Am I about to tell you to buy a book just because a friend of mine wrote it? Sooooooort of........ You see, Carina Press put me in an anthology with Alison Packard, and we got friendly online prepping for the release. Then we met at a conference, where I flat out bullied her into going to the best party of the year (cause I'm mean like that). But - and here's the kicker - she writes one HECK of a story! So yes, I'm sharing this post 'cause we're friends. But you'll buy the book because it flat out ROCKS.
Country music star Jessie Grant has it all. An amazing voice, a string of
multi-platinum albums, and a sold-out concert tour. But just before her Hearts
on Fire tour rolls into Las Vegas, her lead guitarist is badly injured
and is unable to play. Desperate to find a replacement before the night of a
televised live show, Jessie is forced to accept help from the last person on
earth she wants to see again.
Drew Carmichael has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best
up-and-coming musicians in Nashville, without cashing in on his renowned
father’s name. When Jessie’s manager calls and asks him to fill in for her
band’s injured guitar player, he agrees to help Jessie out even though she cut
him out of her life four months ago.
In Sin City, sparks fly between Jessie and Drew, and it isn’t long before
they give in to their mutual attraction. But when the dark past Jessie has
successfully hidden for ten years explodes in the media, their tenuous bond is
put to the test, and both Jessie and Drew must learn to trust each other if
they don’t want their newfound romantic relationship to go up in flames.
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Here's a peek at it:
Jessie Grant stared at
the cheery yellow wall in her dressing room, and fought the overwhelming urge
to throw something. Anything. Her agitated gaze fell on the lovely vase of
flowers that had been delivered just before the show, and she had to remind
herself that violence, especially towards a perfectly innocent bouquet of pink
roses and white calla lilies, wouldn’t solve anything.
But
then again, it might relieve the tension that was coiled inside of her like a
tightly wound spring.
“Calm
down.”
“Calm
down?” Jessie whirled around and met the exasperated eyes of her manager. “You
expect me to calm down when my guitar player, who, unbeknownst to me, was
half-wasted during our set, and decided to stage dive into the audience.” She
pointed a finger at him. “That broken arm of his isn’t gonna to heal in four
days. I need another guitar player, and I need one now.”
“Relax,”
Wally Lindell said in a soothing voice. “I’m working on it.”
“How
are you working on it?”
She
propped her hands on her hips and gave him her best glacial stare. It didn’t
faze him. It never did. He’d been her manager since she was fifteen years old,
and he knew her better than anyone. So he should
have known that she would be totally freaked out about losing her lead guitar
player four days before her exclusive gig in Las Vegas, after all, he was the
one who had dubbed her a perfectionist.
“I
put in a call to Drew.”
Jessie’s
already churning stomach lurched wildly. “Drew Carmichael?”
“How
many other guitar players named Drew do you know?” Wally shot her a wise-ass
grin.
Only
one.
“So
you talked to him?” she asked, as she moved to the make-up table. She picked up
the bottle of water her stylist had left out for her and took a sip. Maybe the
simple task would soothe her frayed nerves.
It
didn’t even come close.
“What
did he say?”
“I
left him a message. He hasn’t called me back yet.” Wally shoved his hands into
the front pockets of his black jeans and looked her straight in the eyes with
an unflinching directness.
She’d
seen that look before; the one telling her that while she might be the star, he
was the one who’d gotten her there, and before she went off half-cocked, she’d
better let him have his say. And of course, she would. She respected Wally far
too much not to listen to him.
“He’s
the only guitar player we can get on such short notice that knows your set
list,” he continued. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but
whatever it is, you need to put it aside for the sake of this gig, and maybe
the rest of the tour.”
“What
makes you think something happened?” she asked with feigned nonchalance.
It
was best not to let anyone, especially Wally, know how much she cared about
Drew.
“Because
you two were as thick as thieves last spring, and now it’s like he’s dropped
off the face of the earth. Did you have a falling out?”
“No.”
Jessie scowled, as she returned the bottle to the table. “We didn’t have a
falling out. I’ve been on the road for months now and he…he’s got a life.”
A
life that didn’t include her.
