Go big, or go home
TV producer Delainey Clarke thought she was done with Homer, Alaska. Until a last-ditch attempt to save her career lands her in town, filming a reality-show pilot about expert search-and-rescue tracker Trace Sinclair. Trace is also the man whose heart she broke in half years ago. A man whose kisses are as powerful as the grudge he still holds against her.
Delainey canât afford to let Traceâs attitude interfere with productionâany more than she can resist falling back into his bed. But for how long? Because Delainey isnât trading Hollywood for Homerâ¦not even for Trace.
âI donât care what you have to say.â
Trace pointed to the door. âYou can show yourself out.â
âTrace, please?â
âNo.â
âThe least you can do is just humor me and listen to what Iâve got to say?â
âAnd why should I do that?â he asked. âBecause we parted on amicable terms? Because youâre a decent person? Because you always have everyone elseâs well-being in mind?â Delaineyâs stare narrowed and he laughed because they both knew none of those reasons were true. âMy point exactly. You have no leverage with me. The minute I saw that fake smile you pasted on for my benefit, I knew you came with something in mind.â
âFine,â she said with a dark glower. âYouâve caught me. I need your help.â
âSucks to be you.â
âIs that all youâve got for me after everything weâd been through?â she countered, her eyes glazing a little. âAt one time, you loved me.â
âA long time ago.â He stared, unable to believe sheâd thrown that card down. âA very long time ago.â
Dear Reader,
I love writing complicated love storiesâones with twisted, gnarled attachments and entanglementsâand thatâs exactly what youâll find with Trace and Delainey. Difficult choices, painful pasts, and yet the heart wants what the heart wants, right? Thatâs how I felt about these two lovers, both strong and stubborn at the same time, neither willing to admit that they were wrong, but the love they share refuses to die. How romantic!
But this story isnât only about two lovers, itâs about the sphere of influence surrounding them as they struggle through the complicated mess that is their life, which includes family, friends and career. Life isnât always pretty, but the joy is that much sweeter when you search for it.
I hope you enjoy Trace and Delaineyâs love story; I certainly enjoyed writing it.
Hearing from readers is a special joy. Please feel free to drop me a line via email through my website, at www.kimberlyvanmeter.com, or through snail mail, at Kimberly Van Meter, P.O. Box 2210, Oakdale, CA 95361.
Kimberly Van Meter
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Van Meter wrote her first book at sixteen and finally achieved publication in December 2006. She writes for the Mills & Boon Superromance and Mills & Boon Romantic Suspense lines. She and her husband of seventeen years have three children, three cats and always a houseful of friends, family and fun.
A writer relies on many research tools to aid the task of creating a completely fictitious world, and while the internet has become an invaluable tool in that endeavor, talking to knowledgeable people cannot be beat.
To that end, Iâd like to thank Hollywood producers Jeff Mercer and Christina Villegas for answering my many questions about producing a reality show on location in Alaska.
Any mistakes are my own and no reflection of their true talents!
And to my son, Jaidynâ¦I am so proud of the young man youâre turning into.
I know youâll go far no matter where you go or what you do in life.
CHAPTER ONE
âTOUGH BREAK ON Vertical Blind.â
Delainey Clarke glanced up at the sympathetic voice and offered a tight smile in response, but hurried all that much more quickly down the brightly lit hallway, hoping she could reach her small cubicle of an office and hide.
She managed to slip inside and dropped the fake smile the minute she was safely behind the closed door.
Tough break? More like death knell. Vertical Blind had been her last chance at making her mark at the network as an associate producer, and it had bombed so badly her boss had not only passed on picking up the pilot but had given her newest idea the sardonic brow, as if to ask, âAre you kidding me?â which did not bode well for her future.
Hollywood was a rough townâno, actually, it wasnât a town at all because that would imply that it was inhabited by people. Hollywood was a shark tank, and she was definitely feeling more like chum than a predator at the top of the food chain. What was she going to do? At this rate, she needed more than just a hit, she needed an award-winning, knock-it-out-of-the-park hit in order to restore her status around the network before someone else came along and booted her from her tiny, cramped office.