Catch a Falling Star
(In Love in the Limelight Book 3)
by
Geralyn Corcillo
Cover by Sue Traynor
Published by Geralyn Corcillo at KDP
Copyright © 2016 Geralyn Corcillo
ISBN: 978-1-62678-015-6
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, situations, events, and locations are products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Whatever Wendy Hunter wants …
When superstar Wendy Hunter is about to have her most closely guarded secret viciously exposed by the paparazzi, she desperately tosses out a juicy bone to distract them: she announces her engagement to southern high school football coach Colin Scott. One problem. She's not really engaged to Colin Scott. She barely knows him. Um … barely. But will shared secrets and one unforgettable night between them last year be enough to get him to go along with her charade? She goes to New Orleans to see him and find out. But once she gets there, she finds it really hard to leave again ...
For Ron
and
Shyrona
and
For Cheryl Henderson
Chapter 1
Seven months ago
THE WEDDING
Colin Scott stood in the shade of the giant catalpa and couldn't help but smile. Man, he was grinning downright stupidly, from ear to ear, as he watched Lola dance. He was actually watching his sister dance at her wedding. Hot damn! For so long, Colin had wondered if Lola would ever find a man strong enough—and chill enough—to love her in all her kick-ass glory, secrets and all. A man she could love right back with her whole heart and soul.
And now she'd found Arlen. The two of them were so quietly awesome together. No PDA's or winks or cutesy stories or salacious double-entendres. They were just so absolutely tuned in to one another.
And man, it made Colin feel all warm and jazzed to see her with the kids. Her kids. Sort of. No, no way. They were her kids. Lola's and Arlen's. No matter what that bastard Jon said or how much time—
“Hey!” He spilled his mineral water all down his shirt as Goddamned Wendy Hunter backed into his thigh with her bony ass.
“Watch it,” she tossed back.
“Me watch it?”
She straightened up and turned to face him. “I'm trying to get a good shot.”
He watched as she started swiping at the screen of her phone. Okay, she was this super-famous actress and the star of Lola's show and everything, but holy shit, was she ever a diva. And he so did not have time for the likes of Wendy Hunter. Not on Lola's Day.
“Why?” he asked. “So you can post it on Instagram and everywhere else and get yourself trending?” He curled his fingers into his palms so he didn't reach right out and crush her phone. “This is Lola's wedding. Lola's. It's not about you. You don't need to tell the Twittersphere how you spent the last five minutes. The world can survive without regular updates from you.”
Wendy lifted a brow and let a devilish smile curve into her lips. “So you follow me on Instagram and Twitter.” Those dark eyes of hers just looked so smug.
“Ha!” he barked. “I coach high school football. I spend half my life confiscating cell phones and plenty of times, the kids are looking at trending selfies of you.”
“Well.” Wendy pulled herself up to her full height of five foot seven in four-inch heels, doing her best to show him that being called out as a pin-up for high school boys didn't dent her diamond-plated armor in the least. “I've got fans of all ages.” She turned toward Lola and Arlen, lining up her phone.
“But none of them need to see private pictures of my sister's wedding.”
She spun to face him. “You don't get the dynamics of what all this means.”
“You don't understand how hard Lola's had to fight her entire life to get here. And she doesn't need to be trending on Yahoo or Facebook or Twitter or anywhere. You know, some of us manage to live our lives without having to post every second to social media just so we feel like it really happened.”
“Oooh!” Wendy harsh-whispered, looking ready to deck him. “How dare you! You—”
“That's awesome,” he broke in suddenly, his face lighting up with a goofy smile. “Really.” Then he leaned in and said more quietly, “You have to shut up and dance with me. Lola just looked over and did a double-take. We're the only ones not dancing.” He pulled back and laughed. “I bet you can dance better than me. So let's go.”
Wendy shot one quick glance around the yard to see that all other sixteen people at the wedding were dancing.
In a wink, she was twirling onto the smooth patio tiles as he followed.
It was fast-ish dancing, so no touching and no taking each other's hands. Which meant she still clutched that demonic phone of hers.
When Colin looked away from her cell and back to her face, he noticed her studying him with a furrow between her perfect brows.
“What?” he asked.
“You actually know how to move,” she said.
“Yeah, well, I grew up watching my sports heroes dance like dorks at their victory parades. I decided at a pretty early age that I never wanted to look that stupid.”
“But you never made it to any victory parades, did you? I mean, I think Lola would have a banner in her office if you'd ever won the Super Bowl.”
“Nah. No ticker tape for me. I was good enough for college, but not good enough for the NFL.”
“Makes sense,” she said, flicking back that hair of hers that reminded him of rich maple syrup. “You're not super-huge or anything.”
“I was a running back. They tend to be fast and agile, not big.”
She cocked that damn brow again. “So you're telling me that you're fast and not that big.”
He threw back his head and laughed. He couldn't help it. “I guess I am. I'm standing here telling one of People's Most Beautiful People that I'm fast and not that big.”
