Or worse: she might even seem like the kind of stalker ex-girlfriend she’d seen on TV shows, obsessed with him in some unhealthy way!
‘It wasn’t Teen Talk,’ she mumbled.
‘No?’ Jackson frowned. ‘Where was it, then? I didn’t think anyone else had reported it.’
‘Um . . .’ Caught, with both the waiters’ gazes on her, Olivia swallowed hard. ‘Maybe . . . I might have seen it in the New York Times?’
Jackson choked on his wrap. ‘Are you serious?’ he managed, in between coughs.
Olivia licked her lips nervously. ‘I . . . think so?’
‘Wow.’ He shook his head as he finally stopped coughing. ‘I can’t believe it. I thought the only time my name ever got mentioned in the Times was when their film critic trashed my performance in The Groves. He said I was wooden.’
‘What?’ Olivia gasped in outrage. ‘Who would say that? That’s ridiculous! It’s just not true. You were fantastic! You totally –’ Oops. She snapped her mouth shut too late, wincing. D’oh! ‘Um . . . not that I’m a stalker fangirl,’ she muttered, her cheeks burning. ‘Obviously.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ Jackson raised his eyebrows. ‘You’ve apparently been reading all about me –’
‘In the Times!’ Olivia yelped. ‘I was just reading the film section!’
But he was already laughing, his blue eyes bright with amusement. ‘Don’t worry! I get it. I would have read articles about you, too.’
Olivia blinked. ‘You would have?’
‘Of course.’ He shrugged, as if it were obvious. ‘Anyway, I shouldn’t be teasing you like this.’ His gaze dropped to his plate. ‘Especially not now. See, I’ve got something very important and a little . . .’ He gave an awkward laugh. ‘. . . well, it’s a little embarrassing, to tell the truth. But I really want to talk to you about it.’
‘OK . . .’ Olivia felt a flutter of nervousness clutch at her throat. She could sense the waiters trying not to listen.
Was Jackson really about to talk about . . . them? As a couple? If he wanted to re-open that chapter of their lives . . .
Her breathing stopped as Jackson reached across the table and took her right hand. His fingers felt warm and strong and achingly familiar.
‘Olivia,’ he said. His voice throbbed with emotion. ‘I really, really need . . .’ He hesitated, looking anguished.
‘Yes?’ Olivia’s voice came out as a squeak. Her left hand was clutched so tightly around her napkin, it would have shredded if it hadn’t been made of cloth.
‘. . . your help,’ he finished in a rush. Then he let out a whoosh of breath and rolled out his shoulders. ‘Whew.’ He gave her a lopsided grin. ‘It was hard to get that out!’
Olivia just stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Outside, the sights of London swung past, exotic and beautiful, and having no effect on her because, inside, she felt numb. ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked faintly.
‘It’s the role. I mean, roles.’ Grimacing, Jackson sat back. ‘For our London scenes, I have to do English accents for the brothers.’
‘Yeah . . .?’ Her head was still whirling with reaction as she drew her hand away from his.
He didn’t seem to notice. ‘Well, one of the brothers is “posh” – upper-class English. I can do that, no problem! But the other brother . . .’ Jackson sighed. ‘He’s a “Cockney”, a real working-class Londoner, and I just can’t get that accent right.’
‘And you think I can?’ Olivia shook her head, almost laughing. ‘Jackson, look at me. I’ve never even been to England before!’
‘But you’re awesome at voices, though,’ Jackson said. ‘Your robot voice in Camilla’s sci-fi version of Romeo and Juliet was amazing!’
It was amazing, Olivia thought wistfully. But she wasn’t thinking of the strange voice Camilla had made her put on. She was thinking of that opening night performance, when Jackson as Romeo had given her a very first kiss . . .
Focus! She jerked herself out of the memory and found Jackson looking at her expectantly:
‘So, can you help me?’
‘Well . . .’ Was it really a good idea to spend so much one-on-one time with Jackson, when her feelings were so confused? Olivia hesitated. ‘Don’t you have a voice coach?’
‘Of course.’ Jackson made a face. ‘Unfortunately, we don’t really see eye-to-eye.’