A Forever Kind of Love by Nora Roberts
Epilogue
BROADWAY RHYTHM
By Angela Browning
After last night’s wildly successful opening of First, Last and Always, starring the luminous Maddy O’Hurley and the delicious Jason Craig, there’s no doubt about these two stellar performers’ niche on the Great White Way. The audience, including yours truly, adored them from the dynamic, colorful opening scene to the wryly romantic closing number. Miss O’Hurley in particular proved her range and scope in her captivating portrayal of Caroline from quirky ingenue to mature woman.
While these two stars and the inspired supporting cast lit up the stage, it was the music that drove the production. Take it from me—as of last night, Broadway has two new darlings. The team of Nicholas LeBeck and Frederica Kimball have created a score that soared and dipped, that raised the roof and touched the heart. Believe me, there were few dry eyes in the house last night when the two leads reprised the haunting “It Was Ever You.” Notes and lyrics are certainly the heartbeat of any musical, and this heart pumped with fresh energy and spirit. Mr. LeBeck’s debut score for Last Stop earned him rave reviews, and sang with potential. With First, Last and Always he’s proven himself.
His partner is every bit his match. Miss Kimball’s lyrics range from the gently poetic to the smugly cynical to the brashly funny, slipping so truly into LeBeck’s notes that it’s not possible to tell which came first. Like all great collaborations, this one appears seamless.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that the team of LeBeck and Kimball are not only musical partners, but newlyweds. Married only three months, the bride and groom had plenty of reason to smile after last night’s smash opening. I, for one, wish them a long, happy and productive partnership.
“How many times are you going to read that?”
Freddie sighed. She sat cross-legged in the middle of the rumpled bed, copies of all the early reviews spread around her. And over Nick. Her hair had long since fallen out of the sophisticated twist she’d worn to the opening. The sleek black gown she’d spent days shopping for was tossed carelessly on the floor—where it had landed when Nick peeled it off of her.
They’d come in giggling sometime past dawn, high on celebratory champagne, success and healthy lust.
“It was wonderful.”
He grinned. “Thanks.”
With a laugh, she swatted him with the newspaper and watched her wedding ring glint in the sunlight that streamed through the window. It still gave her a wonderful jolt to see it on her finger. “Not that—but that wasn’t bad, either. The night,” she said, closing her eyes to bring it all back. “The crowds, the people, the lights and music. The applause. God, I loved the applause. Remember how people stood up and cheered at the end of ‘I’m Leaving You First’?”
He folded his arms behind his head and continued to grin. She looked so cute, so pretty, sitting there in one of his T-shirts, her hair curling everywhere, her eyes glowing.
She looked so...his.
“Did they? I didn’t notice.”
“Sure. That’s why you broke all the fingers in my hand squeezing it.”
“I was just trying to keep you from leaping on stage and taking a bow.”
“I felt like it,” Freddie admitted. “I wanted to jump up and dance. They loved it, Nick. They loved what we made together.”
“So did I. I loved sitting front-row center and hearing what we created over the bar on my old piano. And remembering what happened to us while we wrote the words and music.”
She laid a hand over his, linked fingers. “It was the most exciting time of my life. And last night just made it all the more special. Everyone looked so wonderful. All the family. It was almost like our wedding day, with everyone dressed up and beaming. And you were almost as nervous.”
“You were every bit as beautiful.” Nick watched her color come up, her smile spread. She wasn’t used to him remembering to tell her, he knew, or being able to say it so easily. “Mrs. LeBeck.” He sat up to comb his fingers through her hair, to meet her mouth with his. “I love you.”
“Nick.” She pressed her cheek to his and held tight. “It’s all so perfect. I knew it would be if I waited long enough. And somehow I know it’s only going to get better. We’re a team.”
“And we’re a hit. LeBeck and Kimball. Broadway’s new darlings.”
She chuckled, then nuzzled his neck. “You read it this time.”
His hands had already slipped under the T-shirt. “Now?”
“After,” she murmured, then with a laugh, rolled over the rave reviews with him.