Girl About Town
Page 24
She looked up at him, hope shining in her eyes.
“I don’t mind being a kept man,” he said with a gentle smile. “I don’t mind being owned, as long as you’re the one who owns me.”
“Oh, Freddie!” She reached for him. It felt like every moment had been leading up to this. Her successes paled beside this instant, and all of her hardships seemed a small price to pay for such happiness.
“Only, I kind of thought we could be a team,” Freddie said. “You might have more money than me, but I promise I won’t hold it against you.”
Lulu laughed, her tears drying. “Hey, Freddie, if I said you had a nice body, would you hold it against me?”
He complied happily, squeezing her closer. “You sure you wouldn’t rather be in vaudeville than Hollywood?”
Lightning flashed again, followed closely by a boom of thunder. The restaurant lights went out, and Lulu and Freddie sat, cuddled close in the darkness, while around them women squealed and somewhere a plate fell and broke.
“Is this our fade-out?” Lulu whispered, resting her cheek against his.
The lights flickered back on, and Hollywood life resumed in all its noisy, brazen splendor.
“No, Lulu. If I have my way, this is merely the opening credits.”
He took her face in both his hands and kissed her, and distantly, as if from some celestial audience, Lulu heard the faint sound of applause.
ADAM SHANKMAN is the director and producer of the exuberant musical remake of Hairspray, the producer of the top-grossing Step Up films, and the director of the adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks bestseller A Walk to Remember, starring Mandy Moore and Bringing Down the House, starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. Adam has also directed episodes of Modern Family, and Glee, and he’s a popular personality as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. He also produced and choreographed the 82nd Annual Academy Awards (which was itself nominated for a record 12 Emmys).
LAURA L. SULLIVAN is a former newspaper editor, biologist, social worker, and deputy sheriff who writes because storytelling is the easiest way to do everything in the world. Her books include Love By the Morning Star, Delusion, and Ladies in Waiting. Laura lives on the Florida coast, but her heart is in England.
Visit us at
simonandschuster.com/teen
authors.simonandschuster.com/Adam-Shankman
authors.simonandschuster.com/Laura-L-Sullivan
* * *
Thank you for reading this eBook.
Find out about free book giveaways, exclusive content, and amazing sweepstakes! Plus get updates on your favorite books, authors, and more when you join the Simon & Schuster Teen mailing list.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com/teen
* * *
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.simonandschuster.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the authors’ imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Atheneum logo is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Jacket photograph copyright © 2016 by Alexa Garbarino / Trevillion Images
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Book design by Debra Sfestios-Conover and Irene Metaxatos
The text for this book is set in Baskerville BT.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Shankman, Adam, author. | Sullivan, Laura L., 1974- author.
Title: Girl about town / Adam Shankman and Laura Sullivan.
Description: First edition. | New York : Atheneum Books for Young Readers, [2016] | Summary: “When fate brings Lulu and Freddie together in 1930s Hollywood, sparks fly—and gunshots follow”— Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015021657
ISBN 978-1-4814-4787-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4789-8 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Love—Fiction. | Criminals—Fiction. | Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.)—History—20th century—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.S483 Gi 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/201502165