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

up. That’s right. I said sorry. It was my new thing. I went on. “If you want to tell me something—as a friend, or ask my opinion—as a friend, I’ll hear you out. As a friend. And I’ll give you my paltry, lowly advice… because—”

“Because you’re my friend,” he supplied.

“Yes.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and breathed out, long and heavy. “Emma…” My name hung in the air like a single note hovering over silent expectation. I feared his next words, but I couldn’t take back my promise now. His features softened as he considered how to tell me the one thing guaranteed to crumble my heart. He uncrossed his arms and ran his palms along my skin, taking my hands in his. He squeezed them, directing all his concentration on that one point of contact as though drawing inspiration from it. His thumbs absently ran back and forth over my knuckles—back and forth, back and forth—while the lines in his brow became more pronounced, and his frown dipped to his chin.

“Friends,” he said inwardly, shaking his head. I almost didn’t hear it before the wind swept the word away. When he lifted his gaze to meet mine, dark shades of olive fixed on me, awash in a glassy sheen. “I wish… at least I hope. Wow, this is harder than I thought.”

I waited patiently, ready for the blow. Jax took in one profound breath, expanding his chest. This was it. The end of the world as foretold by that R.E.M. song. Jaxson searched my face for answers. Could he tell I was dying inside?

“All right then. I’ve gone this far, haven’t I? As a friend… tell me. Am I a complete fool to think we could be… something more?”

We? Which we were we talking about here? Was I one half of that we or was I completely out of the equation? He paused to study me—questioning. His earnest expression overpowering me. I couldn’t answer even if I tried. He released one of my hands, dragging the backs of his elegant fingers along my jaw.

“Emma… it’s okay if the answer is no. I can take it.”

My heart hammered in my chest. Still, I wouldn’t speak, fearing I’d break the spell.

“You’re going to leave me hanging here, aren’t you?” he groaned. “I can’t compose songs or poems or… roasts to tell you how much I love you. Perhaps if I loved you less, I could make a spectacle of myself at bonfires and weddings. But I’m not those guys. I don’t like secrets. What you see is what you get. I’ve always told you the truth no matter how difficult… and you’ve always taken my… incessant lecturing in stride. No other woman would put up with that. There it is. The truth. I’m in love with you. So very much.”

He was in love with me. All my anxiety these past weeks, heartsick and down, thinking he had the lowest opinion of me. Sorrowful for my actions. Yet he not only loved me as he’d always done but was in love. This had to be a dream. If I woke up drooling on the couch in the next five minutes, I would be very cross.

“Emma, please say something because I’ve been up for twenty-four hours, and I don’t know if I’m making any sense.”

I lifted my chin to meet his gaze and stilled his hand on my cheek, keeping it there to warm my skin.

“I like your incessant lecturing. And, since you asked, you are a complete fool. But only because you waited so long to tell me you love me. I think I need to hear it again… just to be sure my mind isn’t playing tricks on me.”

All the creases around Jaxson’s eyes disappeared, only to be replaced with a look of deep affection and admiration.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry, what? I couldn’t quite hear.”

A grin tugged at his mouth, and he drew me closer, cupping his other hand over my cheek. “I love you.”

“I see your lips moving, but it’s not quite registering.”

“You’re determined to make me work for it,” he said, words drugged with desire.

“Maybe. But only so I can see you swea—”

Jaxson crashed his lips into mine with all-consuming intensity. So demanding and with a wild dose of passion. Where was this coming from? I rather liked it. It was as though he was claiming me, scooping me up before I changed my mind. Or maybe he was just into snogging. He dragged his lips along the edge of my mouth, sending me into oblivion. I liquefied under his touch, my knees buckling for a moment, and I felt his arm slide around my waist in response. He held on with tenderness and strength and there I was, melting into a pool of sweet deliverance. Stars exploded, supernovas spun out of control. This was next level stuff. And I clung to him, desperate to find purchase, tangling my fingers through his hair. His breath caught in his throat, clearly approving of my bold move. He responded by drawing me flush against the hard lines of his chest and ravaged my mouth. We were fused together, locked in a sweet, intoxicating kiss. My heart swelled.

Then his touch became slow and reverent, and I tasted the salty droplet that descended his cheek and over my mouth.

“I want you,” he growled, trailing his lips along the curve of my jaw, dipping to my neck. “I need you.” He grazed his hot breath on the shell of my ear and nipped on the tender lobe, sending ripples of delight to my core. Then he lowered his voice to a deep rumble. “I love you.”

I let out a small whimper, too wrapped up in a euphoric cloud to focus on anything but those heavenly words. It was all a little hazy.

Jaxson pressed his forehead on mine and grazed feather-light caresses along the bare skin of my collarbone with the tips of his fingers. Time slowed down to a crawl and