Backstage Romance: An Austen-Inspired Romantic Comedy Box Set by Gigi Blume (ebook reader with highlighter txt) 📕

that was part of what made him endearing. He was more handsome in person than on screen, if that can be believed. His oomph, however, had little to do with his hot looks and everything to do with his essence of spirit. It was the same mojo that attracted go-go dancers to Austen Powers or Jessica Rabbit to Roger Rabbit. Frank was funny. But what made him even more interesting (and truthfully, I was baffled by this) was that he never told any jokes. He just was who he was and that was enough. All he had to do was exist. But the other interesting thing I discovered was this: while he was super friendly with pretty much everyone, he avoided Jennifer. This was probably not obvious to anyone but me—like I said, I had a talent. When I casually asked Jennifer what she thought of Frank, all she gave me were short, polite replies. “His movies are popular” or “The internet loves him” was all the opinion she offered. I was so suspicious of her reserved, cautious responses, I took the opportunity to conspire with Frank when he sat next to me at the restaurant. Jennifer and Jaxson took the other end of a long table, so I felt I could speak freely with Frank without being overheard. Still, I chose to whisper in his ear just in case.

“Your scene with Jennifer went well today. We’ve all been rehearsing the past two weeks, and you lot knock it out of the park on your first go.”

He inched closer, wagging his brows. “Is that a compliment, Emma? I’m honoured.”

I shrugged, batting my eyes. “I give credit where credit is due. Don’t you think Jennifer is doing brilliantly?”

His lip twitched, just a little bit, and he stole a quick glance her way before saying, “She’s good for a reality star, I guess.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” I exclaimed, perhaps a tad more energetically than I’d intended. Then lowering my voice, I added, “I mean, I’ve never seen her show, so I wouldn’t know. Have you… seen her show?”

He chuckled inwardly. “I was a guest star.”

“You were on The Real Teens of Belshore High?”

He shook his head. “No. The spin-off show when everyone went to college. I was in the glee club episode.”

“Never heard of it,” I admitted.

He took a long pull of his margarita. “Nobody’s heard of it. The show tanked. But for some reason, the producer keeps trying to resurrect it. Are you familiar with Northanger Pictures?”

“Ugh. Say no more. I’ve met Morgan and Clay Tilney and know all about Northanger’s reputation.”

If there was an expression that meant the opposite of The Midas Touch, it would be attributed to Northanger Pictures. Every project that company worked on went down the pooper.

A sly grin played on Frank’s lips, and his voice dipped to a conspiring tone. “Well, rumour has it, Jennifer’s in a clandestine affair with the show’s bad boy, Dixon Reid.”

“No, really?” This was so juicy, I couldn’t resist. Also, I loved Frank’s big vocabulary. Clandestine affair indeed. “What makes this guy the show’s bad boy?”

“The usual. Bar fights, motorcycle racing, bad attitude. But get this: he’s married to soap star, Chloe Montague.”

“Oh!” I gasped. “That is quite a delicious bit of gossip.”

“Right? And even though the show’s been cancelled, it still has a life on the internet, and Jennifer’s current liaison with Dixon brings in lots of views.”

Blimey. I was never so grateful to be a single pringle than I was in that moment. I would hate to be in the centre of a gossip scandal.

“So, why did you guest star? Isn’t it a reality show?”

“Hah. Everyone knows those shows are scripted. Anyway, I played myself; judging the singing contest.”

“Was Jennifer a singer in the contest?”

“She was. And I’m pretty sure she holds a grudge against me for cutting her act.”

“You’re kidding.” That explained a lot. “Didn’t you just say the show was scripted?”

“Yeah. But Jennifer’s a little princess. Why do you think I gave her the nickname Queenie?”

I had heard him call her that after they did their scene earlier, but I didn’t think anything of it. To be honest, Jennifer wasn’t my favourite person, but I never considered her quite the rotter. This put things in a whole new perspective and made the slight against Beth even more infuriating.

The conversation shifted after that when I asked Frank what the name of the show was, he replied too loudly, “The Shore.” Not to be confused with Jersey Shore. When Morris overheard this, he exclaimed that The Shore was his wife’s guilty pleasure, and he’d seen almost every episode with her just to keep her company while she watched.

“When I told my wife you and Jennifer were both in this film, she had a jumping fit,” he admitted to Frank. “She made me promise I’d get a selfie with you both.”

“I’ll do you better,” said Frank. “How about a video of Jennifer and me saying hello to your wife?”

“You’d do that?”

“Sure.” Frank stood and made his way to the other end of the table where Jennifer was in mid-conversation with Jaxson. Honestly, I didn’t understand why Morris couldn’t just wait until the next time his wife came for a visit, so she could take her own selfie.

Americans.

On the other hand, Jennifer’s reaction when Frank posed next to her was priceless. Her body tightened when he touched her shoulder and then her jaw clenched when he held out his phone in selfie mode. Frank took a couple of photos before Morris popped over Jennifer’s other shoulder. This time, they took some shots of the three of them on Morris’ phone, and Jennifer gave an eerily accurate portrayal of the Mona Lisa. Morris’ wife would just love it.

I watched surreptitiously while Frank explained the video he wanted to take. Jennifer narrowed her eyes on him but in the end, nodded in agreement for Morris’ sake, waving at the camera and probably saying something like “Hello, Morris’ wife.” or whatever.

Pinky declared