Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

IT WAS OPENING night of Guys and Dolls , and Donna loved the looks she got driving around town in her wig cap and stage makeup. Double-takes, surprised faces, visible laughter, confused scowls. She pulled into the back parking lot of Majestic Theater, driving Kermit, the well-loved green hatchback her parents allowed her to use until she got her own car—or until the next sister in line needed it, whichever came first.

She parked between Trynn Gentry's lavender Mini Cooper, with its "DRAMAQN" license plates, which Donna found comically accurate, and Nick Baker's sporty black coupe. Nick was playing Nathan Detroit, the love interest of Trynn's character, Adelaide. He was also Donna's current crush. She suspected the feeling was mutual, but she had an iron-clad rule against backstage romances—until approximately 30 seconds after curtain call on closing night. She'd seen it end badly too many times. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the slow burn of temporarily forbidden romance, the stolen glances during rehearsals (and even performances), and the rush of exhilaration when she and her crush were finally free to date. So what if all of her previous intra-cast relationships had fizzled out within weeks of the play ending? That didn't mean this one would.

Rushing inside to finish getting ready, Donna heard Trynn's vocal warm-ups ringing out easily above the fray. The girl had pipes. And she somehow managed to exercise them even while having her make-up done in front of a full-length, lighted mirror she had brought from home.

Given the semi-professional status of the theater, most of the cast members did their own makeup before arriving backstage. But not Trynn. She brought Renaldo, whom she introduced as an old high school friend and "makeup artist to the stars," to paint her beautiful face in full view of the cast. Several of the other Hot Box Girls were gathered around, watching the master work.

Basking in the attention, Trynn closed her eyes and lifted her chin while Renaldo misted her with setting spray, then she smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

Donna skirted around the group to slip into her first costume, a pink gingham mini dress with puffed sleeves and ruffled bloomers. Trynn sauntered over in her silk robe. She'd been making the rounds, personally addressing each member of the cast, as though it were her royal duty.

"Donna, isn't it?" Trynn said. "I have to tell you that I love your confidence in that costume."

"This one's my favorite," Donna said, choosing not to respond to the backhanded compliment. And she found Trynn's comment odd, since this was the least revealing of her four costume changes.

"And your makeup looks great," Trynn said. "Did you do it yourself?"

"Always," Donna replied,

"I wish I had the time," Trynn sighed, expertly turning the subject back to herself. "Luckily, Renaldo always comes to my rescue. Did you know he toured with J.Lo last year?"

"Yes, I think I heard that," Donna replied, heroically refraining from rolling her eyes. She had a feeling Trynn was angling for praise, so she didn't offer any.

Turning to the nearby mirror, Trynn checked her lipstick while Donna worked on securing her bubble-gum pink wig.

"So, who's coming to see you tonight?" Trynn asked.

"Nobody," Donna said. "I never let anyone come on opening night." She didn't feel the need to mention that her family would comprise roughly half of the audience at tomorrow night's show.

"How sad!" Trynn said. "My parents are already here, saving a seat for Jack. Middle of the second row. He's coming right from a study group. I hope he's not late! Big test tomorrow. He's in med school, you know."

"Uh huh," Donna said. Of course she knew. Who didn't? When she wasn't talking about herself, Trynn's favorite topic of conversation was her newlywed husband, the future doctor.

"It's so hard," Trynn said. "We never see each other. Can you believe he almost suggested missing opening night, just because of a silly old test tomorrow?"

That sounded just fine to Donna. She preferred having the show all to herself for one night, a chance to work out the kinks and build her confidence before there was anyone she really cared about in the audience.

"Good thing he's such a hottie," Trynn said. "Makes it easy to forgive him for how much he neglects me. I'll bring him backstage and introduce him to everyone after the show."

"Looking forward to it," Donna said, and she actually meant it. She was curious about the kind of man who would voluntarily entangle himself with Trynn Gentry for life. Donna was not unaccustomed to diva personalities, but Trynn took things to a new level, especially for a small, local theater.

