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

Annie and I said ohhhh in unison and right on cue, Jennifer walked in with Jaxson, chatting animatedly with a gigantic smile spread across her face. Frank jumped up to join them.

“What’s he doing?” questioned Annie.

“Getting the 411,” I said.

“Hmmm.” Annie crossed her arms over her chest and watched Frank trying to get into the conversation. Jennifer was doing her best to ignore him.

“Hmmm? Why hmmm?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “It’s just the way Jennifer is looking at Jaxson like he’s the sun and moon.”

I pouted a little at her insinuation. “Jaxson has that effect on people. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I don’t know,” she singsonged. “Jaxson looks like he’s sweet on her. Maybe he bought her the Porsche. He can afford it.”

“That’s preposterous.” Then again, Jaxson did say he had something important to tell me. Maybe he didn’t get a chance to because I had been ridiculous. Snogging and all that.

“Jaxifer. Even their names ship well together.” Annie had a smug air to her voice for being so clever. If Harriet was around, she would have sided with me, but she asked for a personal day—probably from partying too hard. I meant to ask Frank about how karaoke went but forgot when he brought up this whole Jennifer thing.

“Dixifer also ships well, for your information,” I snapped.

“Okay, okay. We’ll just have to see how it pans out.”

“I suppose we will, now won’t we?”

Honestly! Some people didn’t have a clue about matchmaking.

Annie was quiet for a beat while we both watched Jaxson. His features were luminescent. I wondered if he’d always had that glow—that I only took notice of it now. His eyes twinkled with some sort of magic with every smile that passed his lips. Something inside me started to pitter patter. My spleen? My kidneys? Maybe my heart.

“What’s going on with you and Frank?” Annie said after some time.

“Frank? Whatever do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how he flirts with you.”

I prickled at her audaciousness. “No comment.”

“Aha!” She pointed at me for emphasis. “There is something between you.”

I snorted. “I will only admit he is a flirt, but not only with me. He is an equal opportunity flirt.”

At least I hoped he didn’t single me out. I had to admit I did notice he sat too close sometimes and stole little touches to my arm whenever he spoke to me. He also knew how to dole out those dimples that would melt an ice queen’s sherbet. But that was just the way Frank was. Right? Oh, dear. Maybe he did fancy me.

“I don’t know,” Annie replied. “He’s talking to Jennifer but looking straight at you.”

Blimey. He couldn’t be that obvious, could he? Presently, Frank had Jennifer’s attention since Jaxson had snuck off somewhere. She was showing him something on her phone which he seemed only half interested in. Every so often, he’d look up toward me and wink. I wasn’t sure how to process that new discovery. I decided to put a pin in it—or maybe just ignore it altogether.

“How was your honeymoon?” I figured Annie wasn’t the only one who could ask questions. “Sorry you had to come back so soon.”

“Right? I was away three days and now everyone’s gone. I knew Beth might quit, but now Elton went AWOL? I must have scared him away at the wedding.”

“Scared him away? You?”

Annie grimaced. “I kind of yelled at him.”

“Really? Why?”

“I caught him making out with Trudy.”

Trudy? The bridesmaid with the pudgy cheeks? So that was her name. Not Ruby. And what was Elton doing snogging bridesmaids minutes after hitting on me? Or was it before he hit on me? I was a little blurry with the timeline.

“Oh.”

“I know I overreacted,” she continued. “But Trudy just broke up with her boyfriend and is a little vulnerable these days.”

“That’s weird,” I said, remembering the guy she was talking to at the wedding. “I thought she fancied Brody.”

Annie looked confused. “Brody? Oh, you mean Brady.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”

“No. Brady’s not for her. Anyway.” Annie sighed and clasped her hand around mine. “I want to apologise.”

“Don’t worry about Elton,” I assured her. “He probably deserved it.”

“I was referring to the way my friends treated you. They’re not usually cliquish, it’s just… I think they were intimidated by you. I mean, you’re a super-famous movie star, and you’re drop-dead gorgeous. You seem to have it all together. Trudy has low self-esteem and a body image complex. Loretta’s been crapped on by so many guys, they should name a country song after her. And Melanie is shy underneath all those tattoos. She had an abusive father, so I think that’s her way of hiding her true skin.”

“I had no idea. They’re all so beautiful and cool. I thought I just didn’t fit in with their retro vibe.”

“It’s my fault they didn’t talk to you more.” She shook her head sorrowfully. “Maybe I should have organized some girl bonding time before the wedding.”

I hugged her. “Hey, don’t worry about it. We can have some girl bonding time in the future. I’d like to get to know them better.”

“You would?”

“Absolutely.”

Annie smiled with a relief that seemed to lift twenty pounds off her shoulders. I hoped she wasn’t carrying unnecessary guilt around during her honeymoon. I was about to say something to ease her mind when Jaxson called everyone to attention. He stood in the middle of the room, his commanding presence drawing every eye toward him immediately. He looked so artsy and casual in those dark denim trousers. I made a mental note to tell him he should wear those more often. The scruff of his two-day stubble darkened his features in a dishy worked-an-all-nighter look movie directors often sport. I wanted to exfoliate with it.

Pinky stood next to him and was rather pale by comparison. In fact, she appeared as though she might hurl. Then I noticed the tick in Jaxson’s jaw, and I knew something was going down.

“All right.” He cupped his hands together, glancing around at everyone