Thursday, March 17, 2016

Souvenirs by @AuthorMiaKay - New Release @BookEnthuPromo


Souvenirs
by Mia Kay
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 16, 2016





A reclusive writer … Grace Donnelley’s successful sci-fi novel is about to become a movie. She wants a vacation with her mother before filming starts, but fears her name will cause a geek riot. So she creates Grace Ward, sometimes schoolteacher and doting daughter of Sunny.

A hounded actor … Bennett Oliver escapes London for a vacation with his mother. He wants to hide from the paparazzi and his brooding reputation. He takes the role of Ben Brady, successful businessman and overprotective son of Camille.

But they never counted on each other … An immediate attraction, aided by their matchmaking mothers, gives Ben and Grace a vacation they never expected — and one they don’t want to lose. Upon returning to their everyday lives, they work to maintain a relationship while trying to find a way to say “by the way, I’m famous.”

When the secrets and lies catch up with them, Ben and Grace struggle to open their lives and re-open their hearts to see if love can be their most treasured souvenir.






     “You know most of the crew will have seen the picture of us. The ones who haven't will soon. I need to get in front of it.”
     “We do,” he emphasized. “We're both in it.”
     “Okay, then. We'll do it in the morning at the orientation. Right now, we should go back inside before people start to wonder.”
     She braved the curious glances for the remainder of the party, and then again the next morning through Paul’s brief announcements.
     As the departments grouped together and prepared to leave, Grace walked on wobbly knees to the microphone. Bennett joined her, standing too close, and she inched away. No one needed to see them as a couple.
     “If I can have your attention,” she croaked. “This won't take long.”
     The speakers echoed through the room, amplifying the shake in her voice. She tightened her grip on the edges of the podium. Everyone stopped, some in mid-stride. They all waited.
     She gulped and it echoed back to her, but she managed to nod at Gino who flipped the light on the projector. She watched the expressions fade from confusion to understanding or, in this case, misunderstanding. She really hoped they couldn't hear her knees banging together.
     Bennett took half a step forward, and she stilled him with a look. At least the telepathic part of their relationship had stuck.
     “I—we want to address the elephant in the room,” she said, her voice gaining strength. “If you've not seen this, I'm sure you will at some point during filming.”
She focused her gaze on Gino and his encouraging nod.
     “I finished the screenplay before we met,” she recited from memory. “Bennett auditioned like everyone else. We have dated, but we don't anymore. We're okay with it, so don't be uncomfortable. Thanks. Have a great first day.” She stepped away from the microphone and fled down the stairs and to work.
     She kept her nose to the grindstone all day, then stayed late to make sure everyone knew she and Bennett didn’t leave together. Relying on her GPS, she wound her way back to Malibu, though Meg and Paul’s gate, and to her temporary home.
     After making popcorn for dinner, she stood in her borrowed living room, her phone on her shoulder, and talked to Pam Reynolds, her cover artist.
     “They look exactly alike,” she grumbled as she stared at the poster boards leaning against the sofa.
     “They're not.” Pam contradicted her. “I read through the book between renderings. I think the second one does a better job with the story line.”
     God save me from over-committed artists. “Which one is the second one?” Grace asked.
     “It's subtle, but I like it. You will too when you see it. Spend some time looking at them.”
     “Thanks, Pam,” Grace drawled as she hung up.
     She stared at the poster boards again. Pam had done every cover in the series, and Grace loved them all. She should trust the artist's judgment. But they were hers, and fewer and fewer things were hers alone.
     Her eyes skipped from option A to option B, and then back to option A. It was like looking at one of those matching game puzzles—find the things in this photo that weren’t in the other. At least the online versions of those gave hints. Shelving the decision for later, she walked to the window to stare out past the deck and into the night. She was bone weary from the day and raw from trying to discipline her body and her mind into ignoring Bennett.
     One waistcoat matched his eyes, and the other matched her green dress. She'd helped Susan design her hair and thought about combing her fingers through Bennett's. She had to stare at her feet as she walked to keep from bumping into people while she watched him on the training floor. His voice bounced from the metal walls and found her throughout the building, behind every closed door.
     At lunch, he’d sat on the mats with Susan and their trainers, Beau and Max, while they ate. Grace had itched to sit next to him and share her potato chips while they compared notes about their day.
     Even now, she wanted to know what he thought.
     Sighing, she dropped her head into her hands. This would never work if she couldn’t get herself under control.
***
     Down the beach, closer to the city, Ben slouched in the armchair provided in his furnished apartment.      With the patio door open, he could hear the tide and smell the ocean even if he couldn't see it past the glare of his reading light.
     He hadn't expected this. With the way Meg and Paul felt about Grace, he was surprised he wasn't camping under a bridge. Like a troll. He admired their willingness to give him a chance and make him welcome while still letting him know they were firmly on Grace's side.
     The entire crew was on her side. Hell, half of them were in love with her already. He was either a bastard for breaking her heart or a daft git for letting her go.
     He chose daft git.
     All day long, she'd moved from department to department, stopping to visit, laughing with techs and talent. At least with the other talent. She'd stayed well clear of him.
     Through the dressing room wall, he'd listed to her consult with Susan about wardrobe, makeup, and hair. When the knock had come at his door, he'd looked up with a smile only to see Linda, the wardrobe assistant, armed with a pile of fabric Grace had already chosen and he hated. The hair stylist already had photos taped to his mirror, and none of them fit his interpretation of the character. She'd left make-up to their own devices, thankfully.
     Okay, so maybe he was a bastard.
     He recalled Grace’s speech from this morning. We're fine with it, she’d said. Bloody hell, he certainly wasn’t fine with it. He thought about the shake he heard in her voice, about her retreat from the stage without waiting on him. She'd flinched when he'd approached her. Had she simply been nervous about being in front of people? He wanted to know if today had been this difficult for her. Was she really fine?
     In his orientation packet, he found the contact sheet and her name and number near the top of the alphabetical listing. Halfway through dialing, he realized what he was doing and deleted every number with a determined press of his finger.
     Do it right this time.
     Daft git.









Mia Kay spent years writing legal documents and keeping people out of trouble. Now she spends her days looking for ways to get her characters into trouble. She lives in Arkansas with her husband, who doesn’t mind discussing (and sometimes causing) mayhem over breakfast.










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