Just then, Nick passed behind Trynn in his purple plaid zoot suit and fake mustache. He bowed mockingly low to his leading lady, and when Trynn spun around, he pretended to be tying his shoe. Donna bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"I see you there, Nathan Detroit," Trynn said in her character's nasally, high-pitched, New York baby voice and flounced off.

Nick grinned at Donna while she pinned on her wig. He had a wide, infectious smile that reminded her of a young Taye Diggs, but with a full head of hair.

"I still think you'd have made a great Adelaide," he said, for the dozenth time.

"But there's such great dramatic tension between you two," she teased, catching his dark eyes in the mirror.

"She is fun to fight with," he acknowledged. "But I think I'd have more fun with you in the finale."

"Oh, Nathan," Donna said in an accent of her own, batting her eyelashes at him. He'd been referring to the wedding scene, where Nathan and Adelaide share a quick kiss. Donna had to admit she wouldn't mind that either.

"Break a leg, Donna," he said, reaching up to tame a stray curl from her wig.

"You too," Donna said warmly, wondering if the butterflies in her stomach were coming from the upcoming performance or from flirting with Nick.

Opening night went off with only a few hitches. Donna's hat fell off during "Bushel and a Peck," Nicely Nicely's microphone kept cutting out, and Trynn was half-a-beat late for "Take Back Your Mink." She'd been texting her mother backstage to wake up Jack, afraid he would miss her best solo.

It was a wonder Trynn got through the performance at all, given how focused she was on the center of the second row. Her obsessive attention drew Donna's eyes more than a few times to the slumped man sitting next to a petite brunette—the spitting image of Trynn in 25 years—and her silver-haired companion, who must be Trynn's father.

So this was the soon-to-be Doctor Gentry. He didn't look so hot from this angle. The man couldn't even sit up straight for the opening night of his newlywed wife's play? Donna involuntarily made eye contact with him once or twice, a jarring experience, since she typically looks no lower than the audience's foreheads. And of course, she happened to be wiggling suggestively one of the times, which did nothing to ease his furrowed brow as it traveled from one Hot Box Girl to another. Was he bored? Sizing them up? Comparing them to his precious wife? Donna bristled at his nerve.

Majestic Theater had a long-standing tradition of hosting a cast meet-and-greet in the lobby after curtain call. At least half of the actors, especially the leads, were expected to mingle in the lobby for a few minutes in full costume, so the audience could get autographs on their playbills and pictures with their favorites. It was always complete chaos.

Trynn pranced through the crowd, towing her reluctant husband by the hand. Donna thought the two of them were the living embodiment of "opposites attract." While Trynn's demeanor was charismatic and engaging, his was aloof, almost standoffish. She had a petite and pixie-like frame, with raven-black hair (under her blonde Adelaide wig) and flashing green eyes, whereas he was tall and angular, with a strong jaw, reddish-brown hair and eyes so tired they seemed almost dazed.

The Hot Box Girls were a particular attraction, especially for certain men who wanted their picture taken standing in the middle of a crowd of glittering showgirls. Donna couldn't blame them. The final costume was a stunner: a silver bustier-style top with short shorts, a giant bow tied like a bustle at the back, fishnet stockings, and feather boas the same shade of baby pink as their wigs.

Trynn pulled her husband over, cutting in front of the line of waiting fans.

"Everyone, this is Jack," Trynn announced, her manicured fingers gripping his lower bicep. "He adored the show, except when he fell asleep right before my solo, but he's so cute that I think I'll forgive him."

The girls laughed dutifully as Jack smiled down at his wife, the warmth not quite reaching his eyes. He either thought himself above this kind of thing, or he didn't like being put in the spotlight, Donna couldn't tell which. If it was the latter, they'd be a perfect match, since Trynn never left room in her spotlight for anyone else.

