Ava Wilder

A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt in this sexy debut for fans of Beach Read and The Unhoneymooners. Grey Brooks is on a mission to keep her career afloat now that the end of her long-running teen soap has her (unsuccessfully) pounding the pavement again. With a life-changing role on the line, she's finally desperate enough to agree to her publicist's scheme . . . faking a love affair with a disgraced Hollywood heartthrob who needs the publicity, but for very different reasons. Ethan Atkins just wants to be left alone. Between his high-profile divorce, his struggles with drinking, and his grief over the death of his longtime creative partner and best friend, he's slowly let himself fade into the background. But if he ever wants to produce the last movie he and his partner wrote together, Ethan needs to clean up his reputation and step back into the spotlight. A gossip-inducing affair with a gorgeous actress might be just the ticket, even if it's the last thing he wants to do. Though their juicy public relationship is less than perfect behind the scenes, it doesn't take long before Grey and Ethan's sizzling chemistry starts to feel like more than just an act. But after decades in a ruthless industry that requires bulletproof emotional armor to survive, are they too used to faking it to open themselves up to the real thing?

How to Fake It in Hollywood

Abigail | 

She had slipped into a trancelike state while staring at the coffee shop menu, weighing the wisdom of a medium versus large cold brew: did she merely want to spend the next few hours uncomfortably jittery, or was she in the market for a full-blown caffeine- induced panic attack?

But if she was being honest with herself, the option to walk away had disappeared the moment he materialized in the doorway. 

How fucked in the head was he that he was most attracted to her when she was calling him out for being a patronizing asshole?

Ethan held the door open for her. As she walked by him, he leaned over her. She froze. All of a sudden, she had the irrational thought that he was going to kiss her. He did smell faintly of ciga- rettes, it was true, but it wasn't the sour, overpowering stench of a chain-smoker. Somehow it just enhanced his natural musk, which was clean and spicy and masculine. 

He didn't kiss her, of course. He just brushed his lips against her ear and murmured, “You're cute when you blush."

His featherlight touch on her hips nearly made her jump out of her skin. She shivered. Fuck. There was no way he hadn't seen that. He stilled, but didn't move his hands away. She might have been imagining it, but it felt like his pressure increased, gripping her tighter for a split second, before his hands disappeared. 

"So what you re saying is, you re the best thing that s happened to me in the last five years?" 

She shrugged, taking another sip of wine, seemingly relieved that her attempt had worked. "Unless I missed something. He shook his head slowly, his eyes never leaving her face.

As they swept out of the bar, the pressure of his hand sending tingles up her spine, a thought emerged in Grey's mind with alarming clarity. She felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

 He wasn't being difficult because he disliked her. 

He was being difficult because he liked her a little too much.

He was going to pay for that moment of weakness forever, probably; tormented by the intimate knowledge he had of her, tempted by the prospect of what was still left to discover.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said suddenly, his words thick, sounding like they were choking him.

Her words seemed to affect him, though. He closed his eyes and nodded, just once. Suddenly, she felt like they would both die if she didn't touch him. Without letting herself second-guess the impulse, she leaned over and took his hand in hers. He looked down at their joined hands in surprise, then back up at her. Without breaking eye contact, he brought her hand to his lips, kissing it with devastating tenderness.

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