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

the whole business was the best thing she’d ever seen. How thoughtful of Frank and Jennifer to send a video greeting to Mrs Tomlinson. How prettily matched they looked. How fortunate we all were to breathe the same air as these magnificent celestial beings. Blah blah blah.

“When I heard Jennifer sing in that episode of The Shore, I told Jaxson… remember I told you, Jaxson? I told Jaxson, ‘Mark my words, that girl is going places.’ And here we are. Going places together. Oh, I can hardly contain myself.”

Yes, Pinky. We get it. You told Jaxson.

But Jax smiled warmly at Pinky’s overly animated recital and could only fit in a short “Mmm hmm” while she took a breath between sentences.

“When Jaxson told me he was directing a movie musical, the first face that came to mind was Frank’s. Of course! But the second, oh the second face was Jennifer’s. I got on the phone with Bill Campbell right away and made sure she was available. ‘Money’s no object,’ I said to Campbell. ‘This is a Jaxson Knightly film.’”

“Well, actually—” Jaxson began, but Pinky went on, leaning across the table to capture Frank and Jennifer’s hands.

“This movie is going to be epic because of you two fine actors. That’s all there is to it.”

Gee, thanks a lot, Pinky. One would think she was raving about Cecilia Bartoli and Luciano Pavarotti by the sound of her ovations. I caught Frank’s amused expression from across the table. He pressed his lips together as though he was trying to suppress a laugh and snuck in a quick wink from behind Jennifer’s shoulders. He was just too much. In any case, I thought it was better that Jennifer didn’t know Frank thought of her as a princess, especially since she was a grudge holder. The last thing Jaxson needed on this project was more off-screen drama-rama. We were already dealing with the aftermath of the Elton fiasco; we didn’t need another one. My heart sank every time I turned it over in my mind. It was my mess, and I was the one to clean it up—even if Harriet hated me.

After everyone parted ways, I invited Harriet to a bird seed dinner with my mum. Although we’d filled ourselves with carbs and Spanish ham at Tapeo, I had to humour Mum with my presence at the dinner table. I made her promise not to poison me again. She’d feigned innocence when I told her I nearly died from that mystery elixir she gave me and dismissed it as though I’d not followed the dosage directions properly. So now it was my fault I couldn’t read Sanskrit.

Dinner consisted of sprouted mung beans, buckwheat flax patties, and raw asparagus slaw with hemp dressing. I skipped the dressing.

Harriet was all politeness, praising Mum’s cooking, declaring it was so satisfying, she couldn’t eat another bite. Mum was delighted. Especially after years of Dad’s complaining. She was so delighted, in fact, she left all the cleaning to us.

After Harriet helped load the dishwasher, I nudged her and whispered, “I’ve got a secret stash of ice cream.”

It was confession time, and everybody knows ice cream has the magical ability to soothe a broken heart. She bounced at the promise of frozen, sugary dairy treats and looked over her shoulder to check if Mum was around. Pssssspth! I was no amateur. I had perfected the art of hiding treats from Mum when I was ten years old. My father taught me everything I knew, after all. One place Mum would never look was in the tool shed. I had a box freezer installed there after the last time Mum visited.

“Why do you have a tool shed?” Harriet asked innocently while we were sneaking over there. “Do you build things?”

“It’s not my tool shed, silly.” I opened the door to the shed, which was more of a man cave. “It’s James’ tool shed.”

“Whoa. Who’s James? Does he live here? Is he your secret man toy?”

“No,” I deadpanned. “James is my guy kind of how Rosario is my gal. He does things. I’m not sure what things, but whatever those things are, they get done.”

“Oh.” Harriet strolled deeper into the shed and looked around. “He sure made himself comfortable here, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, I guess.” It was Jaxson’s idea to bring in a sofa and add a kitchenette to the shed. He said it would make James want to spend more time at my house so he could do more handiwork, but I knew Jaxson felt more at ease if there was a male presence on the property. It didn’t hurt that James was a retired Navy Seal, either. I hardly ever saw the man. I would barely know he existed if Rosario didn’t always bring him up in conversation. I wondered wistfully if there were sparks between them.

I found the bowls and spoons and selected two flavours from the freezer. Harriet chose rocky road, and I opted for banana chocolate swirl. I scooped generous amounts into our bowls, and we sat cosily on the sofa, devouring our dessert. She was enjoying hers immensely, but mine sat like a lump at the bottom of my stomach. The tumult of the dark tidings I had to deliver tainted every anxious spoonful, and I could no longer keep her in the dark. Not to mention it was a waste of perfectly good banana chocolate swirl.

“Harriet…” I began. I considered using Jaxson’s good news/bad news technique, but I didn’t have any good news. Only bad. How I wished Jaxson were there to help me find the words. He was so much better than I was at those types of things. Improv wasn’t my strong suit. So, for lack of a softer way to break it to her, I simply said, “I have to tell you something.”

Her light, carefree expression fell like someone had attached imaginary tape to her cheeks and pulled down. Her ice cream melted into a puddle of sadness. Figuratively.

“It’s Elton, isn’t it?”

Oh, Harriet. Sweet, sweet