"I need a picture of me and my real love interest, with my awesome backup dancers," Trynn announced, waving her mother forward, who had a camera around her neck.

Trynn positioned Jack in the middle of the girls.

"I know!" Trynn said. "Jack, pick me up, and then I want all of you girls looking at Jack like you're jealous."

Donna was always game for a fun staged photo, but Jack didn't seem particularly into this idea. She heard his reluctant sigh, even if Trynn didn't. The theater photographer scurried over when he saw the set up.

"Oh, I love this," he said. "A regular audience member surrounded by all the beauties in the cast. This could be good for publicity. Can I get a few like this too?"

Trynn's mom stepped out of the way, and he arranged and rearranged them.

"Thank you for being a good sport, sir," the photographer said to Jack, who silently nodded. Donna caught another sigh, but he seemed to be resigned to his fate. "Could I get one with you looking directly at the camera, sir, with two of the girls kissing you on the cheek? How about you and…you."

He pointed at Donna and Monica.

Trynn visibly pouted then interjected.

"Can't I be in this one? He's my husband."

"Oh, of course! I didn't realize that," the photographer said, waving Monica away. "You're a bit too tall, sir, so I'll need you to crouch down. That's great."

Trynn was several inches shorter than Donna, so Jack crouched low enough for both of them to reach. Donna placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned toward his angular jaw, pursing her bright-red lips millimeters from his stubbly cheek. He smelled good. Like fresh linen and spearmint.

"Okay, Pinkie, I need you to actually kiss him," the photographer said from behind the camera.

Donna closed the gap—and felt a static shock zap her lips at the moment of contact.

"Ouch!" Donna said, laughing.

Jack rubbed his cheek, turning toward Donna with a wry smile. Now Donna could see some of the appeal. He had the kind of eyes you could drown in—clear, blue, and bottomless.

"Careful," he said, glancing down at her mouth. "That's a dangerous weapon you've got there."

For once in her life, Donna was speechless.

Trynn made a demand on Jack's attention, so he turned back to her.

The photographer was delighted at the lipstick smudges they left behind.

"Okay, now I want both of you to pull on his arms, like you're fighting over him," he said.

Donna obliged, feeling pretty certain that if this was a test of strength, she'd overpower Trynn easily.

Jack finally relaxed and started playing along.

"Thank you sir," the photographer said. "These are gold. Could I get you to sign a release?"

"Of course he will," Trynn answered for him.

Then Trynn pulled Jack away, and the next man in line stepped up to take a picture with the showgirls, in hopes of making his wife or girlfriend jealous.

Donna smiled for picture after picture, looking forward to the moment she could slip away in search of Nick. Just to congratulate him on his performance, of course. Definitely not to set the wheels in motion for their first date. She'd never let such things sully the sanctity of the production.

Their second performance went much smoother. Trynn seemed more at ease, probably because Jack was conspicuously absent from the second row, where Trynn's adoring parents sat in their same center seats. Unbeknownst to Trynn, her mom and dad were surrounded on all sides by Donna's multitudinous relatives. Trynn clearly mistook the Gable family's over-the-top cheering to be in her own honor, since Donna was never in any scene that didn't also include Trynn. Donna didn't bother to correct her impression.

At the post-show meet and greet, Cat was the first to race up to Donna, with Grace and Ginger in tow. Trynn glanced over and did a double-take.

"Catharine! How did you even know I was in this show? How nice of you to come backstage."

"Hi Trinity," Cat said with her characteristic warmth. "I actually didn't. Donna's my sister."

"You two know each other?" Donna blurted.

Trynn looked Donna up and down, then did the same to Cat, and her thoughts were written all over her face. Donna caught a flash of pity behind her smile.

"Trinity and I took violin from the same teacher in high school," Cat explained, while Grace and Ginger dared each other to go talk to Sky Masterson, who was played by an actor they recognized from an Old Navy commercial.

