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

“The thought had occurred to me.”

“Well, I won’t. What do you want, Alicia?”

“So,” Russell said, lowering himself to a bar stool. “What’s your plan?”

“What plan?” Colin scrubbed his hand through his hair, still damp from his shower. It felt strangely short and bristly at the back.

“Your plan to get Alicia back.” Russell grinned his thanks at the bartender and tipped his head back, taking a long swallow of beer.

Colin looked at his friend for a long moment. “Russ. Have you recently struck your head and suffered memory loss? I already told you I needed to give her space.”

“Yeah, I heard you. How much space have you given her so far?”

Colin counted back. “A little over a week.”

“Now’s when you need to make sure she knows you still want her.”

Raising a skeptical eyebrow, Colin took a sip of beer. “And you know this because…?”

“Because one of my sisters went through this kind of give some space, think about it, sort-of-but-not-really-a-breakup. And it was about a week in that she called me crying.” His voice rose, imitating a woman. “Russell, what if he’s relieved? What if he doesn’t want me?”

Colin grimaced. “I can’t imagine Alicia having a crisis of confidence like that.”

“Maybe she won’t. But would it hurt to reach out and let her know you’re still hoping it can work out? It’s not a lot to do. Based on how jacked up you were in the gym, I'd bet you would do a lot more than that to get her to consider coming back.”

Sighing, Colin nodded. “I’d do practically anything. It’s awful.”

“So…let her know.”

“I can’t do that without contacting her. That’s the opposite of giving her space,” Colin groused.

“Think outside the box. Go old-school,” Russell said, canting his beer bottle slightly and shrugging.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Write the woman an actual letter on paper, with a pen and everything. Mail it to her house. That’s still personal, but it’s also removed. Less pressure. Besides, it’s a romantic gesture. Chicks dig those.”

Colin thought for a moment, fingers running across his mouth. “I’ll think about it.”

Alicia stared at Laura. “What…what do I want?”

Laura shrugged. “Yeah. Do you want to do the nude scene as is? Because if you do, then I’ll keep my powder dry with the suits. If you agree with the whole naked empowerment thing, I won’t argue with you. Each woman has to decide for herself, you know?”

We could have never had that argument. I would still be blissfully ignorant and maybe have woken up next to him this morning.

Alicia’s fingers curled into her palms and her nails dug in. This shouldn’t change anything: he was still practically from a different plane of existence, and she would have come to the same conclusion sooner or later. And yet she yearned for the alternate timeline where she had had more time, more talk, more sex, more of the entire package that was Colin. She shook her head, exhaling. She wasn’t making any sense. That was why she had left when she had. The more time, the more attached she would be, the harder it would be to re-knit herself back together after they inevitably tore apart.

“Well?” Laura was still looking at her, cool intelligence in her gaze.

“I’d rather not do it, to be honest. I agree with you. It seems there to titillate, no matter how much the guys in L.A. might want to dress it up as some sort of reverse empowerment thing.”

Laura leaned back, slapping her thighs with her palms. “Yeah. Let’s put it this way: when a woman feels empowered by showing skin? I buy it. When a man makes that decision for her? I call bullshit.” She rose to her feet. “I can’t guarantee that I’ll win this fight, but I feel better about taking it on knowing that we see things the same way.”

“Thanks for asking, Laura. I appreciate it.” Alicia also stood as the other woman left the trailer. When the door closed and she was alone again, she sank back into her chair and picked up her phone. Oh great. An e-mail from Susan.

To: Alicia Johnson

From: Susan Vernon

Subject: Television, huh?

Congrats, I guess, on the TV gig. If that’s the way you really want to go with your career. It’s one thing to have done the occasional Law & Order guest spot—everybody did those back in the day. But a long-term role? You really think that’s going to polish your résumé?

Leave it to Susan to hit her there. The very thing she had accused Colin of being capable of in the sculpture garden. Something he had not, in fact, done. A sharp blade of longing twisted in her chest, and the hot tears she had been suppressing for so long trickled down her face, her breath heaving in increasingly gusty sobs.

Chapter 20

Back in her apartment that evening, Alicia sat on the sofa and put her throbbing feet up. A half-read library book lay on the table, but she was in no mood.

Instead, she opened her iPad and flipped through an acquaintance’s vacation photos on social media. But the sandy beach, blue sky, and bluer water weren’t distracting enough. Colin’s voice nagged at the back of her mind.

I was with someone who you would have said was ‘from my world.’

Not for the first time, a dull, burning curiosity crept through her.

Fine. What the hell. She was already miserable.

She opened a web browser and typed out a search. A series of thumbnail photographs lined the top of the results page. Even in the tiny images, Colin’s strong features and broad shoulders made her breath catch in her throat.

I shouldn’t do this.

Her finger came up and tapped the first image as if she were a marionette controlled by some all-powerful puppeteer. The link took her to a Washington society magazine’s website. The full-size image made her stomach twist. Next to Colin was a petite woman with a heart-shaped face and long, dark hair.