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

His jaw dropped, and he bounced his expression from me to Will and back again. “You work here? I didn’t know that. Will, did you know that?”

“Yes,” was Will’s bored, laconic reply.

Fitz rolled his eyes. “Don’t mind Will. He’s in a mood.”

“A man of few words,” I agreed.

“Come sit next to me,” he said, sliding over in the booth.

“I can’t,” I said. “I’m on the clock.”

“She can’t socialize while working.” Will had his face buried in the menu but chanced a glance in my direction. “She hardly speaks to me at all.”

“Well, I can’t say I blame her.” Fitz laughed. “So, what’s good here?”

“Order anything you want,” I said with a grin. “Will has a tab. Should I start you with some oysters Rockefeller? The filet mignon is also an excellent choice. It’s grass fed and wrapped in bacon.”

Will narrowed his eyes and offered me a thin-lipped smirk. Game on.

Fitz groaned appreciatively. “Mmmm. Sounds delicious. Medium rare for me. Will?”

“Oh, Will likes his meat bloody,” I said with a devilish smirk. He just nodded stupidly. “I recommend a bottle of Opus One to pair with your meal.”

Will’s eyes popped out of his head. “That’s an eight-hundred-dollar bottle of wine.”

At least I got some kind of reaction from him.

“Sorry, but that’s the best we have,” I said. “I hope it’s good enough for you.”

“What does a place like this get off having eight-hundred-dollar bottles of wine?”

“Is there a problem, Your Majesty?”

“The sign outside boasts of the best Taco Wednesday in all the realms. Who does Taco Wednesdays? It doesn’t exactly scream fine dining.”

“Well, Your Majesty, perhaps if you got off your lofty perch, you’d see how the other half lives.”

“Oh? Let’s see.” He ran his finger down the appetizer menu. “Does Opus One pair well with the St. James Nachos, or do you recommend the Regency Chili Fries?”

Actually, the chili fries should have come with a side of Pepto Bismol, but I didn’t tell Will that. Instead, I contented myself with, “Tell me. How’s the weather up there in your castle? Can you see Catalina on a good day?”

His eyes flashed over my atrocious costume. “Enjoying the view immensely, thanks.”

“What are you two even talking about?” Fitz cut in. Will and I ceased fire and turned our heads to him like synchronized swimmers. His eyes volleyed between us. “You sound like an old married couple.”

Our heads whipped back to one another, my features cringing, his flushed and bothered. The veins in his neck were protruding, bulging tunnels ready to burst, reaching the surface of his skin. His jaw ticked and set like stone on his somber face while his eyes pierced through the fog of discord we’d created.

“The Opus One will be fine, thank you.” His eyes never left me, and I could feel the weight of his stare as I walked to the bar to place the order.

“This is a far leap from the usual Bud Lite,” said Charlotte with dollar signs in her eyes. “How did you manage this?”

“I got skillz.”

“What you got is an admirer.” She nodded in Will’s direction as she polished two wine glasses. I casually glanced over my shoulder to find Fitz chatting away to a very inattentive Will, who watched my interaction with Charlotte with pointed interest. Was he worried I’d spit in his glass or something?

“Why is he staring like that?” I groaned. “It’s creepy.”

Charlotte shot me a ‘girl, you cray cray’ look. “Creepy? Really? Are you blind?”

I huffed. “Just because he’s good looking doesn’t give him the right to ogle people at work. It’s making me uncomfortable, like he’s waiting for me to make a mistake.”

Charlotte crawled into the cabinet behind the bar and emerged a moment later with the Opus One.

“Whatever you say, Beth. I’m sure he’s moonlighting as a secret shopper. Oh, look! He’s making his report now. You’re so busted.”

I admit, she made me look. He was still staring with his signature sour expression, and Fitz was still talking his ear off.

I snatched the bottle of wine and one glass. “Give me another Bud Lite.”

“Only one wine glass?” she asked.

I was about to confirm her question but thought better of it when Will stepped outside to answer his phone.

“On second thought, I’ll take two glasses. And the Bud Lite.”

Charlotte shrugged and popped the top off the beer, which I happily placed on my tray with the wine service and made my way back to Fitz. He was taking in all the visual stimulus Lucas Lodge had to offer. There certainly was no shortage of interesting things to occupy one’s eyeballs.

“That’s a real beaver,” I said, nodding to the shelf of taxidermied animals as I uncorked the bottle. He chuckled.

“If I were a straight man, I’d have a joke for that.”

“If you were a straight man, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.” I winked, pouring a sampling of wine and offering him the glass for approval.

He nodded for me to fill the glass, and I poured two generous portions, plopped onto Will’s side of the booth and took a long gulp.”

Fitz regarded me quizzically. “I thought you couldn’t sit on the job.”

“Oh. That was a lie.”

“I see.” He laughed. We clinked our glasses and sipped the Opus One in silent appreciation for a long moment. It was the best wine I’d ever tasted. I’m not sure if I’d say it was worth eight hundred dollars, but it was definitely worth charging Will Darcy eight hundred dollars.

“What’s twenty percent of eight hundred?” I asked nonchalantly.

“One hundred sixty.”

I raised a brow. “Not bad for a day’s work.”

The wine, plus two filet mignon dinners—I was looking at a two-hundred-dollar day. “Not bad at all.”

I wondered how long I could hold on to Will’s credit card and if I could somehow strong-arm him into bringing a large party next time. Lobster for everybody!

“May I ask why…” Fitz began tentatively.

“Well, we’re technically supposed to only add eighteen percent, but I figure twenty is customary. Although, some people still only tip