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

We were in the hallway to the bedrooms, partly secluded from the rest of the party when he gave me the gift. I felt like he was ashamed for giving me a used item and didn’t want the others to see, but I assured him how much I loved it and gave him an appreciative hug. His eyes flickered over me in unveiled carnality, and he leaned one arm over me against the wall to the point of backing me up against it.

There was an intensity in him that unhinged me. He’d always been comical in the little flirty innuendos that spilled from his lips, but this time, his features claimed a deliberate intention, a heady, suggestive, potency in his body language.

“I’d like to stay the night,” he whispered.

Not a chance, bucko.

First of all, he was drunk. I didn’t need an encore performance of Naked Man in my shower. The last time he was in there he used my razor. I was a strong supporter of guarding my personal sundries. Furthermore, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jorge, even if he had been sober. He projected so many crossed signals, it was hard to keep up. I didn’t have time for that. Nope. No sir.

I’d thought about the things Fitz had said to me. They made sense. There were no guarantees. But I decided to concentrate on one ambition outside my comfort zone at a time, and that was my career. After the show closed, I would follow Jane’s example and go to New York. Maybe I’d even move there if I could afford it. Who didn’t love sharing a two-bedroom apartment with ten other girls for a small fortune? I could totally do it.

What I couldn’t do was Jorge. I convinced myself quite easily that he couldn’t be all that serious, especially since his words were a little slurry.

“I’ll ask Denny to take you home,” I said, slipping out from under his arm, but he grabbed my wrist and said, “Beth, I’m afraid.”

Ummmm.

“Afraid?” I asked. “What are you afraid of?”

He stared deeply into my eyes, suddenly grave. “Obscurity.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.” I laughed.

“I do,” he replied. “The Darcys will make sure of it.”

I was a little troubled as to why he would choose that moment to bring it up. The Darcys. Plural. Not just Will, but his little sister, too. What were these people up to now? I patted his hand and wiggled my wrist from his grip.

“I won’t let that happen,” I said. “I promise.”

I was happy to send him off that night so I could be alone with my thoughts.

What was the deal with Will Darcy that kept him constantly in my life? I couldn’t very well avoid him at the theatre for obvious reasons, but then he showed up at my work and now was making an appearance on Christmas, even if it was only in conversing about him. It was like that show Man in the High Castle where every film reel, every scenario in the parallel universe involved the same woman. Will was that woman. He was everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.

I shouldn’t have been surprised to see him at the Rosings New Year’s Eve Ball, but when I saw him, I wanted to run. His eyes met mine from across the room, searing into me like a sniper’s target. I wondered if I had one of those red laser dots on my forehead. He was at the bar, and without letting his eyes lose focus on me, drained his drink, set the lowball glass on the bar, and made the trek through the crowd towards where I stood. You’ve heard the term deer in headlights? That was me, because although I knew danger was approaching, I was unable to move. The T-Rex had his sights set on his prey, and I had nowhere to turn.

“There you are.” Charlotte stepped in front of me, right within Will’s path, and he halted. Thank goodness! “We were beginning to worry you wouldn’t show.”

She looked absolutely radiant in a black sequin halter dress. Her hair was in a loose French knot with tendrils of her auburn hair cascading down onto her fair skin. I don’t think I’d ever seen her so dressed up. But her smile was the most beautiful accessory she wore. Her arm looped around Colin’s, and she absolutely beamed. She was truly and deeply happy.

Colin wore that same goofy smile on his face, happy as a clam to have a woman on his arm as gorgeous as Charlotte. He looked so different. Handsome. I tried to put my finger on the change I saw in him when I realized he wasn’t wearing any makeup. He no longer looked like a confused drag queen. Without layers of foundation and mascara caked on his face, he appeared younger, with a boyish charm. He and Charlotte were adorable together. She was good for him. I couldn’t say the same for his choice of dress wear, though. He wore a light-pink tux with a ruffled shirt and a matching pink top hat. Wisps of hair curled from under the brim and framed his face, the fringe of his bangs almost covering his eyes. He had his own style, that was for certain.

“How long have you been standing around all by yourself?” Charlotte pulled me in with her other arm. What a trio we were. The egret, the swan, and the flamingo. (I was the egret).

“Not long,” I lied.

In truth, I’d been looking for her for what seemed like forty-five minutes. That place was huge. There was a main ballroom, where we were currently conversing. Then there were several smaller rooms with gaming tables and other interesting entertainment. And outside was an enormous garden with a hedge labyrinth and secluded sitting areas surrounded by conifer trees. I’d made a full circle around the property before