* * * * *
As soon as she got home, Wendy stepped out of her Jimmy Choo's and tucked herself into the corner of her plush white sofa. She scrolled through the pictures on her phone as she sipped a chilled glass of Perrier. Huh. She hadn't realized she'd taken so many shots of Colin. But drat it all, the man could swivel those hips of his. Not that his moves made him any less of a cretin. How dare he get all up in her face when he had no idea what was at stake for the show and for his sister's career? But at least he'd lightened up after the dance and left her alone. Which was totally good since she had so much to choreograph.
Wendy took a deep breath. It was time for The Announcement.
Even though Wendy could tell from the moment she'd first met Arlen that he'd fallen hard for Lola and that Lola had fallen just as hard for him, she was pretty sure that the rest of the cast and crew were clueless. Heck, Lola and Arlen hadn't even seemed to figure out how desperately they loved each other until pretty darn recently. But Wendy had to give the love-doves credit. Over the past few months, even as they tortured themselves trying to be together, then not be together, then be together, they had always been unflinchingly professional on the set of Off the Beaten Path. And they would continue to be, Wendy had no doubt of that. But everyone else who worked on the show might not see it that way.
Which is why Wendy had waited, but not too long. If she held off any longer, the paparazzi might get wind of the private wedding at Lola's house and be the first to break the news in the most salacious way conceivable.
She had to act no
w. Saturday night was the perfect time to drop the bombshell. After all, people who worked on the show couldn't really do too much in the way of going nuts about startling news on a Saturday night when everyone was off the clock and unavailable. And by the time they all woke up tomorrow, they'd be calmer and more rational. Then the rest of the day Sunday and hiatus week. Plenty of time to simmer down. Because the story of the wedding in the email Wendy was about to send them all would freak them out, no joke. A brand new show and suddenly, the show creator and the rookie leading man just got married? When they'd never even been dating? But Wendy was the star of the show and had been one of TV's hottest actresses for almost a decade. All the fame and credibility she'd forged over eight years on Ups and Downs was about to come in darn handy. Her stamp of approval would go a long way toward making everyone on Off the Beaten Path realize that this marriage was no threat.
She put down the glass of sparkling water with a slightly shaky hand. Her tummy did flip-flops every time she thought about possible reactions to the news. People would wonder whether Arlen had been Lola's boy-toy since before the show and whether she'd simply been so sex-addled that she'd cast her lover as Sam Destry, the show's dark and dangerous leading man. Or they'd wonder whether Arlen had targeted the woman in charge in order to further his career. It was all so silly! One look at Lola and Arlen and you knew how right they were for each other.
God, that audition. Wendy had pirated a copy of the DVD from Tom. Arlen's audition for Sam with Lola reading the part of Celeste. Arlen and Lola had just met, yet every time Wendy watched them saying the lines, she knew she was really watching two people fall in love. Wendy kept the DVD on her shelf with It's a Wonderful Life and Corrina, Corrina—her go-to stash of comfort viewing when she needed to remind herself that people weren't all bad and there was still some hope in the world.
Wendy swallowed. “Here goes nothin',” she whispered. And with a press of her finger, she sent the email to everyone on the cast and crew. The email she and Ray had spent hours carefully drafting.
Done.
And now for social media.
Her gleeful announcement of the marriage would be legion in terms of controlling any nasty gossip. It had to be done. And trouble-maker Colin Scott claimed to be allergic to social media, so he would never know. Not until he got back to hijacking kids' phones on Monday.
She just needed the perfect picture of Lola and Arlen. As she looked for the best shot, she stopped on one of Colin laughing with Lola. Wow. The two of them could be twins with that blond hair and those blue eyes. But Wendy knew he was younger, maybe thirty. And the way he seemed to just absolutely adore his big sister ... Wendy sighed. But still, he was just another good-looking macho guy who thought he was king of the world. Then again, he had frankly admitted he hadn't been good enough for the NFL. And he'd actually laughed when she'd made a crack about his family jewels. Laughed! But had that simply been for the sake of keeping the peace at his sister's wedding? Heaven knew, she'd used his “cease-fire for Lola's sake” to get in as many jabs as she could. He made her so mad, making all the same assumptions about her that everyone else made.
Whatever.
She found the perfect wedding picture and posted it on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. In the caption, she cooed over Lola and Arlen's whirlwind romance, taking credit for introducing the two of them after she'd “discovered” Arlen. It was all bullpucky, of course, but that was her story and she was sticking to it. Her publicly claimed role of matchmaker would quell the most vicious responses to the TV boss lady marrying the rookie gorgeous guy.
Wendy felt exhausted after what she knew was a job well done. Boy, other people's love stories could really take a lot out of her. But at least they didn't rip into her like her own love stories had.
When she was up in her bedroom, about to slip out of her dress, her phone pinged. Maybe it was Ray with news about how her posts were landing.
She picked up her phone. It was a text from Colin Scott. How the by-jingo had he gotten her number? That A-hole must have swiped it from Lola's phone. Rrrrrrr!
Colin: Classic. How do you even have the NERVE to make Lola's wedding day all about you? Take those posts down NOW!
