Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright page

  Tuesday, October 14th

  Wednesday, October 15th

  Thursday, October 16th

  Friday, October 17th

  Books by Jillian

  HOLLYWOOD LOVE

  Book #10

  ————————————————————-

  JILLIAN DODD

  Copyright © 2014-2017 by Jillian Dodd

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This young adult romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced I this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This ebook is licensed for you personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with someone, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with, especially if you love swoon-worthy boys, strong heroines, and epic love stories.

  If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Jillian Dodd Inc.

  N. Redington Beach, FL

  Jillian Dodd and The Keatyn Chronicles are registered trademarks of Jillian Dodd, Inc.

  Tuesday, October 14th

  Vanessa’s Estate - Holmby Hills

  DAWSON

  After I beeline out the door, jump into the Ferrari I couldn’t have bought for myself, and drive off, I’m both pissed at myself for leaving and pissed at her for letting me go.

  I know Keatyn is working late tonight, so I call Aiden. “Hey, you in town?”

  “Yeah, just got back. What’s up?”

  “Wanna go get a drink or something?”

  “Why don’t you just come here. I can’t really leave tonight.”

  That’s a good idea, I think. I’ll drop the car off at home and walk down. Then I can drink.

  And drink.

  “Is Keatyn home?”

  “No, not yet. You’ll see why I can’t leave when you get here.”

  “I’ll be there shortly.”

  “Are you okay? he asks.

  “I don’t know,” I reply.

  Aiden greets me with a pile of yellow fur cradled in his arms, a pale pink ribbon around its neck.

  When I talk, the puppy looks up at me, licks my fingers, then yawns, and tucks its head back into Aiden’s arms.

  “You got a dog?”

  “Yeah, Keatyn and I always talked about getting a golden retriever and since she’s decided to slow down with work and spend more time at the vineyard, it finally seemed like the right time. I’m going to surprise her tonight.”

  “You’ve always given Keatyn thoughtful gifts,” I say, following him to the bar in the kitchen.

  “Well, I try to make them meaningful. I mean, any guy can shower a girl with jewels and expensive gifts.”

  “Not any guy,” I mutter.

  “Can you do the honors, so I don’t have to put her down? She whines if I don’t hold her when she sleeps,” he says.

  “Already got you wrapped around her paw? Wait until you have a child.” I pour us each a glass of scotch.

  Aiden beams.

  “What’s the smile for?”

  “We’re expecting.”

  “You are? Wow. Congratulations, man. There is nothing in the world that compares to holding your baby.” I think about my girls, knowing there aren’t enough diamonds in the world—let alone Vanessa’s closet—that would ever mean as much as they do. “Children are the ultimate jewel.”

  “I can’t wait to experience that,” Aiden says, rubbing the puppy’s head. “Although, I will admit I’m a little nervous.”

  “Just spend a lot of time with them and always let them know they are loved. They will turn out beautifully.”

  “Says the guy who’s already been through the sleepless nights and the terrible twos,” he says with a laugh.

  “You’ll survive and forget how terrible it was. Now, I’m starting to have to worry about boys. And slumber parties. And mean girls. And soon, I’ll have to deal with them getting their periods.”

  Aiden takes a drink and shakes his head, looking overwhelmed.

  “One step at a time,” I tell him.

  “So, you seemed upset when you called.”

  “I was at Vanessa’s. Have you ever seen her closet?”

  “No, but I’ve heard about it. Jewels, expensive paintings.”

  “You mean that Monet was real?”

  “Yep.”

  “Holy shit.” I run my hands though my hair and pour myself another drink.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “She has everything. And I mean everything. Her ex came to her house tonight and pulled out a ruby the size of her fucking fist. I can’t compete with that shit. I can’t afford that lifestyle. I can’t give her anything like that.”

  “Do you think she expects it?”

  “You know what happened, Aiden.”

  “Dawson, what do you like about Vanessa?”

  “She’s amazing. Sweet. Sincere. Soft. Confident. I love her red lips and how she looks equally sexy in high heels and bare feet.”

  “Not once in that list did you mention a single materialistic thing,” he comments. “You and Vanessa are sort of opposite in that respect.”

  “How so?”

  “Whitney left you with no money, but with something more important.”

  “My girls.”

  “Exactly. And Bam left Vanessa with more money that she knows what to do with, but without the one thing she wanted.”

  “She came over the other night wearing nothing but a fur coat he gave her. She used to hate the coat.”

  “Probably because it was something he gave her to make up for being an asshole. He was always trying to buy her love instead of trying to earn it.”

