Center Stage
Page 21

Renovation started on the theater the following Monday. Arianna was on site with Starbucks in hand by six o’clock.
Zach climbed out of his car and walked toward her. “Just a little excited?”
“You have no idea.” She turned to him. “I still can’t believe you all did this.”
“That’s what family is all about.”
“You’re right. And I’m going to make sure you all get a good return for your investment.”
Zach put his arm around her shoulders. “We already have.” Arianna shifted to look at him, and he smiled. “You’re here with us.”
His words squeezed at her heart. “Thank you.”
“Regan hasn’t been this happy in a long time. Even though she hasn’t had a lot of time to spend with you, she’s whole now that you’re near.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think you and the boys make her life whole.”
“I’d like to think so,” he said as he shifted and crossed his arms. “But no matter what, it’s always been you two. That makes a difference.”
She knew he was right. The Keller family’s strength was in its members. And Arianna drew her strength from her brothers and her sister—and now from John.
Arianna remained on the curb even after Zach went inside the theater. There was an amazing feeling which had taken over in her. She’d never understood the connection her sister had to Zach, Carlos to Madeline, or Curtis to Simone. It was nice to watch, but she didn’t understand it—until now.
It was going to the extreme for the other person. Zach could have made millions building with Alexander Hamilton, but Regan was more important. Carlos’s pride had lost him Madeline once, but even marriage to someone else couldn’t keep them apart. Then there was Simone who gave up the life she knew to have an ordinary life with the man she loved.
Arianna had always been content thinking that true love would never happen for her. Thank goodness she’d been wrong.
John walked out the front doors of the theater. “I heard there was a beautiful woman out here just standing on the street.”
“And I knew if I stood here long enough, a handsome construction worker would walk out.”
He walked down the steps. When he reached her, he kissed her gently on the lips. “You know, it’ll be weeks before there is even anything you can do here. No need for you to hang around all day.”
“I haven’t decided if I want to just be here—to be near it. Or if it’s you I want to be near.”
He pulled her into his arms. “You make it very hard to get any work done.”
Arianna let out a deep sigh. “I suppose Simone could use some company.”
“Avery probably needs some spoiling.”
“I’m an expert at that.”
He kissed her again. “Yes, you are.”
Arianna was sure Avery had gained at least five pounds since she’d last held her. And perhaps she had. Simone wasn’t as quick to hand over Avery as Regan was with Spencer.
“Will you go back to work at the clinic when Avery is a little older?”
“Does it seem silly that I want to?”
“Why would that seem silly?”
“I never would have thought I, of all people, would want to work. But I enjoy my work. I enjoy helping people.”
Arianna smiled. Her future sister-in-law certainly had been humbled.
Simone rocked back on the couch and clasped her hands in her lap. “You do not mind if I ask you a question, do you?”
“Certainly not.”
Simone looked down at the ring on her finger, which Curtis had given her, and then back up at Arianna. “You have not had any more phone calls or text messages, have you?”
“Not since the night we all met and discussed it. Why?”
Simone pressed her lips together and then let out a breath. “I made some phone calls. Alexander Hamilton divorced last year. His wife pressed abuse charges against him.”
“Bastard.”
“She is very well off. Her family is worth billions.”
“Which is why he tried to murder Regan.” She shook her head. It still hurt to think of what he’d done to her sister.
“Anyway, she left him and he has nothing. His fortune, which he had earned prior to his marriage to her, is gone and now his wife has taken her money.”
“And I’m his connection to Regan. What does he want? Revenge?”
“I would assume that is his thought. The man is crazy. I am sure you have met him.”
Arianna shook her head. “Only Curtis ever saw the man. I didn’t know who he was until he came to the theater in New York.” There was more. So much more, but she hadn’t even told John about it. She wasn’t going to bring it up to Simone.
“He is very dangerous. I hope he just goes away.”
So did Arianna.
As hard as John tried, he couldn’t keep Arianna away. She was there every morning with her Starbucks for at least an hour to see what was going on.
By two o’clock in the afternoon, John was checking back in on the other build, and by four, he was seated in Zach’s office.
“The stage is torn out right now. They should have that put back together in the next week, and the entire interior has been gutted. Time to rebuild,” he told Zach.
“Regan says Arianna already has been acquiring some contacts.”
“I don’t know what she’s up to, but she’s one busy woman.”
Zach nodded. “Regan would like to have Arianna’s birthday party at the theater. A surprise party, if we can manage it.”
“You think Regan can keep a secret from Arianna?”
Zach laughed. “She wants to try.”
John closed his notebook with all of his lists and clasped his hands atop it. “When is the birthday exactly?”
“Four weeks.”
“Stage will be done, but the theater isn’t going to look pretty.”
“She knows, but have you ever tried to reason with Regan.”
This time John laughed. Yes he had, and there was no reason to even try to change her mind. “I’ll make sure the facilities are in order for guests to use and the stage is done so that we can set up tables and chairs. The theater seats go in last. That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No. Just the stage. That’s where Regan wants to entertain.”