Wendy slammed her phone onto the bed. She wasn't even going to deign to respond. What a colossal jerk! What an amazingly horrible person! How DARE he!
She snatched up the phone to tell him where to get off just as another text pinged through.
Colin: Wendy Hunter, can you, for once in your pathetic publicity-greedy life, do the decent, human thing? Can you pretend, for one damn night, that you are a PERSON? With FEELINGS?
“Oooooooh!” she screeched. She kept screeching all the way down the stairs and out to her Prius. She was so livid she almost backed right through the gate at the end of her driveway.
* * * * *
Colin lay stretched out on the bed in his hotel room and looked at his phone for the zillionth time. No response from Wendy the Witch. And the posts were still up and getting more and more traffic. Maybe he should contact Ray. Colin knew Ray had Lola's back. God, the guy was supposedly her assistant, but ever since the time Colin couldn't get there until a day after Lola's surgery …
Ray had been there, with Lola, distracting her in the hospital. Ray had been there. He hadn't even had a clue what it all meant for Lola, but he'd been there. Thank God for Ray Collier.
Now maybe Ray could help put Wendy out of commission. Colin was scrolling through his contacts when he heard pounding on his door. He jumped up, wearing nothing but gym shorts, but it was good enough to answer the door. And what was up with room service? They were seriously aggressive.
He flung open the door and found himself facing a seething Wendy Hunter.
“What—”
“You bastard!” she spat.
“You should talk!”
“How dare you say such mean things about me? How DARE you?!”
“How dare YOU plaster my sister's life all over social media as your own personal Cupid coup?”
“You don't get it!” She dropped her voice to a harsh whisper. “I am TRYING to do damage control because the media could rip Lola and Arlen apart over this marriage. Do you hear me?! And I am NOT about to let that happen. So back off because you DO NOT GET IT.”
“You have to be the star and believe me, I get that. I work with egomaniacs all the time. And let me tell you, your ego is no prettier than anyone else's.”
“Oooh!”
Colin saw it coming. Wendy hauled her hand back with all her Lilliputian force to sock him. He caught her by the wrist just before her knuckles hit his jaw.
And then he felt it. It was like an electric shock, but softer and warmer. The contact between them seared through him. Just touching her was shorting all his circuits. He sucked in his breath and locked eyes with hers.
The look she gave him was all awe-struck, and confused … and undone.
He moved back, pulling her towards him. Wendy stepped into the room, and with her other hand, she closed the door.
Chapter 2
THE STORY OF WENDY AND COLIN
You're Invited!
To Celebrate the Official Adoption of
Katie Robin
Matteo Robin
and
Ella Robin
by
Arlen Black and Lola Scott
April 5 at the Allport-Black-Robin-Scott Residence
Colin picked up the card off the dash and smiled down at it as he waited for the gates to open. When he finally headed up the drive, he thought about when Lola first bought the house. Colin had been a little scared she might turn out all loony and lonely rattling away in her Spanish mansion on the hill. But his Norma Desmond-in-the-making had managed to morph into a real Maria Von Trapp, and the big house was now overflowing with her and Arlen and the kids and Arlen's first mother-in-law Pam. The way Lola told it, she and Arlen and Pam were a triumvirate raising the kids. That was a little weird, but not if you knew Pam Allport. Colin s
miled, thinking about the most delightful person he'd ever met. Pam had entertained and distracted him all through Lola's wedding, making it easy to forget about that shrew Wendy Hunter.
Wendy Hunter.
Colin gripped the steering wheel almost as hard as he was clenching his jaw. At least he wouldn't have to deal with her today. And not ever again, if he were lucky. A family party with kids was hardly chic enough for the very public life Wendy posted all over social media. The festivities today didn't have nearly the panache as the wedding last fall. So no Wendy, thank God.
Colin pulled up the driveway and parked his rental behind a blue Prius. He was getting his overnight bag out of the car when Lola came flying out the front door. “Colin!”
“La-La!” Colin dropped the bag and hugged Lola as she launched herself at him.
She pulled back, her eyes shining. “So,” she cooed, “how does it feel to be an official uncle?”
“Awesome,” he said, his smile reaching all the way into his eyes. “The whole Mom-thing looks good on you.”
Lola shrugged him off, turning to head back into the house. “Piece of cake. I let Arlen and Pam do everything, and I just yell at the kids when they bug me.”
“Right.” Colin picked up his bag and followed Lola. But before she got to the front door, he snagged her elbow. “Hey,” he said softly.
Lola turned to face him, the glistening happiness in her eyes undeniable. “Oh, Colin. I still have to pinch myself.”
He shook his head even as the grin broke across his face. “I know. I still can't believe Jon really let you guys adopt the kids.”
Lola nodded. She sat down on the front steps and pulled Colin with her. “There's a story to that, and it's not all happy ...”
“Lola, you don't have to—”
“No,” Lola said. “Let me just say this, then we can move on and have fun for the whole weekend.”
Catch a Falling Star (In Love in the Limelight Book 3) Page 1