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

“Wait. I’m sorry.” The words squeezed out of his throat.

She swallowed, and her eyes narrowed, hard and anticipatory. But she stopped.

The wheels of his mind skidded and stuttered. “I…didn’t mean to insult you. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking along the same lines. I didn’t make any sort of connection to…I didn’t think you were vulgar last night!”

Alicia’s eyes slid to the side, one hand clenched, her thumb rubbing over a finger.

Colin took a hesitant step toward her and her eyes snapped back to him. He stopped, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m truly sorry.”

She gave him a long look. “You’re apologizing more than once again.”

“The error seemed to call for it. For all I know I may have said or done two stupid things.” His stomach churned, and his pulse hammered in his ears.

She nodded.

“Will you…tell me the other things I possibly should, if not apologize for, then at least be aware of?”

Her jaw worked. “First of all, nobody likes to have somebody sneer at something they like.”

“Fair enough. But that doesn’t seem…never mind, please continue,” he said, raising his hands as she looked at him like he was an imbecile. Which he was starting to feel he was.

“And fine. Maybe you didn’t think I was vulgar last night. But when you started in, being all high and mighty about modern art…”

Colin sighed. “Is sculpture that important to you?”

She looked at him as if she was assessing whether she should go on. Then took a deep breath. “It’s not just sculpture. Think about it. I’m an actor. Actors are artists.”

“Yes…” Aware now that he was in quicksand territory, Colin just looked at her, his tension matching hers, waiting for her to go on.

“I don’t just work in theater. I work in television. It would be one hell of a treat to have you say, ‘Oh, that Shakespeare was jolly good, Alicia, but what is this rubbish you’re doing now? Telly? I suppose if you must to pay the bills, but it’s not art, now is it?’” Her voice slid into a deeper register, seamlessly dropping her American accent and adopting his own.

Colin winced at her impression. It was stuffy and pompous and…deeply uncomfortable.

In fact, it sounded sickeningly like his late paternal grandfather, someone who had always frustrated him. The man had always been sure he was so unerringly right, so unwilling to listen to anyone else’s opinion… Was that him now?

He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to scrub away the memory. “Is that all?”

“That’s about it.” The muscles in her jaw worked, and her eyes wouldn’t meet his face.

“Well I won’t apologize again because you don’t want me to, not because I don’t feel sorry. But do you think I can be forgiven?”

Alicia finally let herself look at him, her eyes scanning his face. She had been so sure he would be defensive, grandstand, explain, minimize. Even deny.

He had done none of those things.

Well, he had started to. But he had realized his mistake. He had listened. He had even asked for forgiveness.

And what had she done? She’d mocked him. Her imitation of him had been a step too far. It was cruel. It was unfair. It had put words in his mouth, making him sound pretentious and pompous. But he hadn’t protested that either.

Shame threatened to swallow her whole.

He had moved a step closer while she was thinking. “Alicia, I like you. You fascinate me. I would like to spend more time with you. And yes, I find you sexy as hell and I do like having you in my bed. But it’s not just that. You’re smart and you’re ambitious and talented. I can’t promise I won’t say the wrong thing—hell, I said the wrong thing within moments of meeting you—but I promise I will listen. I am listening.”

Her knees felt a little weak, and she realized how she had failed. Her default defensive impulse had wanted him to deny her feelings, to explain away the things that mattered to her, and had had fully expected him to do all of those things.

It would have made him so easy to walk away from.

“Why?” she asked.

He had been starting to take another step forward, but stopped. “Why what?”

“Why do you like me so much? You hardly know me.” Her own voice sounded harsh in her ears.

He ran a hand over his mouth, let it drop. “Why did you spend what was probably a small fortune on a dress you may never be able to wear again to go to a glorified science fair with me?”

The answer stuck in her throat. He took another step forward. Close enough this time to reach out and touch her shoulder with the lightest of fingertips. She didn’t move.

He went on, his voice low. “You seem to be focused on how we’re different. I think in many ways we’re more alike than you realize.”

Alicia swallowed, suppressed a skeptical laugh. “How so?”

“We’ve both defied expectations. Both gone our own ways.” Colin’s eyes were grave.

Alicia snorted. “Yeah. Defying expectations like a champ, you. Oxford? I’m sure your parents found that to be a huge disappointment.”

Colin’s eyes didn’t leave hers, but his mouth quirked up. “No. That was expected of me, true. But coming to America? Staying in America? My father calls weekly, wanting to know when I’ll come ‘home.’ But after my mother died, I didn’t feel at home in England.”

“You were born there.”

His fingertips skimmed her cheekbone. “You were born in Minnesota. That was home to you?” His large brown eyes were gentle and sincere, no trace of mockery.

Alicia shook her head, huffed a humorless laugh. “No. No, it wasn’t.”

His hand cupped her chin. “Okay, then. Care to show me the rest of this garden?”

Damn. She inhaled slowly, trying to keep from shuddering, looked at him again. If he wasn’t being honest, she had never met a better actor, and that made her nervous.

“Sure. I think there’s actually something you’d like back here.”