Old flames burn bright. When a disgraced starlet returns home to lick her wounds, she discovers that her high school sweetheart is just as tempting as ever.
Allison: When I left for California, I gave myself a new name and never looked back. Now my carefully crafted good-girl image is getting torn to shreds in the press thanks to my Oscar-winning A-hole of an ex-boyfriend. So I escape to the only safe haven I know and trust—my hometown—to take a breather while I plot my triumphant Hollywood comeback. However, when I arrive at my parents’ house, Jackson Burke answers the door instead. And suddenly the past comes rushing back. . . .
Jackson: First kiss. First time. First love. Yep, Allison Murphy and I shared a lot of firsts back in the day. When she left, she took half my heart with her. Now she’s back in town, and even though I swore I’d keep my distance, her parents hired me to remodel their house, and I’m going to finish the job. But one hot kiss later, suddenly the press is calling us the next big celebrity couple. Sure, I’ll play the part, for Allison’s sake—but I refuse to let her close enough to break my heart all over again. . . .
This book was just fun. There's really no other description for it. Yes, there were serious parts, and those that tugged at your heart and made you feel for the characters, but overall, I just enjoyed it thoroughly.
Allison and Jackson were a couple, and then college happened. And, they split. And, really, do you know anyone who actually managed to still be together after college? It's about .0001% of the couples that start out together at the beginning of college, and that's probably a high estimate.
So, a few years pass. He's built a life for himself in Ohio and she's built one for herself in Los Angeles, as an actress. Until she steals an Oscar from the most beloved of all actresses in Hollywood and has to run. See what I mean? Serious...but fun. She stole an Oscar. How terribly Hollywood. And fun.
The entire book is like this, with moments of genuinely enjoyable humor and seriousness put together so perfectly that you are sad to see the title end.
I enjoyed and recommend this title.
BUY THIS BOOK!
After a quick trip downtown, I arrive at the Murphy household Monday
afternoon. I’m carrying two milkshakes, one strawberry for Allie and one
chocolate–peanut butter for myself. I’m not sure if she wants one or if she’s
on some weird Hollywood diet that prohibits her from drinking it, but I want to
apologize and flowers seem . . . wrong.
I hesitate at the door before knocking. Tommy and Daryl are on
another site today, since we’re still waiting on lumber for the deck here. We
need to paint the closet, too, but I wanted to check with Allie’s schedule
before filling the house with paint fumes.
The door swings aside, revealing the future receiver of a milkshake.
Allie is wearing a short, short miniskirt, her legs temptingly bare. She’s
given a few inches of height thanks to a pair of tall sandals, and I absolutely
do not linger on the hot pink toenail polish. I jerk my eyes north,
encountering several thin gold bracelets and necklaces on the way. Her hair is
swept up on top of her head, a pencil jutting out of the sloppy bun.
Wide brown eyes take inventory of me—but I can’t tell if she
approves of my uniform of well-worn Levi’s and a white T-shirt or not.
“Milkshake?” I offer awkwardly. We’re not what we used to be to each
other and we’re not interested in being anything else. It’s an odd limbo.
“What flavor?” Her eyebrows arch with interest.
“Strawberry. It’s from UDF. Your favorite.” I frown in thought. “Or
it used to be, anyway. There’s a smoothie shack in town, but I wasn’t sure if
you were a shot-of-wheatgrass kind of girl or if you liked fruit.”
Yep. Definitely not getting any less awkward.
“So you bought me a milkshake,” she states.
“Yeah.”
“It’s not like I’m preparing for a part anyway.” She holds out her
hand and I place the cold cup in it. Our fingers brush and that subtle touch
stirs some unnamed thing between us. For me, anyway.
She shuffles aside and invites me in. “I didn’t think you were
working today.”
I step into the foyer. The A/C is cranked and it feels fantastic.
“My guys aren’t, but there are things I can do. We’ll need to paint
here in the next week or so. If you can arrange to be away for a day, it’d
probably be better than breathing fumes.”
