A fake relationship leads to a real pregnancy! Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Anna DePalo!
To protect her reputation in a dog-eat-dog town, actress Chiara Feran needs a fake fling fast! Turning to the stuntman on her latest movie, Rick Serenghetti, seems like a sure thing. But in Hollywood, thingsâand stuntmenâare never what they seem. Rick is actually a wealthy movie producer who stunts for kicks. And boy, is he intrigued by this latest role! But he gets more than he bargained for as the line between fantasy and reality blurs. Soon, a very real baby is on the way. Could a marriage proposal be far behind?
Hollywood Baby Affair is part of The Serenghetti Brothers series.
âSo you need a boyfriend,â Rick Serenghetti said without preamble.
She itched to rub the smug smile off his face. âI donât need anything. This would be a completely optional but mutually advantageous arrangement.â
And right after this conversation, she was going to have another serious talk with her manager. What had Odele signed her up for?
âYou need me.â
She burned. Heâd made it sound like You want me.
âIâve been asked to play many roles, but never a stud.â
âDonât get too excited.â
He grinned. âDonât worry, I wonât. I have a thing for the doe-eyed, dark-haired look, but since Camilla Belle isnât available, youâll do.â
The flames of temper licked her, not least because he was clued in as to her Hollywood doppelgänger. âSo youâll settle?â
âI donât know. Letâs kiss and find out.â
âIf the cameras were rolling, it would be time for a slap right now,â she muttered.
He caught her wrist and tugged her closer.
âThis isnât a movie, and youâre no actor!â she objected.
âGreat, because I intend to kiss you for real.â
* * *
Hollywood Baby Affair is part of the Serenghetti Brothers series: In business and the bedroom, these alpha brothers drive a hard bargain!
USA TODAY bestselling author ANNA DEPALO is a Harvard graduate and former intellectual property attorney who lives with her husband, son and daughter in her native New York. She writes sexy, humorous books that have been published in more than twenty countries. Her novels have won the RT Book Reviews Reviewersâ Choice Award, the Golden Leaf and the Book Buyerâs Best. You can sign up for her newsletter at www.annadepalo.com.
For DeLilah & Bob,
thanks for the support & encouragement
One
Actress and Stuntman Lovefest! More Than Movie Pyrotechnics on Display.
The gossip website headline ran through Chiara Feranâs head when it shouldnât have.
She clung to Stunt Studâs well-muscled shoulders, four stories up, wind blowing and helicopter blades whipping in the backgroundâtrying to act as if her life depended on it when the truth was that only her career did. After all, a gossip site had just written that she and Mr. Stunt Double were an item, and right now she needed the press distracted from her estranged father, a Vegas-loving cardsharp threatening to cause a controversy of his own.
She tossed her head to keep the hair out of her face. Sheâd learned Stunt Studâs first name was Rick when theyâd rehearsed, but she thought insufferable was a better word for him. He had remarkable green eyes...and he looked at her as if she were a spoiled diva who needed the kid-glove treatment.
I donât want you to ruin your manicure.
Thanks for your concern, but thereâs a manicurist on set.
Theyâd had a few brief exchanges over the course of filming that had made her blood boil. If the world only knew... True, his magnetism was enough to rival that of the biggest movie stars, so she wondered why he was content with stunt work, but then again, his ego didnât need any further boosting. And the rumors were that he wasnât who he seemed to be and that he had a shadowy, secretive past.
There was even a hint that he was fabulously wealthy. Given his ego, she wouldnât be surprised if heâd put out the rumors himself. He was a macho stuntman ready to save a damsel in distress, but Chiara could save herself, thank you. Sheâd learned long ago not to depend on any man.
She opened her mouth, but instead of an existential scream, her next line came out. âZain, weâre going to die!â
âIâm not dropping you,â he growled in reply.
Chiara knew his voice would be substituted later with her costarâs by the studioâs editing department. She took perverse satisfaction in calling him by her costarâs character name. And since Rick was pretending to be her costar, and her costar himself was just acting, she was two steps removed from reality.
And one long fall away from sudden death.
Even though both she and Rick had invisible harnesses, accidents could and did happen on movie sets. As if on cue, more explosions sounded around them.