getting at, and he and Suzonne respond to each other like sane, healthy individuals.

“Our kid’s pretty incredible,” Will says to his ex, as they smile at each other in a completely non-aroused way. They’re friendly, and that’s it. Maybe I couldn’t see it when they still had the furious antagonism between them, but I can see it now—they’re over. It’s done. No take backs. If I hadn’t been so obsessed with my old mistakes, maybe I could’ve seen how different this one is.

My heart’s thudding in a terribly obvious way as Will and Suzonne part so that she can go find Amelia. Now it’s only him and me, standing here surrounded by celebrities and wealthy people and my boss and basically all the folks I shouldn’t have a screaming breakdown in front of. I’ll keep you posted on how successfully I manage that.

“Those are nice flowers,” I say, noting the bouquet in his arms. “Amelia’s going to love it.” Will shuffles the packet, and brings out something smaller.

It’s one red rose.

In the language of flowers, that can be roughly interpreted as DTF.

My entire body freezes, then melts, then regroups itself into solid matter. Don’t question me, my understanding of physics is flawless.

“Oh,” is all I can helpfully think to say as Will hands it to me. I take a quick sniff, just to make sure it’s not like chocolate or something and I should be unwrapping it right now and stuffing my face. It smells fragrant. Beautiful. Perfect.

Like Will. Or Will’s body wash. God, he’s staring straight at me and probably waiting on a logical response to this. Brushing the rose under the tip of my chin, I elaborate.

“It’s gorgeous. Thank you. I have to move to Montana.”

Keeping. It. Real.

“Give me five minutes,” is his only reply. He looks toward the door. “Meet me outside?”

If he asks me to run away with him and have mad passionate sex, and/or rob a bank, I will be down for it. This rose will seal our Bonnie and Clyde bond. I back away, watching Will’s face light up as Amelia comes charging down the aisle to him. He wraps her up in his arms and spins her around, laughing as she tells him something that is probably simultaneously adorable and hilarious. Suzonne and D’Andrei watch, blissful smiles on their faces.

Well, if nothing else, the Munroe divorce seems to be smooth sailing at last. For Amelia’s sake, that’s a good thing.

I find myself outside the auditorium, pacing and saying thank you to the people as they come out, kids in hand. The children are holding bunches of flowers and bags of candy, and are skipping along together and singing pieces of the show. Ah, to be a kid again. To not have to worry about student loan payments or finding a job or facing thirty. To only watch Pewdiepie videos on YouTube. To truly feel alive.

“Chelle.” That’s a rugged, masterful voice right next to me, and it’s being wielded by a rugged, masterful man. I feel like rugged, masterful should be directly under Will’s name on his business cards. Sorry, I’m mentally stalling for time. I do that when I know I’m about to be either deliriously happy or disastrously sad. It’s an instinct.

“You liked the show?” I walk with him around the corner of the building, so no one can see how truly freaked out I am. Will leans a shoulder against the wall, and looks down at me with those glinting gray eyes of his. And the expression I read in them is…concern.

Is concern what you feel when you give people red roses? Shit, maybe I have the language of flowers all jumbled up in my head. Wouldn’t be the first thing to get jumbled in there.

“Chelle,” he says again. I could listen to my name on his tongue every day. I could also put a lot of parts of mine on his tongue every day, but that feels not terribly classy to say out loud, so I don’t. Barely.

“Will.” Here we are, playing say my name, say your name. A few more rounds of this, and we can sort of call it a conversation. Here’s hoping.

“That was an incredible show,” he says at last. A wide, gleaming smile stretches over his face. God, I missed seeing that. I didn’t realize how badly I’d missed it.

“Thanks,” I say, a bit breathless. “The kids did all the work. I just directed it. And painted the sets. And hung the lights.”

“I know. I was there.” Then he steps closer, the distance between us reduced to mere inches. I feel like my mouth’s gone dry as cotton as he takes my hand, his fingers skimming the delicate skin of my wrist. “I’m sorry about what you saw, that day.”

“I’m sorry,” I say instantly. I don’t think I can keep staring up into his gorgeous face, so I study my shoes instead. Nicest shoes Payless can provide. “I should’ve stayed and talked things through. I freaked and ran and that wasn’t right.”

“How are you feeling now?” he asks softly, still tentative. That’s the stockbroker in him, probably, the part that doesn’t want to go all in on a purchase until he knows for a fact it’s going to work. Lifting my eyes again, I meet his stare.

Then I say, softly and gently,“Montana.”

Christ. Way to go, girl.

Will’s brow furrows. “What?”

“I meant, better. Better. I feel better now that I got to talk to Suzonne. Her new fiancé’s pretty…pretty. Much younger. But I think that’s probably a good fit for her.” Am I babbling? Almost certainly. I’m good at that.

“I like him. He’s good to Amelia, so of course I like him.” Will catches the tip of my chin and lifts it higher. Then he leans in a little bit himself, so that his lips just brush against mine as he speaks. “The divorce is speeding up now. We’re going to sign the final papers tomorrow. We’re going to my lawyers to do it.”

That’s it then. He’s going to be completely free.

