By Lorna Peel (Guest Blogger)
Jane
Hollinger is thirty one and recovering from a devastating divorce.
After being dumped by her husband and business partner then
discovering he had been having a year-long affair with a client, Jane
doesn’t think she will ever recover from the betrayal. She isn’t
in any hurry to begin dating again because, as she puts it, she’s
the wrong side of thirty. She spends her time teaching family history
evening classes and one of her students is a man named Mitch. His
strange appearance makes her very nervous but at the same time she is
intrigued by him.
After
a few classes and encounters with Mitch, Jane discovers that the man
who has been sitting at the back of her class is a man she thought
she would only see in her dreams. When she discovers his name is
Robert Armstrong, one of Britain’s biggest acting stars, she is
stunned. Robert asks Jane to help her with an up and coming
television role and also to help him with a mystery in his family
tree.
Jane
and Robert become friends but realise the chemistry between them is
too strong to ignore. Jane begins to discover what dating a celebrity
is like and Robert gets a taste of the normal life. Then, the British
press get wind of their relationship, and Jane must decide whether
she can put up with press intrusion and the paparazzi to be with
Robert. Find out what she decides in Only You!
Excerpt
“No.”
He just had a habit of turning her into a gibbering wreck.
“Then
why?”
She
felt herself redden. “Because, if you want to date me, I don’t
know how,” she admitted. “I haven’t dated anyone since
university and that wasn’t even proper dating. Tom took me out to
dinner once. We were students; we couldn’t afford to go to
restaurants, so it was usually fish and chips or a burger. I don’t
know how to date properly, Robert. I’ve never been out with a man
your age and it’s mortifying to have to admit it. That’s why I
take the easy way out and run. And, apart from that, your
ex-girlfriend was everything I’m not.”
“Which
is precisely why she is now my ex.”
“Why
did you split up?”
“It’s
a cliché, but we ended up wanting different things. I’m not into
all that ‘let’s see how often we can get in the papers’ stuff.
I didn’t like going to clubs or restaurants where there would be
photographers outside. She did. I’m an actor, not a celebrity. I
hate the whole celebrity thing.”
“But
you’re very famous now,” Jane protested. “And you’ll be even
more famous when Mitch Burns is aired. I mean, on the web…” She
pulled a face.
“What
on the web?” he asked.
“You
don’t surf the net much?”
“Not
at home, no. Sometimes at Vince’s, he’s a mate of mine. I haven’t
even turned my laptop on at the apartment yet. Why?”
“Um.
Well, there are websites dedicated to you. Loads. Some of them are a
bit…”
More
blood gushed into her cheeks and he rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m
just an ordinary bloke.”
There
was nothing ordinary about him. “There are millions of women out
there who compete against each other to see who can come up with the
best sexual fantasy involving you. That doesn’t really strike me as
normal.”
“Looks
like I’ve got some work to do, then.”
“What?”
“I’ll
boot up my laptop and dedicate a few websites to you.”
“What?”
she squeaked. “No you bloody won’t! If my parents saw…”
“You’re
beautiful when you’re angry.”
“And
that’s just corny.”
He
shrugged. “That was meant to be a compliment. All right, you look
like crap, if that’s what you really want to hear.”
She
snorted and laughed. “Thank you.”
He
inclined his head. “Look, Jane. Just tell me whether I’m wasting
my time.”
“No,”
she sighed. “But I think you’re mad.”
He
came slowly towards her and took her hands. “No, I’m not.”
“Are.”
“Not,”
he whispered, then kissed her. “You’re not going to run, are
you?”
“It’s
my house.”
“Ah.
Good point. Can I have your mobile number?”
“Why?”
“Don’t
you want me to text you sometime?” He gave her a wink.
“Sexy
ones?” She cringed as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
“They
might be,” he replied mischievously. “So don’t show anyone.”
They
exchanged phones and numbers.
“There.”
“Thank
you.” He put it back in his jacket pocket and returned hers. “I’ll
ring you the odd time, too. Now can I have a peep at these websites
about me?”
Her
heart lurched. “No!”
“Why
not?”
Because
the women—and quite a few men—in the guest books, message boards,
and forums would queue up to rip your clothes off and handcuff you to
the bed so they could smear cream all over you and lick it all off.
“Because you’d find some of them a bit embarrassing.”
“That
bad, eh?”
“Coffee?”
“Thanks,
I think I will.”
“Won’t
be long.”
She
went out to the kitchen, switched the kettle on again then leaned
heavily on the worktop. Right, let’s
get this absolutely straight. Jane Hollinger is in a relationship
with Robert Armstrong. She inhaled and
exhaled deeply before she reached for the jar of coffee.
Blurb
Jane
Hollinger is the wrong side of thirty, divorced and struggling to pay
the mortgage her cheating ex left her with. As a qualified
genealogist, teaching family history evening classes is a way for her
to make ends meet. But she begins to wonder if it’s such a good
idea when a late enroller for the class is a little... odd.
“Badly-blond Bloke” both scares and intrigues Jane, and when she
discovers he is her all-time favourite actor and huge crush, Robert
Armstrong, she’s stunned. Even more stunning to Jane is the fact
that Robert is interested in her romantically. He’s everything she
ever dreamed of, and more, but can she overcome her fear of living in
the public eye to be with the man she loves?
About
Me
Thank
you for featuring me on your blog, Lisabet!
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