She puts the straw to her lips and sucks the pink milkshake into her
mouth. Her eyes close and she lets out an Mmm
that borders on orgasmic.
“It’s been forever since I’ve had a milkshake. Like, a real one.”
Her gaze softens on mine, her smile easy. She used to look at me like that all
the time. And when she did, I never was able to resist pulling her close,
bending low, and kissing her mouth.
“Live a little. Or a lot. It’s your vacation.” I clear my throat to
dislodge the lust clogging it. “Or whatever this is.”
“Hiatus.” She quirks one eyebrow.
“What’s with the pencil?”
She reaches up and plucks it from her hair. “Oh, right. I forgot
about that. I was having trouble typing out my ideas, so I found a pencil in
the junk drawer and went on a search for paper. I thought maybe changing my
medium might help the ideas flow better.”
“Writing?”
“Yeah.” Shyly, she looks away. “I had this idea for a screenplay. I
don’t know. It’s probably stupid, but I need something to do besides sit around
and read articles about myself.”
A shrill beep, beep, beep
comes from the kitchen.
“My oven fries are done. Want some?”
“With my milkshake? Hell, yeah.” We share a smile and I wonder if
she’s remembering the many, many fries she’d dipped into one
Wendy’s Frosty or another during the summers when we went out.
Positioned at the stove, she scoops the fries from pan to plate and
serves them on the island with a bottle of ketchup riding sidecar. We dig in,
each pulling the lids off our shakes and dunking a hot fry into the ice cream,
reserving the ketchup for later. Or maybe not at all.
“Strawberry’s still my favorite.” She smiles up at me.
“Good.”
We both reach for another fry.
“I’m not sure where I stand with you,” she says. “We used to be
great friends, and then . . . you know, boyfriend and
girlfriend, and then we broke up. Now we’re something else. Not strangers but
not friends.”
I don’t comment since there’s nothing to say. She’s right. We’re not
strangers and we’re not friends.
“Do you think we could be? If not friends, then friendly?”
“Friendly.” I grunt the word. It’s unflattering and makes me sound
like a golden retriever.
“We’re capable of amicability if the milkshakes and fries are any
indicator.” She gestures with a fry. “And I’m going to see you on and off with
this project you have going on for Mom and Dad. It would be nice if we could
coexist.”
“Have you talked to them yet?” I ask rather than weigh in on the
are-we-or-aren’t-we conversation she spearheaded. It’s too loaded. There are a
lot of variables.
“I texted my dad to tell him to have fun and tell Mom I love her. I
asked her if she was worried and he said yes, but he assured her that I was a
big girl and everything would turn out fine. I hope he’s right about everything
turning out fine.” She presses her lips together as if turning over how much
more to share. Finally, she says, “I mentioned I was staying here. He said they
felt better that you were around so that I wouldn’t be alone.”
Basically what my Mom had hinted at. Allie was home and upset and
she needed a friend. All eyes are on me. Evidently I am a golden
retriever.
“It’s bigger than I realized,” I admit. “The media attention on
you.”
Her eyebrows jump.
“Did you do it?”
“Are you asking if I stole the Oscar from Millie?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to know if I showed up at her party, at her house where
I’ve never been before, and snatched an Academy Award off her shelf? Haven’t
you heard the news? Seen the photos? I’m carrying it under a coat on the way to
the valet at Millie’s house. It was Nina in the den with the Oscar!”
I could do without the smart-ass comments.
“It doesn’t matter what happened,” she continues, somber, “only how
it’s being perceived. In Hollywood you’re guilty until proven innocent, and if
you’re proven innocent later the damage to your reputation is already done.
There’s a reason the saying ‘You’ll never work in this town again’ exists.”
I’m beginning to think that my mom was right. Maybe Allie didn’t do
it.
“Friendly,” I say, looping back to our earlier conversation. It
seems safer than this one. “Surely we can manage that.”