  I study Aiden, knowing I don’t need to say it, but that I should. “I watched the movies before I went to work at Captive.”

  “The Keatyn Chronicles?”

  “Yeah, and I’ve never really apologized for being such a dick to you in high school.”

  “All’s fair in love and war,” he says, repeating a line from the movie and what I had actually told Keatyn when we dated briefly in high school. Whitney had sent me a text—a simple text, baby, please—begging me not to go away with Keatyn for the weekend but stay with her and try and work out our relationship. She had devastated me when she had broken up with me a few months before and to have her now saying she made a mistake, was what I had longed to hear. I realized too late, that I was an idiot for not staying with Keatyn and tried to win her back. For a short period, she dated both Aiden and I.

  “You wooed her. How did you know what to do? What would affect her?”

  He shrugs. “I was just there for her when she was upset. I took her chocolate cake.”

  I think back to the movie. “And gave her a four-leaf clover for luck, put stars above her bed, ran a feather earring across her neck, and brought her dirt. None of those things really cost money.”

  “I bought her a purse she loved and some gorgeous gold feather earrings. But it’s not what you spend that matters, Dawson. You have to find what touches her soul and give from yours freely.”

  “I was going to give her this.” I show Aiden the necklace I planned to give Vanessa tonight. “It’s just something the girls and I found in Venice, but the butterfly stands for rebirth and the infinity symbol on its wings reminded me of our path back to each other.”

  “Why didn’t you give it to her?”

  “It felt insignificant after seeing all those jewels. Hard to compete with them.”

  Aiden smiles at me. “Here’s a tip, Dawson. All isn’t fair in love and war, but the victor always plays with heart.”

  In the car - L.A.

  RILEY

  I’m on my way to the hotel to meet Shelby when I get a text.

  Ariela: I’m really sorry the note upset you. That wasn’t my intention.

  I don’t reply, instead I call Logan. Once we exchange greetings, I get to the subject at hand.

  “So tell me about this new guy she brought in to be her assistant.”

  “Kyle? I don’t know much about him. Seems like a nice enough kid. Good looking. Funny. Maggie and Grandma were drooling over him.”

  “And what about Ariela?”

  “They seem close. But they must not be too close because he thinks that Maggie and I are renewing our vows, so Ariela doesn’t trust him enough to tell him everything.”

  “Is she fucking him?”

  “Hmm, not sure. Based on the way he acts around her, I’d say he wants to but hasn’t. Why the twenty questions? I thought after homecoming you two made up?
She even told us about the premiere girl getting pregnant. I was under the impression she wasn’t going to let that interfere with your relationship.”

  “Did she tell you guys about the note?”

  “What note?”

  “On graduation day, she was too chicken to tell me in person that she was going to Princeton.”

  “What do you mean? She told you in person then ran to her parents’ car and left.”

  “Yeah, I know. But that wasn’t her plan. Apparently, she didn’t have the guts to tell me in person, so she was going to leave a note on my car. But as she was going to my car, she ran into me, blurted everything out, and forgot to give me the note. She’s kept it all these years though. She gave it to me at homecoming and made me read it last night.”

  “And, what did it say?”

  “That she had to go to Princeton because it was her dream, that she hoped I would understand, and that she hoped we could stay together.”

  “What the fuck?”

  “That was my exact response.”

  “Why didn’t she mail you the letter? Or message you? Or one of us? Anything?”

  “Exactly. Why didn’t she? If she was as heartbroken as she claims to have been, why didn’t she send it?”

  “Did you ever contact her after that?”

  “Fuck no.”

  “Maybe that’s why she didn’t send it.”

  “It really doesn’t matter anymore. We agreed to talk this week, but I’m bailing on that. At the wedding, I’ll tell her I don’t want to see her again, and she can go back home.”

  “Uh—”

  “Uh, what?”

  “She agreed to work for Asher, helping to design our new wedding and event space. She’ll be around.”

  “Shit. I’m the one who encouraged her to take the job.”

  “Riley, maybe you should talk to her in person before you make a permanent decision. She’s been working really hard. The wedding is going to be beautiful. Want to know what Maggie told me?”

  “Probably not.”

  Of course, it doesn’t stop him from saying, “Ariela told Maggie that she thinks making Keatyn’s wedding perfection will prove her love to you.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “Women never do,” he says.

  I pull up to the hotel and leave my car with the valet, our conversation replaying in my head and wondering what the hell I should do. It’s hard to forgive someone who caused you so much pain—let alone let them back into your life.

  My heart wants to go to the vineyard, hold Ariela in my arms, and have her tell me she still loves me.