“What’ll you do with all that litigation-less time on your hands?” I ask cautiously.

He smiles slightly against my mouth, and says, “This.” Then he kisses me.

It’s the same scorching, volcanic heat as before. The second our lips touch, I lose myself in the feel of his body. My arms wrap around his neck, and I revel in the taste and, the touch of him. My feet lift off the ground as he picks me up, and I don’t mind if he doesn’t set me down anytime soon. Or ever. Never’s a good time to be placed down as well.

As well as the heat, there’s a growing thread of tenderness. He cradles the back of my head as he lowers me to the ground, so that only the tips of my toes steady me. His other hand trails down my back, keeping me close as much as taking in the line of my body. And the curves. Well, he’s not too much of a gentleman to keep from exploring those.

Which is exactly the way I like it.

“What do you think?” Will whispers, his lips now inches from mine once more. I’d love nothing more than to climb him like a studly mountain, wrap myself around him, and kiss him again. I’d like to go full on exploratory. But my stomach falls as I step back, creating enough distance to not lose my hormonal mind.

“I’m about to lose my job.” I’m a little dizzy, but I’m grounding myself again. I suppose that’s good. Maybe.

“I know.” Will sets his jaw, which is strong and square enough that you could likely cut diamonds against it. That’s not making this decision any easier. “There’s other schools in Los Angeles, you know. They say there might even be places in the valley.” He shakes his head, like he’s described some mythical Shangri-La locale. “But who the hell knows if that’s even real?”

“Sherman Oaks? ’Tis spoken of in whispers,” I deadpan. Will laughs, the smile exploding across his face. God, it’s hard to say no to that smile. Those lips. Teeth. Molars. Gums. Okay, maybe I need to pull back a little. Getting too close there. “It’s not just that I can’t pay my rent anymore. Will, you may not have noticed this, but I’m a little emotionally…not there?”

“In an uncertain way?”

“More like in a doesn’t exist way. My emotions are still in the chrysalis stage. Then they’ll come out with fabulous butterfly wings, like all purple and ochre and bright yellow, and maybe they’ll, like, fly away from me.” None of that made sense. Doesn’t matter. Continue. “When things looked bad, I didn’t stick around. I ran.”

“It wasn’t as if you were entirely on your own in the department of bad decisions,” he adds. Then he comes closer, his manly pine scent closing in on me.

It’s like wanting to have sex with a forest. Who knew that was a fetish? “I should’ve been clear about the situation with Suzonne and me.”

Oh, who am I kidding? He’s right, and we should start making out in celebration. I blink fast.

No. Focus. Be honest, Chelle.

“I have baggage. In my car, obviously, because I never unpack anything, but also personally. You’ve got Amelia to think about. She’s already got so much upheaval going on. Do you really think bringing my crazy into her life is a good thing?”

Will pauses. Shit. I can see the wheels turning in his head as he takes all that into account, and my heart sinks. I know I did the wrong thing, or maybe the right thing. I reminded him that he’s a dad first and foremost and that screwing his daughter’s teacher is not the way to increase stability.

“Amelia was acting out a little when you came into her life,” he says at last. He continues towards me, pressing me flush up against the wall. Not a bad place to be, all things considered. “I knew the separation was getting to her. When you showed up, made her laugh, gave her an outlet, she blossomed. I wasn’t getting through to her and neither was Suzonne. You made my kid happy again.” He puts a hand to my cheek, his fingers twining into my hair. His thumb traces a soft, intoxicating path down my neck. “I think you’re the best thing for my daughter.” His other hand slides around my back, and I let myself go flush against him. He looks down at me, lust and need and a little fear glimmering in his eyes. “If you don’t want to take on a divorced man with a kid, I can’t blame you. But don’t worry about me for a goddamn second. Think about what you want. The open road? Or me.” He pauses, as if thinking that through, and amends it. “Us.”

Us. That’s a wild, wonderful, and frightening word. It also lights up my entire body, sending energy shooting through my bloodstream, sparking my nerve endings. I’m not a biologist, but I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happening. The point, beyond anything else, is that it was the single word I needed to hear.

“You don’t mind having a clown in the family?” I stand on my toes again—damn, this man is tall—and slide my hands up his chest to hook around his neck. He leans down, smiling against my mouth.

“I’ve got too many clowns to begin with. At least you make me laugh.”

“That’s a sexy quality, so I’m told.”

“The sexiest.” Then his mouth closes over mine again, and I’m lost. His tongue strokes lightly against mine, and I groan as I taste him. Peppering kisses along his jawline, I revel in the growl of satisfaction that reverberates through his body. Whatever comes, we can handle it together. I believe that now. It’s good to believe in something.

“Besides, Amelia always wanted to learn how to juggle,” he whispers in my ear. Man, I wish I could make snort-laughing sexy, but hey, at least Will doesn’t seem to mind.

“Speaking of the future juggler, we should get back. Amelia will wonder what happened,” I say as I finally disentangle myself. Before Will can wander off with lipstick smeared all over his face, I grab my organic tissues and help neaten him up. See? Those suckers came in handy after all.

