There’s no place like Nashville for discovering all the secrets your ex has been keeping—a Dynasties: Beaumont Bay novel by Jessica Lemmon.
He chose country music over the one who got away.
Well, now she’s back…
Country music star Cash Sutherland is too successful for
his own good. Seen as a bad boy in need of redeeming, he and his label are
doing all they can to revamp his reputation. They’ve even hired eager
journalist Presley Cole, who’s ready and willing to print the cover story that
will make both their careers. The only problem? She’s the woman he left behind,
and she’s not ready to forgive him for breaking her heart…
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Presley, dressed smartly in a fuchsia skirt and
floral-print blouse and a pair of peep-toe kitten heels, wrapped her folded hands
around her knee to keep her leg from bobbing up and down like a sewing machine
needle. She was overcaffeinated, thanks to a virtually sleepless night, but
when inspiration had struck, she hadn’t wanted to waste a single second
sleeping.
The smile she’d glued into place was starting to shake at
the edges, so she coughed into her hand to give her mouth a rest. When her
boss, Delilah, looked up at her again, Presley grinned anew.
Say yes. All I need is a yes.
Presley had longed to escape Florida for as long as she
could remember. She’d always wanted to travel the world, visit other countries,
meet new and interesting people. But traveling cost money, which had been in
short supply. Instead she’d been stuck in Tallahassee as if an invisible force
field was keeping her here.
When her boss announced a “friendly” competition for
their branch of Viral Pop a month ago, Presley’s ears had perked. All she had
to do was write an article that would go viral and grab lots of new eyeballs.
The winner earned a pay-and-title bump—hello, Senior Staff Writer!—and a
transfer to any of Viral Pop’s offices in the world.
Pres had practically foamed at the mouth from excitement.
She’d been trying to come up with a winning idea over the last week and a half
but nothing came. Until her drive home from work last night, when her
ex-boyfriend’s song had come on the radio.
Cash Sutherland had left Florida a football star, and was
now a country music superstar. Upon hearing his most popular song, a fresh
idea had hit her like the title, “Lightning.” Out of nowhere and with enough
force to split her in two.
Admittedly, she was a tad torn. She didn’t relish the
idea of revisiting the painful breakup she’d swept under the rug years ago, but
on the other hand she really wanted to win. Like, really, really wanted
to win.
So she’d sat up until 2:00 a.m. last night writing the
proposal Delilah was reviewing this very second.
“This would require you to be out of the office,” her
boss stated, her eyes traveling to Presley. Delilah’s usual brand of
curiosity-slash-interrogation never failed to intimidate, but winning this promotion
and the opportunity to escape Florida was Presley’s lifelong dream. She could
handle a little intimidation.
“I’ve worked remotely before,” Presley replied. At home,
but still. “I am very good at time management. Especially when it’s my own
time. Or the time here at the office,” she was quick to add. “I value your
time, as well. More than mine. More than anyone’s.” She pressed her lips
together to keep from sounding desperate, the sticky gloss she’d swiped on this
morning helping with that endeavor.
Delilah hummed, set her tablet aside and narrowed her
eyelids. Then she dipped her chin. “What makes you so sure Cash Sutherland is
going to tell you his biggest songwriting secret when he’s dodged that question
from every reporter who’s spoken with him?”
Nervously, Presley licked her lips. She wasn’t at all sure
Cash Sutherland was going to confess his biggest songwriting secret. Ever since
“Lightning” hit the Billboard Top 100, scads of press had been trying to solve
the mystery of whom the song was written about. Rumors were rampant. Article
after article had named this starlet or that, this singer or the other, and
really, given his copious dating history, it could be any or all of
them.
“We’re old friends.”
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