Ramblings From This Chick: Feature and Giveaway: Lucky Star by Rebecca Caudill

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Feature and Giveaway: Lucky Star by Rebecca Caudill

What happens when two best friends who are secretly in love with each other hookup after one too many shots of tequila? For Sarah Travers and Cameron Scott, their friendship is quickly overshadowed by the uncertainty that comes with crossing the line from friends to lovers. Their problems are compounded when Cameron is cast as the lead in a major Hollywood blockbuster and he must decide what’s more important: sticking by the woman he’s loved since the moment they met or the bright lights and temptation of superstardom.

Sarah

When I met Cameron we hit it off like macaroni and cheese. Now we’re practically inseparable but I’ve been hiding the fact that I’m in love with him. Truly, madly, deeply. He finally figured it out and everything changed between us forever. That’s not my biggest problem though. You see, Cameron just landed the role of a lifetime and, despite how he feels about me, I’m worried I’m about to play second fiddle to the bright lights and temptations of Hollywood.

Cameron

I think I’ve loved Sarah since the first moment I laid eyes on her. It goes without saying she’s funny, smart, and has curves for days, but it’s more than that. She’s my light in this cynical, messed up world called Hollywood. I’d do anything to be with her, but I keep screwing up what should be easy. Now the studio is pressuring me to date my new co-star as part of a PR campaign and all I can think is maybe Sarah and I weren’t meant to be.

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My heart broke for him. For me. For us.

He wasn’t alone in those desires, and while it would be simple if we were other people, we were who we were. We lived in a world where if he defied the studio’s mandate it would spell the end of any career he might have. If my eggs were shriveling up, he wasn’t getting any younger either and there weren’t a lot of leading roles for unknown actors over a certain age. He couldn’t live on commercials or bit roles in made-for-TV movies for much longer. If he played this awful game, he would have more money and fame than he’d ever dreamed and we would be set for life.

“I see this playing out two ways. If you give up on this role—because that’s what you’d be doing—you can move home to Ohio and help your dad run the farm. I’d go with you. Or you can do this movie their way and when you eventually do go home, it’s with your head held high. Your dad won’t have to break his back well into his seventies since the money you get from this trilogy will set your parents up for life. It’ll set us up for life.”

I hated myself for playing dirty like this but it was for his own good. Once I’d decided to sacrifice my pride for the good of his career, that had been that. He’d accused me of not wanting to fight for us, but that’s exactly what I was doing. I was just playing the long game.

“If you do this, you won’t ever have to compromise again. You’re going to be a huge star and once that happens you can tell Broderick or any other director how it’s going to be, have stipulations built into your contract that prevent them from meddling in your personal life.”

As the words tumbled from my lips, I watched him work through what I was promising in his head.

Sealing the deal for Broderick—and in a roundabout way, our future—I continued. “Once this movie wraps, we’ll go public. We just can’t do it now. They’ll cut you loose and hire the other guy and then it’ll be gone, just like that.” I snapped my fingers. “They’ll do it too, don’t ever doubt that. Broderick is ruthless as hell. He’ll ruin you if you ruin this movie. But don’t think of it like that. This is an opportunity. A difficult one, yes, but in the end, it can work. I promise, I’ll be by your side the whole time. You won’t be alone.”

I felt his resolve weakening as I laid it out. Once he’d established himself as a leading man, we could be together publicly and he could knock me up and buy all the damn farms in Ohio if that’s what he wanted to do. I was offering him the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and all he had to do was do what he did best: play a part.

When his shoulders slumped in defeat, I knew I’d won, if that’s what you could call this. Because in the short term? I was the loser.

This is all for him, I reminded myself. My sacrifice now ensures our future.

He dropped his head forward and closed his eyes. “I know I’m going to regret this,” he whispered.

And that, my friends, is how I became Cameron Scott’s best-kept secret.

Rebecca has always loved writing stories. When she won a writing contest in third grade (a 1000-word epic tale about her teddy bear, Max), she announced she would someday become an author. When she wasn't writing her own stories, she was sneaking copies of her mom's paperback romances to read late into the night. (Which, thinking back, was probably not appropriate.) After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2000 with a degree in Journalism, she embarked on a career in technology public relations in Silicon Valley, working for some of the country's hottest start-ups and publicly-traded companies. In 2014 she retired from corporate drudgery to write full time.

Rebecca lives in Dublin, Ireland, with her husband. When not writing, she is exploring her new city and traveling across Europe searching for inspiration for her next story. (Hint: it involves travel and rugby.)