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

“You are a spunky one, aren't you? Well, you’ll never be a ballerina at your age, but you could pick up a few moves that will help you in the theatre.”

A fourth chair landed in place in our strange little pow wow, and Will plopped down, straddling it, resting his arms on the back.

“What are you doing here?” cried the old woman.

“You invited me.” Will glanced briefly at us, his attention landing on Colin’s pink suit for a few extra seconds.

“Well, I didn’t think you’d show up.” She was a little salty, but something hinted to me that was the nature of their relationship. It certainly didn’t seem to faze him. He just shrugged.

“If you’re looking for Anne,” she said, “you just missed her. You might want to check the VIP room.”

Wasn’t this the VIP room?

Will shifted in his seat like he was trying to get comfortable but couldn’t. “No,” he said. “I’m fine right here.”

A smirk overcame her face, and she flushed a little when she turned to me and said, “These young people are so attached to me.”

Will stole a glance in my direction. Was I judging? Not at all.

“Why don’t you find Anne and ask her to dance?” Catherine was trying to shoo Will away. Probably to drill me with more probing questions. She winked at him. “You don’t want some other man to claim her for a New Year’s kiss.”

Practically engaged to Catherine de Bourgh’s granddaughter. That’s what Jorge told me. I didn’t know the girl, but I already felt sorry for her.

Will remained silent, casting his eyes towards me to gauge my reaction. I was finding the exchange rather amusing and so, I made a joke.

“It’s bad luck if you don’t kiss someone at midnight.” I laughed. “You might remain a frog forever.”

His eyes flickered to mine, alight as blue flames, and the corner of his lips hitched into a crooked grin.

“And what happens to the princess?” he said softly, almost coaxing.

My heart sputtered to a halt, dropping to my navel. There it was, ladies. That devastating smile that earned him millions on the silver screen. I was incredibly annoyed with myself for not having a stronger immunity to his movie star charms. I swallowed unevenly and lifted my chin to regain some semblance of control.

“Her carriage turns into a pumpkin,” I replied, practically croaking the words. “So she bakes a pie.”

His eyes unapologetically dipped to my mouth. “It Only Takes a Taste,” he said, deepening his wicked grin.

A warm flush washed over me. Way to quote a musical theatre song. Bravo. His intense stares and double innuendos made the walls close in. I had to get away from him. And now I had that song from Waitress stuck in my head. Ugh! It was a good song, too.

“Are we talking about pies here?” Charlotte chimed in.

I abruptly stood, causing the chair to scrape on the floor.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

Catherine de Bourgh shot me an expression as if I offended her by leaving. I didn't have to use the restroom, but she didn’t know that.

“Miss Bennet, I’m not done talking to you.”

Not done talking to me? What if I did have to go to the restroom?

I could hear her protests fade as I left the room, following me out the door until they were only echoes into the ether. I felt bad for abandoning Charlotte to the aftermath, but I needed to distance myself from Will. His movie star charm was too much, and the last thing I wanted was to be his fangirl. His eyes, though. They held an underlying magnetism that reached too far inside my core. It made my heart drum so rapidly, it was almost painful.

I decided after all that, a splash of cold water to my face would do me good. The ladies room was bigger than my whole apartment and had a separate sitting area for friends to wait. If there’s any mystery why girls go to the restroom in groups, that sitting area would be the answer. The sofas were so posh, I wouldn’t have been surprised if tea service suddenly appeared, accompanied by a recording of God Save the Queen. I was running my hands over the upholstery when Charlotte found me.

“I’m sorry I embarrassed you in front of your boyfriend’s boss.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a soft smile. “You should have seen the look on her face, though. I’m sure nobody has ever walked out on her like that.”

We shared a laugh. I wanted to tell her the reason I bolted out of there wasn’t because of Catherine de Bourgh, but it was suffocating to be in the same room as Will. Everything about him caused a hot lava reaction in my veins. Whenever he was near me, I felt sick to my stomach, and my blood would boil, causing my pulse to race. If he didn’t repel me so much, I’d think I had a crush on the guy. Ridiculous. But I couldn’t tell Charlotte these things because she’d read too much into it. I decided to keep the conversation light.

“Well, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go.”

She laughed. “She’ll get over it. Colin’s in there doing damage control. Like Men in Black.”

“Or Men in Pink.” I couldn’t resist. Only a guy like Colin could pull off that outfit. It actually suited him well.

“So…” She wound up for the pitch. I could see it coming. She wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. “I was surprised to see Will.”

There it was. I knew she was jonesing to bring it up. I shrugged, trying to pretend it didn’t affect me.

“It’s not a huge stretch,” I said. “Catherine de Bourgh is a shareholder of Will’s production company.” I remembered what Jorge had told me about Will’s connection to Rosings. “And he’s got something going on with the granddaughter. Engaged, I think.”

“Anne?” she snorted. “Not even. I know Anne. There’s no way.”

“Whatever.” I feigned a nonchalant eye roll. What did I care who Will was