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“What’s going on between you and Nathan?” Sophia asks. Her tone is more suspicious than curious.

“Just some workplace bickering,” I reply with a shrug. “I hope you’re right about him, Lucas. Otherwise, I’ll need toturn on my charm just so we aren’t snapping at each other like overworked stagehands.”

I say it as a joke, but Sophia’s eyes narrow dangerously in my direction before flicking over to Nathan. Maybe I’m totally making things up, but she almost seems…jealous. I half smirk at the ridiculousness of the idea, but her expression only darkens more.

“I’m going to see if Nathan needs anything,” she says to the group, and saunters back over to him. He gives her a sappy grin as soon as he sees her, and she leans close to read what’s on the iPad. So close that her chest is pressed up against his arm. He starts chattering away, so different from how he acted around me earlier, and she meets my gaze with a little jut of her chin.

I take a step back. Um, what just happened? She might as well have peed on Nathan to mark her territory. Not that I’m sniffing around—she’s welcome to him and everything else in this place—but that was still really weird. Thankfully, Dad calls me to the front and I’m spared from any further interaction.

I spend the rest of the night at the register, humming theWaitresssoundtrack and taking notes on every musical I can find. As much as I love musical theater, there are a lot of variables I hadn’t considered when putting on a production, like the number of male versus female leads, the level of dancing required, the licensing fees for each one…The list goes on and on. A weaker person might give up, but I’m determined to figure this out.

The store closes at nine, but it’s not until eight-fiftythat people start leaving the back room. Lucas, John, and Anthony all come out huddled together.

“But the rule as written means that it should work against kobolds,” John says. “Based on the spell description—”

“Riley!”Lucas calls. I get the impression that he’s less excited about seeing me and more excited about getting away from John. “Did you have a good rest of the night?”

“Yes, very quiet. Exactly how I like it.”

“Your night sounds better than watching Nathan stare at Sophia the whole time.” Anthony rolls his eyes and leans against the counter. “I should have hung out up here.”

Lucas gestures behind him to Nathan, who is at the doorway to the back room and glued to Sophia’s side. “He’s got to give it up.”

“It’s embarrassing,” John says matter-of-factly. “And it’s ruining the game.”

Nathan is a manic ball of energy next to her, messing with his clothes, standing too close, smiling and nodding comically. Actually, I need to study this in case I’m ever directing an actor on how to behave like a lovesick fool. Sophia, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. She keeps looking at the door and checking her phone while he talks.

“It’s pretty bad, huh?” I ask.

They all nod in unison.

“When did it start?”

Lucas and Anthony exchange a glance. “Beginning of the year,” Anthony says. “Sophia came in looking for dice and Nathan was immediately hooked.”

“It was hard to blame him at first,” Lucas adds. “There aren’t many girls our age who hang out here.”

“Uh, no, it was easy to blame him, and I continue to do so,” John says with zero hesitation. “He’s acting like a fool.”

“Nathan invited her to D&D when we started our latest campaign four months ago, and that’s when it ramped up,” Lucas says. “I wish he’d accept that it’s never happening and move on instead of torturing himself.”

“And the rest of us,” John adds.

“You think she’sthatfar out of his league?” I ask.

“It’s just the way she is. Sophia only wants what she can’t have. Which is why”—Nathan and Sophia walk up to us and Lucas switches midsentence—“I think the half orc cleric would be the best lawyer,” he says with a flourish.

Anthony nods vigorously. “Can’t argue with that.”

“You’re all the worst,” John mutters.

I muffle a laugh. Mental note—if I manage to get this musical back on course, I’m definitelynotasking these guys to audition for roles. They’re horrible actors.

Chapter Four

Thursday night I get a reprieve from the store because Mom and I are having a girls’ night. I was worried she might cancel this one as another form of punishment, but we both love them too much to give them up. I wish we could do them every night—so much candy, the softest pj’s, and a musical that’s bound to make me laugh and cry.

She walks out of the kitchen with a big bowl of buttery popcorn. “What should we watch tonight? MaybeWest Side Story?”