Monday, May 4, 2015

It Was Always You  
After dreaming of him for months, Candy can’t believe the 1Night Stand dating service has found a man fitting the description of her ideal lover. After all, her dream man is no other than A-list actor, Jared Harwell, and since she’ll never have him, she’ll settle for a close match. 

Shapeshifter Jared Harwell is ready to call it quits—his acting career and Hollywood lifestyle—if he can find the mate he’s searching for. But, evidently, his perfect mate is only to be found in his nocturnal dreams and the closest he’ll ever get to her is with the help of Madame Eve’s 1Night Stand service. And even then, it’s only one night with a fantasy lookalike. 


Will that be enough time for Candy and Jared to realize dreams truly can come true?


Excerpt:


“Did you deliver the letter as instructed?” Jared leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and stared up at his personal assistant, who leaned against the doorjamb. Jared had planned the date to the last detail and wanted everything perfect.

“You know I did.” James pushed away from the door, shoved his keys in his pocket, and sat across from his best friend. “It’s a good thing she agreed to it. Meeting her in Ottawa fits into your busy schedule perfectly.”

“Yes. Being up there for a few days at that romance thing gives both of us some downtime, too. It works out well. I can spend a time in the country unwinding before and after.”

“You’ll probably need it after a day in a room full of oversexed women.”

Jared stared at his best friend and raised a brow. “I seem to recall you used to like situations like that.”

“That was before you got famous, and speaking of that, I don’t know why you don’t tell your date who you are right off the bat.” Jamie shrugged. “Any lass would be lucky to have you for the night, if you ask me.”

Jared shook his head and sighed. He wished he’d known it would be more bother than it was worth before he’d set himself on this path. James never understood the problems he faced with his celebrity status. Not that it mattered a hell of a lot. He only had another five years at most before he had to quit. Otherwise, someone would notice he never aged.

Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to be able to return to a life of anonymity. A life where he could be certain a person stayed in his life because they cared about him, not because of what he could do for them.

“And I have no doubt in my mind she would think the same. I want some time to get to know her before she finds out who I am. I want her to see the man, not the movie star. Is that too much to ask?” It didn’t really matter. He only had the one night with the woman.

Why did others find it so difficult to understand he wanted his date to like him for himself, not what he could do or buy for them? He was never certain of the real reasons a girl dated him. Did she really like him, or did she just find his bank account attractive?

In a perfect world, he would meet and marry someone who had never heard of Jared Harwell. However, that would be next to impossible. His face was on too many magazines and on too many TVs to remain anonymous for any length of time.


He had employed the 1Night Stand agency to set up the little fantasy for him to keep his anonymity. He needed to let off some steam with a female he found hot before he went on the hunt for the perfect Hollywood wife. He never had understood the media’s habit of attacking a woman because of her size. So what if he found heavier women attractive? It should be his business and no one else’s. Still, Jared knew he couldn’t subject a woman, especially a woman who he might come to care about, to such heartless bastards.

“I don’t suppose so. But if you want my opinion, she isn’t the kind of chick to go for you just because you’re famous. She asked for someone fitting your description. That should count for something.”

“You just don’t get it, do you? I’m probably her fantasy.” Jared snorted and ran his fingers through his hair. “God, that sounded conceited, didn’t it?”

He hated celebrities who let their fame go to their heads. Though, he wasn’t sure he hadn’t become one of them over the last few years.

Pushing away from his desk, he stood. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask that I make sure the person I intend to spend time with, even for one night, wants me for me. Do you?”