From celebrity bachelor to...doting dad?
Movie star Riley Lee Jackson never forgot Kat Schwinn or their beautiful night together, but he’s shocked to see her on his red carpet. Pregnant. With his baby. Suspicious of her motives, Riley promises to take care of her and their child, but nothing more.
Yet Kat believes there’s something real between them. So she tries to make the best of this new life that she never asked for, filled with movie premieres and paparazzi. Because she knows Riley will do right by their baby girl. And because what she wants more than anything is a Hollywood ending in Riley’s arms forever.
“Why don’t you come over for breakfast tomorrow?”
As they headed for the door, Kat rationalized that her question was simply about making sure Riley connected with the baby, but in her heart, she knew she was keeping a window of opportunity wide open for herself.
“Sure.” The wry, lopsided twist of his lips made her heart beat faster. “And if you’re not doing anything tomorrow, I was thinking we could go out.”
“Like a date?”
His smile broadened. “If you want to put labels to it, then sure. A date. I guess it’s kind of backward and overdue, considering I knocked you up first.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Better late than never.”
He leaned in at the same time she was turning away, so instead of the peck on the cheek he’d probably intended, he got the corner of her lips.
They both froze, that tentative touch awkwardly hovering. In a moment of insanity, Kat shifted to press her lips to his, even as she berated herself for her weakness.
Riley inhaled sharply, but he couldn’t seem to detach himself. He lingered, cupped her cheeks and gently deepened the kiss.
He tasted exactly as she remembered.
When I started writing Kat and Riley’s story, I was married without children. As I write this, I am just over six months pregnant with my first child, so now I have real-life experience to fall back on when describing Kat’s pregnancy symptoms! By the time Red Carpet Arrangement is on sale (and assuming everything goes as planned), my baby will be just over two months old.
Parenthood has always terrified me, and I explored those fears with Riley and Kat. While my husband and I planned our family, my hero and heroine found themselves not only struggling through raising a surprise baby, but doing it together when they barely knew each other and under the scrutiny of the media. If I’ve learned anything from my pregnancy, it’s that I couldn’t do it without the unwavering support of my husband, John. It’s not just the practical side of things—changing the cat litter, lifting heavy objects, etc.—that needs to be worked out. Patience and communication are key to a healthy relationship.
It got me thinking about how difficult relationships are with a baby in the mix, and that’s certainly the case for Riley and Kat. With the added pressure of fame and celebrity to mess things up, the challenges my hero and heroine faced seemed insurmountable.
I hope that you find their happy ending as satisfying as they do!
All the best,
Vicki Essex
Red Carpet Arrangement
Vicki Essex
VICKI ESSEX would love to go to Hollywood someday on the arm of a red carpet hottie. Or her husband. Whoever invites her first. She lives in Toronto, where she enjoys ketchup chips and poutine. Check her out on vickiessex.com, facebook.com/vickiessexauthor, and on Twitter, @VickiEssex.
Thanks to my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan,
for all her support and insight.
Thanks, as always, to the lovely
Harlequin Superromance team, and
to my awesome editor, Karen Reid.
This book, like all my books, would not be possible without the continued support and understanding of my wonderful husband and father-to-be, John. You are my everything.
And for my own little Sweetpea: Mommy gets it. Now stop kicking her bladder.
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