a sound she hadn't heard before

twenty-one.

"Come on, let's play on the swings!" Ayla exclaims to the Reynolds girls as they're running around the backyard the next day. Taylor smiles, happy to see her daughter having fun. James, Inez, and Betty are all happy to get out of the city for the day, giving them some real space to run around and play.

"So, how has everything been going for you?" Blake asks, taking a sip of her tea as the adults sit on the patio, watching the kids from afar.

"It has been really great honestly," Taylor admits. "Our show is coming together so well. We are doing one final week of rehearsals before a week of shows for all of our investors and the big-wigs in the theatre scene. That'll determine if we are able to go right to Broadway or if we have to do an out-of-town tryout first. In that scenario, they're thinking we will do it at Papermill, which would be actually super convenient for me." Taylor laughs. "But fast tracking us to Broadway is the ideal scenario."

"We can't wait to see it when it opens up to the public," Ryan says. "We were telling the girls about it the other day and they thought that it was the coolest, too."

"I'd be honored to have you guys as my guests once we reach that step," Taylor smiles. She takes a deep breath. "There is one other thing I was wanting to tell you guys about..."

"What's that?" Blake asks.

Taylor hasn't really told anybody her news, short of Ayla, but she is thrilled to be able to tell her best friends what she is about to say. "It's super hush hush," Taylor says, "but I'm dating somebody."

Blake gasps. "Taylor! Oh, that's incredible. I'm so happy for you. What's his name? How did you meet?"

"His name is Joe. He's in the show... a cast member. He's just a really great guy and we kind of hit it off right away... even during his audition. And he is super talented and has this amazing voice. He started walking me back to my car after rehearsal every day and we would just chat, and I kind of felt like I might like him but I didn't want to scare him so I never said anything. Eventually, though, he asked if he could take me  to dinner and I said yes." Taylor pauses. "Honestly, I say I didn't want to scare him away, but really, I didn't want to scare myself either. Admitting that I had feelings for him was the hardest thing, especially after everything that happened in my last relationship."

Blake and Ryan nod. While Ryan knows a lot of it, Blake is really the only person in the whole world who knows the full story of what happened with Ayla's father, including the events of the little girl's first birthday. They were both there to witness that, and Taylor is pretty sure that without Blake, somebody at that party might not have survived the afternoon. She was just amazing, taking charge to keep everybody safe.

"I understand completely, but not every guy is like him. He was... absolutely insane, Taylor. I still think you should've pressed charges," Blake says. "If this guy is as great as you're saying he is, then he'll be good for you. Exactly what you need. I can tell by the way that you're smiling that you're really happy, T. Will we get to meet him at some point?"

Taylor bites her lip. "I'm not sure. He hasn't even met Ayla yet, not properly. He will meet her for the first time this week. We aren't telling anybody except for extremely close friends and family. We don't want the company to know, and we certainly don't want the press to know. I haven't even told my parents yet. You're the only ones."

"Well, your secret is certainly safe," Ryan says. "I hope someday, we will get to meet this guy, because like Blake said, he sounds great. But you have to take your relationship at your own speed."

Blake laughs. "The first time Ryan and I went out, we were on a double date with other people. We didn't even realize... it was so awkward for our other dates."