Epilogue
After a passionate month of living together, they went public, dating in the spotlight. Jake still found it annoying, the intrusion into their private moments, but Claire taught him a lot about grace under pressure, about making the press feel like they got something important from her (when they got only what she chose to give), and how to keep the public separate from the private. The buzz was on them as the adorable “it” couple, nicknamed Jaire, and that was okay because he had the woman of his dreams.
His investment in Fierce Longing’s marketing campaign had paid off big time, as he fully expected it would. Blake had caught on quick the direction things were going for the big movie release and went out of his way to gush over Claire and the Fierce movies. Opening night tickets had sold out three months in advance for the December release.
Now they were walking the red carpet for the movie premiere, a barrier wall on one side of them, security and more barriers on the other, the flash of cameras nearly blinding him. Blake went first with his hot model date followed by the Happy Endings Book Club members, and then Jake, Claire, and an unobtrusively hovering Frank. Jake had a whole new appreciation for Frank once Claire told him all of her horror stories of aggressive and, frankly, nutso fans.
Hailey waved and smiled at some screaming Fierce fanatics, hamming it up for the cameras and holding up her signed copy of Fierce Longing. She claimed credit for him and Claire getting together and had been lobbying to plan the wedding ever since their secret engagement (need-to-know basis), but he and Claire wanted something private. It would be at an undisclosed time in an undisclosed location with invites going out only two weeks in advance to a select few, including his family and closest friends, her family, and the book club. Truth was, they’d been waiting for the holidays and the return of his blood brother Parker Shaw. Park was heading home, for good, now that his air force service was up.
Mad elbowed Hailey, and they had a brief harsh discussion. Those two, surprisingly enough considering their differences, had become close. Mad had let Hailey glam her up with hair and makeup for tonight’s event, but insisted on a pants suit instead of a dress. Next to all the other dresses of the book club women, his sister stood out even more than she normally would with her dyed fire-engine red hair.
“Claire! Claire! Over here!” reporters shouted.
Claire stopped at the turn in the carpet in front of the theater, smiling and shifting subtly in her shimmering silver gown while the cameras went off. Jake let go of her hand so she could do her thing, and just watched her, lit up, gracious, laughing. He found himself smiling what was probably a goofy lovesick smile, but he didn’t care. It was real, and he’d never been so happy.
They went into the theater to watch her movie together for the first time. Julia, the famously reclusive author, had a private viewing of the movie at home. Claire didn’t even try to get her out to LA because Julia was all gaga for her newborn daughter, Grace. He and Claire would be starting a family just as soon as she wrapped the Fierce trilogy.
After they took their seats, he whispered in his fiancée’s ear, “I want a repeat performance of any and all simulated sex scenes in this movie, Mrs. Jake Campbell.”
She smiled, and turned to him, eyes bright. He loved that “Mrs. Jake Campbell” always made her smile. Though it wasn’t official yet, he’d been calling her that ever since he proposed. To the public she would always be Claire Jordan. That was a bankable brand that would keep going as long as she wanted.
He grinned and added, “You owe me that for watching you with this homely pretend lover.” He gestured at the screen. Never mind that Blake had just been named Sexiest Man Alive. It was Jake who’d pushed to make him so. All part of the Fierce movie marketing campaign. If the fans couldn’t have Claire and Blake together, they could obsess over Blake and imagine themselves with him. Win-win.
“I don’t think so,” she said in a teasing voice.
“And why not?”
“Everything we do is one hundred percent real. No simulations, no pretending.”
He brought her hand to his lips and grazed her knuckles. “Yes.”
She quirked a brow, a devilish gleam in those hazel eyes. “Besides, I’m not sure you can take it to this level of alpha.”
“Oh, it is on.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes, grinning like idiots.
The theater lights dimmed. He gave her a quick kiss and settled in for what he was sure was the first of many movie premieres. He still owned Dat Cloud, but he’d cut back his hours, taking more time off to travel with Claire. She was at the top of her game, and he was all in for wherever the ride took them. They’d settle down, eventually, and raise a family, but for now it was all about the next big opportunity. He liked the business side of her production company and had launched a massive online advertising campaign and a slick website.
The movie title, Fierce Longing, flashed on the screen, and he knew what those words meant on a heart level. That longing to fill the empty ache of loneliness deep inside. Something he and Claire had both felt before they found each other. And he knew soul deep what the final installment, Fierce Loving, meant too. To love wholly, completely, fiercely. Forever.
~ ~ ~
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Dear Readers,
What do you think about Hailey and Josh? Will they or won’t they? I think they’re enjoying the frenemy thing too much to stop. LOL You know who really needs a happy ending? Mad Campbell. That tough chick has a secretly mushy heart for the man she worshipped as a teen. Would you like an exclusive sneak peek at my next release? Just , and you’ll receive sneak peeks, excerpts, and subscriber-only giveaways. Next up is Mad Campbell’s story, Inviting Trouble, book 2 in the Happy Endings Book Club series. Join the club and get your happy ending!
Inviting Trouble (Happy Endings Book Club #2)
She’s always been one of the guys…
Raised in an all-male household, Madison "Mad" Campbell was once proud to be a tomboy. Until she developed a hard case of lust for her older brother’s crazy hot friend Parker Shaw. And maybe he noticed her too because he was the only one in the testosterone-addled bunch to include her instead of sending her away. One drunken kiss—that he has no memory of—is all she has before Park leaves for the Air Force.
He’s never been a prince…
Parker was a lost boy, heading down a dark path, until he met the Campbell boys who became like family. Not only did they help him through a tumultuous childhood, they gave him the little sister experience. Mad has always been off-limits, a point driven home by his best friend Ty Campbell, which was no problem until he realized her boy clothes were hiding a future knock out. One kiss tells him he’s reached the limits of his control.
She's making some big changes…
Parker is back, sexier than ever, and Mad is determined to show Park she’s all grown up and more than capable of handling him. So why is she trembling at the thought? What insanity made her cave to a makeover from the meddling matchmaker in charge of The Happy Endings Book Club?
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You’ve just read book #1 in the Happy Endings Book Club series. The books in the series are (Jake & Claire), (Parker & Mad), and coming in 2017, So Revealing (Ty & Charlotte), Formal Arrangement (Alex & Lauren), and Bad Boy Done Wrong (Zach & Carrie). I hope you enjoy them all!
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Other Books by Kylie Gilmore
The Clover Park Series
(Book 1)
(Book 2)
(Book 3)
(Book 4)
(Book 5)
(Book 6)
(Book 7)
(Book 8)
(Book 9)
(Book 10)
The Clover Park STUDS Series
(Book 1)
(Book 2)
(Book 3)
(Book 4)
(Book 5)
Acknowledgments
Thanks to you! Yes, you, dear romance reader, for inspiring the Happy Endings Book Club! Because wouldn’t it be great to dish with other avid romance readers? Thanks also to my family, Tessa, Pauline, Paul, Mimi, Kim, and Jenn for all you do.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks are not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Hidden Hollywood: © 2016 by Kylie Gilmore
Digital Edition 1.0
Cover design by Kim Killion
Published by: Extra Fancy Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
ISBN-10: 1-942238-23-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-942238-23-2