Method Acting: An opposites attract, found family romance (Center Stage Book 2) by Adele Buck (web based ebook reader txt) 📕

argument. He ruminated that Jeanette’s oldest grandchild was only six. Too soon for notes, surely?

“Amelia sent me a beautiful note for her last birthday gift,” Jeanette said, a smug expression on her face.

“She would do that,” Colin grumbled.

“She is a perfect child,” Jeanette said.

“Of course she is,” Colin said.

His phone chimed and he snatched it off the desk, unlocking it to reveal a photo of a floral arrangement on a small table. He was intrigued to see what Alicia’s decorating taste was. The photo also showed a midcentury modern-style sofa and a Turkish rug. Three dots pulsed under the photo and a message appeared.

Thank you. They’re beautiful.

“I take it from your expression that the modern version of a thank you note has arrived?”

Colin showed Jeannette the screen, and her eyebrows shot up. “Just exactly what did you order?”

“What do you mean?”

Jeanette pointed at the phone. “That is…enormous.”

“Too big?” He glanced at the photo again. It did look a bit ostentatious, now that he considered it. He could see enough of the sofa to contextualize the scene. His earlier assessment of the table as small was off the mark. It was her coffee table.

“Practically worthy of a hotel lobby,” Jeanette said, eyes wide.

Colin shrugged. “I…just told the woman on the phone the general type of flowers I wanted and the price range.”

“A word to the wise: the next time you want to impress and not frighten a woman, spend less on flowers than she probably spends on rent,” Jeanette said, shaking her head as she turned and walked back to her desk.

The mood in Alicia’s dressing room that evening was quiet and melancholy. Sitting next to Alicia at the makeup mirror, Wendy’s big brown eyes sheened over with moisture as she braided her curly black hair into a coronet around the top of her head.

“You okay?” Alicia paused, her makeup pencil poised over her forehead. She definitely wasn’t going to miss old-age makeup. Though she would miss the production. The cast was a close-knit one, with relatively little interpersonal drama. They were mostly locals, people who made their living with various acting gigs in and around D.C., but they had welcomed Alicia and the other few out-of-towners without question.

“I just hate the last few performances,” Wendy said, tucking in the final pin to hold her hair in place and beginning to smooth moisturizer over her golden-brown skin. “Not the performances themselves, but the ending. I’ve always hated it when things end. I was in a children’s theater production of Charlotte’s Web when I was a kid, and I would have dreams about it for months after the run ended and wake up crying when I realized it was over.”

“Aw. Sweetie.” Kathleen, who had just entered, set down her bag and bent to hug Wendy from behind, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “And here I’m just upset because I don’t have my next job lined up.”

“Ouch,” Alicia said, feathering faint lines out from her mouth and turning her head from side to side to gauge the effect in the mirror. “You have your next thing in the bag, Wendy?”

“Just an industrial so far—some corporate training thing.” Wendy made a face. “It’ll pay the bills, but…not big fun. You? Did you hear about your audition yet? Probably too soon.”

“Actually…” Alicia suddenly felt awkward and shy.

“What did you get?” Kathleen’s gaze sharpened. “Wait…it just occurred to me. This was a local audition. Was this a national call?”

“No, not a national call.” Alicia’s stomach fluttered.

“So, local? You’re not headed back to New York?” Kathleen’s face lit up, and Alicia was filled with an unfamiliar warmth at the obvious affection and excitement displayed there. Wendy’s expression was a gentler mirror of Kathleen’s.

“No, you’re stuck with me for a while longer,” Alicia said. “That new political series? Chamber of Lies?”

“Shut. Up.” Kathleen’s eyes widened. “That’s awesome. How big of a part?”

“Um. Ten episodes with an option for the rest of the season,” Alicia said.

Kathleen shrieked and wrapped her arms around Alicia, rocking her from side to side and hopping up and down in a gleeful fit. When she finally let go, Wendy wrapped her in a softer embrace, but enthusiasm shone in her expression. “I’m so happy for you,” she said.

“Thanks…I’m really not used to the idea yet. It’s pretty weird.”

“Weird how? What kind of weird?” Kathleen said as she began to strip off her street clothes. “Like, playing the mother of someone older than you weird?”

Alicia bit her lip and looked from Kathleen to Wendy. “Nudity clause weird.”

“Ah.” Kathleen grimaced, and Wendy wrinkled her nose. “You okay with that?”

“Not a hundred percent,” Alicia admitted. “But the part…”

“…Is amazing?” Wendy finished, and Alicia nodded.

“This could really be big for you,” Kathleen said, letting her loose gown slide over her head. “And maybe they’ll decide they don’t really need you to do it.”

“Maybe,” Alicia said doubtfully.

“At any rate, we’re going out after the show to celebrate.” Kathleen pointed her signature finger guns at Alicia, and Wendy nodded.

Alicia bit her lip again. She guessed she really was making friends.

Alicia slid onto a bar stool between Wendy and Kathleen, who waved frantically at the bartender.

“Champagne. This lady is about to be a television star,” Kathleen said, pointing at Alicia.

Her face heating, Alicia ducked her head. “Jeez. Couldn’t you just be jealous and backstabbing like most of the actresses I seem to work with in New York?”

Kathleen winked, making a clicking sound with her tongue. “Not my style, babe. Besides. That’s the nice thing about this theater community. It’s too small for that kind of bullshit—well, mostly. News gets around. Nobody wants to work with you if you behave like that.”

Alicia thought of her professional rival and e-mail correspondent, Susan, who managed to work steadily even though she was a complete and utter witch to most people around her. Alicia was so frequently in competition with the other actress for roles that correspondence with Susan contained large doses of false cheerleading and backhanded comments as they