So, needless to say, I was surprised that he’d followed through with helping me out by paying the taxes.

I’ve been working my ass off ever since then to save the money to pay him back. I have around two thousand dollars saved, and I will pay him back every penny . . . once I figure out how to get in contact with him, that is.

It’s been a little over five weeks since I last saw Ace in person. Sure, I’ve seen him from time to time like the rest of America on the covers of tabloid magazines and on television when Linda Bronson updates her viewers on Ace’s comeback. He never mentions me willingly. If my name is ever brought up in an interview, he refuses to comment, so I figure he’s still hurt that I wouldn’t leave with him.

“Are you nearly ready?” Darcy, my roommate, asks.

“Yes,” I tell her as I finish the last coat of my mascara. “Let’s go.”

Darcy pulls her dark, curly hair into a ponytail, showing off her slender neck and perfectly round face, before grabbing her purse.

I follow her out the door and wait on her to lock up before we head to the elevator.

I met Darcy nearly a year ago when I first moved into the city. She and I worked together at Flows and immediately hit it off. Like me, Darcy moved here to make it in theater, but her dream is to be a prima ballerina. When I decided it was time to come back to New York, she was the first person I called, and I have been crashing on her couch for the last two weeks.

I was ecstatic to get my old waitressing job back here at Flows. That place was like a second home to me, so I am grateful for the familiarity. Everything fell back into place just as it was a few months ago, and it’s like I never left.

I pick at my nails, noticing I desperately need a manicure, but am determined to save every penny until Ace gets his money back.

“How’d your audition go yesterday?” I ask Darcy as we walk down the busy street on the way to work.

She shrugs. “They didn’t seem superenthused by me, so I doubt I’ll get a callback.”

I nudge her shoulder with mine. “Don’t be such a negative ninny. I’m sure you did fantastic.”

“This is a tough, tough city to catch a break in. It’s hard to always keep positive.” She turns toward me. “Speaking of positive, are you ready for tomorrow?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. I’m ready to get back in the audition saddle. I think I’ve picked up a few new tricks over the last few months that will really help.”

Darcy smiles at me knowingly. “Are we talking about the tips that a certain beautiful rock star gave you about connecting to the crowd?”

I blush and tuck a stray lock of hair from my ponytail behind my ear. “Yeah. He really helped me open up.”

She laughs. “I bet he did.”

I laugh too, but deep down, the overwhelming sadness that exists in my heart curls its way up into my chest. It hurts that I haven’t heard from him. After everything we went through—the things we said and the promises we made to each other—I thought I meant more to him. I figured it might be a few days before I heard from him, but when it turned to weeks, I had to reach out to him through the media because I had to apologize.

The final strike to my heart was when he resurfaced in the public eye and didn’t make an attempt to contact me. That was when I began to doubt if what we shared was even real.

“He still hasn’t called you?” Darcy asks when she notices my sudden silence.

My lips pull into a tight line. “No.”

She grabs my hand. “If he’s as smart as you say, then he will, because he would be stupid to let someone as great as you slip through his fingers.”

“Thank you,” I whisper and squeeze her hand. “Sometimes it’s easy to give up hope that he ever really loved me.”

The rest of the day I busy myself taking orders and serving up some of the best burgers that New York has to offer. Flows is a block away from Times Square, so we’re always hopping and we’re always open. The tourists flood in here, and we’re even busier than normal since one of those food television shows featured us as having one of the best burgers in the United States. So it’s easy to block out the nagging heartbreak that’s always on my mind while I’m here.

“Your order is up, Iris,” Jason calls from the kitchen.

I smile at the tall, good-looking cook as he slides my cheeseburger platters toward me through the opening in the wall. His magnetic blue eyes sparkle, appearing even lighter today against his dark hair and tan complexion. Jason, like most of us working here, has come to the city to make it in show business. He’s got the looks to make it for sure, but his voice—that’s what he’s been working on polishing since I met him last year.

“Thanks, Jason.” I set the plates on my tray.

“Iris, I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me and a couple friends tonight.”

I frown. “Oh, I don’t—”

He holds his hands up and smiles. “No pressure. I just thought you’ve looked sad lately and I wanted to cheer you up. You can totally bring Darcy along, and we’ll go out for a late dinner and just hang out.”

“Did I just hear my name?” Darcy asks as she slides up next to me and throws a flirty smile in Jason’s direction.

“I was just inviting you and Iris to come hang out with me and a couple of my buddies tonight.” He shoots her a heart-stopping smile and her cheeks noticeably redden.