"Actually it's Trynn now. Trynn Gentry," she said, flashing her left hand at Cat, which she must have forgotten was still adorned with the fake wedding ring Nathan Detroit gave her in the finale. Then she noticed Cat's ring, and her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, you got married too!"

"Just engaged," Cat said, a dreamy gleam in her eye.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Trynn said. "The minute you get married, they forget you exist. Unless you're lucky enough to have a husband who's not in medical school."

"I'll count myself lucky then," Cat said. "Congrats to you, though. How long have you been married?"

"Just since July," Trynn said. "In hindsight, maybe we should have waited until he graduated. But you know how it goes when you're in love."

Cat did know.

Donna only wished she did.

"So," Trynn said. "Tell me about your guy."

"He's like, impossibly good looking," Donna jumped in, knowing Cat was too modest to brag. And she felt like showing Trynn up, just a little, since Liam was objectively more attractive—and probably more alert—than her sleepy spouse. "You should see these two together. They're almost too beautiful to look at."

"Stop it," Cat swatted at Donna's arm.

Trynn shot Donna another look of pity. This time, Donna actually rolled her eyes, but Trynn had already turned back to Cat.

"Does he act or model?" Trynn asked. "My agent is looking to sign more men. She keeps bugging me to ask Jack, but he says no way."

"Liam would never," Cat said.

"But his brother does," Donna interjected, and Cat gave her an exasperated look.

"So, how did you two meet?" Trynn asked.

"At our sister's wedding. Liam is a childhood friend of our brother-in-law," Cat said.

"We have two brothers-in-law now," Donna reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Cat said. "I'm talking about our O.G. brother-in-law. Audrey's husband, Ty."

"He's a billionaire," Donna blurted, before she could stop herself. Listening to months of Trynn's bragging about Dr. McDreamy had warped Donna's sense of decorum.

"Your fiancé's a billionaire?" Trynn said, her eyes practically bugging out of her head.

"No," Cat said, elbowing Donna. "She means Audrey's husband. But he doesn't like anyone to know that."

"Why not?" Trynn asked. "Does he ever invest in film projects?"

"That's why," Donna muttered under her breath, then said more loudly, "You're right, Cat. I shouldn't have said anything."

But there was no going back now. Trynn had dollar signs in her eyes. And Donna was afraid she might have a new best friend.

"I still can't believe Cat is your sister!" Trynn said as they were getting ready for their next performance. "How did I never make this connection before? Besides the fact that you look nothing alike. That must be hard, though, right? Having a sister who looks like that ?"

"Nah, I'm used to it," Donna said, ignoring the slight pang she always felt when people were this incredulous that she could possibly be related to such a gorgeous creature. "Besides, I got all of the personality in the family."

"It's a good thing she doesn't sing too, or I'd really have to hate her," Trynn said, responding to her own thoughts instead of anything Donna said.

"Cat is a hard person to hate," Donna said. "She's too nice."

"You would know," Trynn said. "The sibling rivalry must be intense in your house, though."

"Honestly, it's not bad," Donna said. At least not on her part. Audrey and Betty were enough older, 10 and 8 years respectively, that they seemed more like benevolent aunts than big sisters. And not only was Cat genuinely nice, even to her siblings, she was also three years older than Donna. They hadn't attended the same school since Cat was in sixth grade and Donna was in third. Maybe Elizabeth and the twins were plagued by sisterly rivalry. She'd never thought to ask.

"So, tell me about Lavinia Westerbrook," Trynn said. "Isn't she related to your brother-in-law? Have you met her?"

"Of course," Donna said. "I was just talking to her on my way over here."

"Shut up!" Trynn said, shoving Donna entirely too hard. "I got so many ideas for my wedding from her blog. I would have flown us all to Italy if we weren't just poor students."

"Do you mean the Florence wedding?"

"You read about it too?"

"I was in it. That was Audrey's wedding to Ty."

