CHAPTER 40

Why was she so nervous? They were just parents. Yes, one of them was Malcolm O’Neil, but that shouldn’t make her tummy flutter or her palms sweat.

“Are you okay?” Brian asked.

“Fine,” she squeaked.

“Don’t be nervous. They’ll love you.”

The mood backstage was more sedate than usual, with scarcely a scantily clad woman to be found. Brian opened the dressing room door and ushered Myrna inside. The instant Brian stepped into the room, a stunning woman grabbed him in a crushing hug and kissed him square on the mouth.

“Excuse me,” Myrna said crossly.

“Mom,” Brian gasped. “Can’t breathe.”

“I don’t see you for two months and you greet me with ‘can’t breathe’?”

He gave his mom a hug that lifted her feet off the ground. She laughed.

“Put your mother down,” a deep voice said behind Myrna.

She turned and looked up at Malcolm O’Neil. Her heart did a somersault in her chest. She’d been afraid of this. She gaped up at him like a fish out of water —her throat trying to produce sounds, her mouth openi