  I want her to keep telling me that until I believe her.

  Because after reading the note, I’m not sure I ever will again.

  As I knock on the door to Shelby’s bungalow, I focus on the task at hand. I’m here to take Shelby out for dinner, get to know her, and then fuck away any and all thoughts of Ariela.

  When Shelby answers the door, my jaw drops to the floor.

  “I look different, huh?” she purrs, handing me a glass of champagne. “I learned something today, Riley Johnson.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you remember the good champagne we had in New York?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “I found out that it’s actually a cheap brand. I think the sommelier steered you wrong.”

  “Oh, that sucks,” I say, feeling bad for lying to her. “Um, you look amazing.”

  She does a little twirl, allowing me to check her out. Her hair has been changed from its usual bleached blond to a softer shade with brown undertones. Undertones are probably something a guy like me shouldn’t know about, but I do. Keatyn always has very precise descriptions for the actresses she wants cast in our movies. Anyway, Shelby looks gorgeous, and I can’t help but appreciate it. Her boobs are restrained in a low-cut gown that has sheer mesh covering her cleavage while still giving a hint of the creamy skin beneath. The rest of the black dress drapes fluidly over her curves, but isn’t the skintight version she usually prefers. Her makeup is soft and pretty rather than harsh and dark. The effect is stunning, really.

  “I’ve been totally pampered today,” she says, reaching for my zipper. “I’d like to pamper you in return.”

  I grab her hand. “Although I would love to have your kind of pampering, you look too beautiful. Let’s go to dinner first.”

  She freezes, staring at me with wide eyes. “Really, Riley? You think I look beautiful? Like not just hot, but actually pretty?”

  “Yes, you look beautiful. And I told you, I want to get to know you better. Let’s go eat then when we come back I will pamper you.”

  She grabs my face and kisses it then puts her arm in the crook of my elbow, allowing me to escort her out the door.

  At dinner, I learn more about her family. And the picture is not pretty. She ran away at sixteen and has been on her own ever since. Her mom worked two jobs to make ends meet and she had a deadbeat stepfather. When Shelby started developing, he took notice. Although he hadn’t done anything inappropriate yet, she says she knew it was coming. He’d snuck into her bedroom one night and told her what they were going to do. Fortunately, her mom got off early, and he didn’t have the chance. She didn’t stick around to find out if he was serious. She moved in with an older guy, and together they went to Vegas. She got a fake ID and worked underage as a dancer. After they broke up, she moved to L.A. with dreams of becoming an actress.

  “You never told me you wanted to be an actress,” I say, as the waiter refills my champagne and removes our dinner plates.

  “Isn’t that what every girl who comes here dreams of? Then reality sets in after you’ve gone to what feels like a million casting calls.”

  “You know, I could get you a part in a movie.”

  “You told me you don’t cast girls who you sleep with.”

  “I never have before.” She smiles a pretty, white-toothed smile. “Did you get your teeth whitened too?”

  She laughs and covers her mouth with her hand. “Tyler made me.”

  “Tyler did good,” I say again, reveling in her beauty. “I bet if you looked like this, you would have been cast long before I ever met you.”

  “I didn’t really know how to look—or act—like a lady. I’ve been watching the women here. They behave differently. Their body language. The way they hold themselves, like they are all royalty even if they’re not. You know, some of those Housewives were filming here today. It was exciting. I love watching that show. All their drama. It’s such an escape from reality because their drama is nothing like real life. None of them know what it’s like to not have money to cover their rent. They complain about being so tired, but all they did was work out, go to lunch, and talk behind each other’s backs. I mean, I highly doubt any of them have ever worked a double shift before. Now, that’s tired.”

  “I like that you’re so down to earth.”

  “I’m ready to get down to earth with you, Riley. Could we skip dessert and go back to the room?”

  “Yes, we can,” I say, summoning the waiter for the check and looking forward to what’s to come.

  Wednesday, October 15th

  Captive Films - Santa Monica

  DAWSON

  I call Vanessa’s cell phone only to get sent straight to voicemail. She was supposed to have attended a marketing meeting this morning but didn’t show. And that’s unlike her.

  I’m torn between wanting to know and not wanting to know what happened with Bam last night. But my concern gets the best of me, so I call her house phone.

  Her butler, Bernard, answers.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to check on Vanessa. She isn’t answering her cell and missed a business meeting at Captive this morning.”

  “She must have forgotten. She is out on the terrace having brunch with Mr. Martinez. Would you like to speak with her or shall I relay a message?”

  “Uh, neither. Thanks. I’ll call her later.”

  I put my head down on my desk, feeling defeated.