Since I’m about to be let go anyway, we wander back up to the auditorium with our arms around each other. No point in hiding any longer. Bye, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Bye Spielberg. It’s the Chelle and Will show now, and we don’t need your approval.

“Chelle. What’s this?” Willow asks as she appears before us in a cloud of sandalwood and citrus. She’s dressed in what appears to be a long cotton sheath, with turquoise beads jangling at her wrists. She looks Will and me over like something alarming is going down. Well, so what? I am a grown woman with a functioning relationship and a well-received elementary school musical. Nothing can stop me now.

“We were just walking back to get Amelia.” I squeeze Will tighter around the waist, and he returns the squeeze.

Willow’s eyebrows lift. “Oh. Well, I wanted to talk to you about staying on at Bay of Dreams.”

Oh. Well, in that case, maybe I should adopt a professional stance, like not clinging on to a child’s parent. I manage to untangle myself, just for the moment.

“Oh?” Why did that come out as a squeak? Why can’t I sound badass?

“I had a discussion with the principal just now. We shared a cup of lotus tea, and we do still need to work with the astrolabe to determine your salary.” She grins at this, like this is a thing normal people say to one another. Then again, what the hell do I know about normal? “But we both agreed that you’ve done exceptional work here. The children seem to love you, and we’re already trending on Twitter!” She shows me her phone, in a wood paneled case.

Sure enough, Beyoncé tweeted and we are rocketing up into three thousand tweets. All publicity is good, and this one is better.

“Holy shit.” Will looks quietly amazed. He even takes the phone from me to scroll through the mentions while Willow continues.

“So we’d like to discuss a permanent position here. If that’s something you feel you would like?” Willow frowns. “We don’t want any spiritual displacement.”

Lady, you can displace my spirit and throw all its furniture onto the street if that’s what it takes to stay in this city.

“Oh, that’s something I’d like. I’d be happy to stay on.” I feel about ready to skip down the steps, run over to the pond of tranquility, and take an impromptu naked swim. Of course, my spirits dampen a little. Heh, dampen. Get it? Pond, et cetera. Whatever. Is this going to clash with Will? Because I can feel his gaze track over to me at the same moment I’m having this realization. It’s like we’re in a psychic mind meld. Sex does that to people, so I’m told.

Willow smiles. “Also, we do need to talk about interpersonal relationships,” she says.

Aw, crap.

But Will steps in before I can say anything.

“I don’t think I mentioned how wonderful this school is for my daughter,” he says, giving Willow that certain smile. The one that makes you weak at the knees, but doesn’t quite combust your panties. It’s very well calibrated, that smile. “I was thinking of making a charitable donation to…what needed fixing around here?”

“The stables.” Willow’s face goes slack as she thinks of it. “We want to show the children the gift of caring for horses and never riding them. Saddles are oppression.”

“All the saddle-less horses you can think of.” Will nods his head. “Just let me know what you decide.”

Holy shit, he’s buying our relationship. This would be slightly questionable if it weren’t seriously hot. It’s both. Willow’s mouth puckers as she clearly thinks it through, then grins.

“In that case, I think that so long as interpersonal relationships are conducted in a manner that doesn’t interfere with the children’s chi, we don’t need to worry.”

Willow, you sly fox you.

“Glad to hear it.”

“We don’t take personal checks.”

“I’ll be in touch with my bank in the morning.” Will smiles back, and she walks away.

“This better be worth that amount of money,” I say, still kind of reeling.

Will smiles at me, the dangerous kind. Yep. Panties have officially combusted. “I have the feeling it will be.” He wraps his arm around me again, and we walk back to the auditorium.

Amelia’s holding two bouquets, one from Will and one from Suzonne. She’s back in her regular clothes, though she hasn’t taken off the clown nose yet. Hey, if she feels a spiritual calling to the life, she and I will have a lot to talk about.

When Amelia sees her dad walking up with me, clearly looking loved up, she leaps into the air and squeals. Then she runs at us and tackles me, knocking me straight to the ground. If you want to know what’s the happiest pain you’ll ever experience, get shoved onto concrete by a ten-year-old hugging you too hard. It’ll help you realize what the best things in life truly are.

“You two worked everything out?” Suzonne asks Will. She’s looking very happy with the situation. For the first time in what feels like a long time, I let out a sigh of relief.

“What do you want to do now?” I ask Amelia as I help us both up off the ground. “It’s your night, after all.”

She screws up her face, thinking hard. Then her eyes brighten. “Pie!”

Shit, what’ll Suzonne say to that?

All eyes turn, even D’Andrei’s. He’s rubbing her shoulders, clearly knowing what’s at stake here. Her brow falls, and her mouth screws up.

Aw, crap. She’s going to vegan the hell out of this, isn’t she?

Then, like a miracle, her expression clears. “Sounds good. Can you have her home by eleven?” she asks Will.

Pie! Suzonne’s letting us have pie! It’s like the sun bursting out from behind the clouds, only way more delicious.

“Will do. See you later,” he says, giving her a friendly nod. As Suzonne and her husband-to-be walk back to their car, Amelia leaps into Will’s arms.

“I want apple,” she declares. I pick up her makeup case, and we head for the street.

Truly, this is a kid after my own heart.