CAN AN AVERAGE GIRL SURVIVE
HOLLYWOOD?
HEARTTHROB
Hollywood Hearts #1
Belinda Williams
Released Nov 10th, 2016
CAN AN
AVERAGE GIRL SURVIVE HOLLYWOOD?
Ally Valenti doesn’t belong in
Hollywood. Not like her friend and actress, Lena Lyons. Lena’s convinced Ally
to pursue her dreams of fashion design, starting with some gowns for the awards
season.
Which Ally will get around to
creating as soon as she can stop looking at Jacob Swan, Lena’s latest co-star.
Not that she’s staring. Ally’s skeptical of anything celebrity and it’s not
like she’d be pathetic enough to fall for a Hollywood heartthrob.
Then Ally learns there’s more to
Jacob than his good guy, all-American persona. She finds herself torn between
the desire to get to know him better and her determination to stay out of the
limelight.
Of course the media has other
ideas—and someone doesn’t like all the attention Ally’s getting. When threats
aimed at destroying her fashion career go too far, Ally’s convinced she’s
living in crazy town.
The sensible thing would be to
retreat home before it all ends in spectacular fashion. But will Ally be
leaving more than her dreams behind if she says goodbye to Hollywood?
This glamorous, fast-paced
contemporary romance that will make you smile, is perfect for fans of Rachel
Gibson, Victoria Dahl, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Liliana Hart.
We wove our
way through the crowd, lots of people waving to Jake as we went. Was this what
it would have been like to be popular at school?
Outside,
there appeared to be a designated area where cars were picking up the actors
and actresses. Jake made a brief call on his phone as we walked, then spoke to
a valet. Or was he a bodyguard? The entire area was swarming with them, which
was understandable given the amount of famous people milling around.
“Oh my God,”
I whispered. Stupid me. I was so worried about spending time with Jake I hadn’t
considered what the public would make of the two of us getting into a car
together. In my world, accepting a ride home didn’t warrant media attention.
My heart
racing in my chest, I took a step backward so my view of the street was
obscured by one of the many bodyguards. At least the media weren’t allowed too
close. After the red carpet, they’d been relegated to the street with the rest
of the fans.
The sound of
some women squealing from across the sidewalk cut through the steady hum of
other partygoers waiting for their ride.
“Jake! Jake!”
I winced and
edged a little closer to the bodyguard’s back, praying he wouldn’t notice.
Jake noticed
the movement and frowned, stepping closer to me. “Ally? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“It doesn’t
look like nothing. You’re really pale.”
“It’s just
the light,” I lied.
“Then why are
you going all Bambi on me?”
I jolted as
he put a hand on my shoulder. “You’re shivering. Here.” With that, he tucked me
into his side.
I fought hard
not to whimper. For a tantalizing moment I imagined what it would be like to
rest my head against his sturdy chest, but somehow, with a strength of will I
didn’t know I had, I stepped away.
“The
photographers, Jake,” I said through clenched teeth.
Another
well-timed and rather needy ‘Jake’
drifted to us from across the street.
He blinked at
me and then swore under his breath. “I’m so sorry, Ally. I didn’t think. I
guess I’m just used to it and I understand why you don’t want to be seen with
me—”
A bubble of
hysterical laughter escaped my lips.
“What?” he
asked, his forehead crinkling in a most attractive way.
“Yeah,” I
blurted. “I mean, as if I’d want to
be seen with you, Jake. Just think of what you’ll do to my reputation.”
Belinda
Willliams is
a marketing communications specialist and copywriter who allowed an addiction
to romance and chick-lit to get the better of her. She was named a top ten
finalist in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award in both 2013 and
2014.
Her
other addictions include music and cars. Belinda’s eclectic music taste forms
the foundation of many of her writing ideas and her healthy appreciation for
fast cars means she would not so secretly love a Lamborghini. For now she’ll
have to settle with her son’s Hot Wheels collection and writing hot male leads
with sports cars.
Belinda
lives in Sydney and blogs regularly about writing and reading at http://www.belindawilliamsbooks.com/
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