"What the what? You have been holding out on me, girl!"

Donna jumped out of the way before Trynn could shove her again.

"Tell me everything," Trynn said

"I mean it's not a secret. When's the last time you read Lavinia's blog?"

"Oh gosh, it's been months."

"So you probably haven't seen my guest posts."

"Wait, you're the West Coast Wednesdays girl? I knew you looked familiar the first time I saw you! I just thought it was from past auditions or something."

Trynn scrutinized Donna anew, from head to toe.

"You do know how to dress," Trynn said. "I'll give you that."

"Uh, thanks," Donna said, not mistaking her underlying meaning. In other words, at least Donna could put an outfit together, to compensate for her other inadequacies.

Donna was the exact same person she had been before Trynn sussed out her connections, back when Donna was seen as one of many expendable "back-up dancers." She had done nothing to earn this new sense of respect now coming from Trynn, which was mixed with a hefty dose of jealousy. Donna was not accustomed to being envied by the likes of Trynn, and she wasn't any happier about it than Trynn appeared to be.

Donna's slow-simmering flirtation with Nick, aka Nathan Detroit, lasted all of four dates in a span of 14 days following the cast party. They found they had nothing in common beyond their shared love of the stage. And try as she might, Donna couldn't overlook Nick's horrid fashion sense. The man wore gym clothes at all times. She had assumed the sweats and t-shirts were for comfort during long rehearsals. But no. This was his everyday attire. Donna needed reasons to wear her Balenciaga and Valentino samples, while Nick was perpetually dressed for frisbee golf.

The final nail in the coffin was when she couldn't talk him into being part of a live studio audience for American Idol , one of her favorite guilty pleasures. It seemed he wasn't interested in any performances where he wasn't in the spotlight.

Thus, they parted ways amiably, and Donna endured some good-natured ribbing from her family about another cast-mate romance gone wrong. Which would have been fine, if the extended Gable family weren't in the midst of planning their second wedding this year—the third within the last two years. On top of that, Donna had attended two weddings for cousins, one on each side, and one elopement in Las Vegas for a high school friend in the last few months. The planning itself wasn't the problem—especially when Donna was called upon to help dress the wedding party. It was the loneliness and the perpetual limbo.

She'd spent more than a few evenings as the only singleton in the room, with Audrey and Ty, Betty and Gavin, and Cat and Liam in their individual love cocoons. She noticed the little things. A hand on the small of a back. A refilled drink without having to be asked. A casual kiss on the temple. Fingers unconsciously reaching out and intertwining. Eyes locking and sparking secret smiles. Feelings of contentment and wholeness that radiated from their very beings.

Sometimes they'd all go on group dates, and Donna would bring a friend or someone she was interested in, and the comparison alone was all it took to kill it stone dead. It was like bringing a glow stick to a bonfire and then trying to maintain interest in the glow stick.

Donna tried to be fair. Maybe each of her sisters' relationships had started out like glow sticks, and she just needed to be patient and put in the time and energy to grow the flame. But when she ran that theory past her sisters, they each shook their heads one by one. Audrey had felt an intense connection from her very first meeting with Ty. She said even their foreheads had chemistry. Betty had been nurturing a secret bonfire for Gavin since childhood; she'd just been really good at hiding it. And Cat's feelings for Liam started out as white-hot hatred. The intensity never diminished, it just gradually changed its nature, transforming into infatuation. And then admiration. And then devotion.

Donna had a front-row seat to this one, thanks to their shared apartment. And while she'd always liked Liam, he was growing on her more and more as the weeks went by. He was serious and cynical by nature, but Cat brought out his earnest side—and even a touch of silliness—which was sweet to see. And he had a dry sense of humor that had Donna frequently in stitches. He would make a worthy brother-in-law. If his only brother were more like him, she might have requested a setup, except for the inconvenient fact of him being entirely too beautiful—and Lavinia's ex, to boot.