Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet

Redemption of a Hollywood Starlet
Kimberly Lang

The Marshalls… A rich, powerful family that mixes business, politics…and pleasure. If the US had a royal family this would be it!The tabloids just couldn’t get enough of A-List couple hotshot producer Finn Marshall and Hollywood wild-child Caitlyn Reese. Then Caitlyn fled the glaring lights of Tinseltown, leaving an indelible mark on the Walk of Fame – and an empty seat on the back of Finn’s motorbike.Now Cait is back! She’s still got the X-factor, and Finn is struggling to banish his X-rated thoughts! Because one thing is for sure…he isn’t just interested in a quick Hollywood retake… To interest him, it’ll have to be a full-budget epic remake…

“Just because I wasn’t consulted before you were brought on board, don’t think for a second that I haven’t verified you can actually pull this off. This film is my responsibility, and Rebecca falls outside your known range.”

Cait’s jaw tightened. Oh, he’d hit a nerve with that one.

She recovered quickly, though. She always did. She stood and stepped away from the bench before turning on him. “You know, if you spent more time actually working, and less time playing beach blanket bingo in Europe, you might not have to find out what’s happening with your own projects after the fact.”

The disdain in her voice chased off any desire he’d had to play nice. Where did Cait get off, acting all high and mighty? “So you’ve been keeping up with my love-life? That’s kind of … sad, actually.”

“Oh, please. Would you get over yourself? The last thing I care about is who you’re sleeping with now. I’m here for one reason and one reason only. And, believe me, it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with you.”

Dear Reader

Writing this letter to you makes me quite sad, as it means that my time with the Marshall family has come to an end. There’s always a little twinge of that every time I say goodbye to characters—by this point in the process I’ve spent so much time with them that it’s hard to let them go. But the Marshall brothers have been with me for three books now—almost a year of my life—and I’m feeling this loss a little harder than usual.

I adore all three Marshall brothers equally, but Finn holds a special place in my heart. He’s the black sheep, the wild child, the one no one really understands but everyone can’t help but love. While these traits are part of what makes Finn so irresistible, they also made it hard for me to figure out who his heroine would be. She couldn’t be your average girl-next-door. Finn needed a heroine who wouldn’t be overly impressed by his fame and fortune, or fazed by his fast-lane celebrity lifestyle. She had to be able to keep up, and connect with him personally and professionally. Cait met all my criteria nicely—and brought the sparks into this story!

I hope you enjoy Finn and Cait’s adventure, and that the Marshall brothers have been as much fun for you to read about as they were for me to write.

All my best

Kimberly

About the Author

KIMBERLY LANG hid romance novels behind her textbooks in junior high, and even a Master’s programme in English couldn’t break her obsession with dashing heroes and happily-ever-after. A ballet dancer turned English teacher, Kimberly married an electrical engineer and turned her life into an ongoing episode of When Dilbert Met Frasier. She and her Darling Geek live in beautiful North Alabama, with their one Amazing Child—who, unfortunately, shows an aptitude for sports.

Visit Kimberly at www.booksbykimberly.com for the latest news—and don’t forget to say hi while you’re there!

Recent titles by the same author:

THE POWER AND THE GLORY

Kimberly also writes for Mills & Boon

RIVA™. Her titles include:

THE PRIVILEGED AND THE DAMNED

GIRLS’ GUIDE TO FLIRTING WITH DANGER

Did you know these are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

Redemption of

a Hollywood

Starlet

Kimberly Lang

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Happy first birthday to James,

my gorgeous, brilliant and sweet nephew.

I have every confidence that

you will grow up to be a hero.

CHAPTER ONE

HE’D only been gone for three weeks. When he’d left, everything for this film had been fine and in place, but a mere twenty-one days later he’d returned to find the entire project sliding into hell.

Finn Marshall sat back in his chair in the trailer that served as their temporary offices while they were on location here in Maryland and rubbed a hand over his eyes. He was jetlagged and had hoped to have a couple of hours of sleep before he had to be in D.C. for the fundraiser tonight, but that wasn’t looking to be in his cards. He had to sort out this God-awful mess first, and the more he heard, the less likely it seemed he’d even make it to his brother’s in time to shower first.

Dolby Martin, his partner in Dolfinn Pictures, seemed remarkably upbeat for someone who had just rammed the Titanic into the iceberg. “We’ve been filming for a week now, and we’re almost back on schedule.”

Finn took a deep breath and tried to remember it would do no good at all to punch Dolby in the mouth. “And you saw no reason to tell me any of this while it was unfolding?”

“You needed to concentrate on getting us those permissions to shoot, and really there was nothing you could do from Monaco, anyway.”

“I could have talked Cindy down.”

“After Farrell told her he’d seen better acting in low-budget porn? Sorry, Finn, not even you could have charmed that snake back into the basket.” Dolby shrugged. “Personally, though, I wasn’t sad to see her go. I’ll bet Cindy’s in rehab before the premiere, and would you really want that hanging over the release?”

Dolby had a point, as much as Finn hated to admit it. Cindy had been perfect for the part of Rebecca: the right looks and a strong talent, coupled with a name guaranteed to get attention without overshadowing the leads. She’d sworn that she was clean the day they’d signed the contract, but he’d seen this story too many times before.

Maybe it was for the best. Technically, Dolby and the director had done the right thing, finding a replacement quickly and getting her on the next plane to Baltimore so that production was not shut down for long. On a professional level, Finn should be pleased. He should even be personally touched that Dolby understood the importance of this film to him and had reacted quickly to mitigate the damages. But Cait Reese? He shook his head. Focus on what’s important.

“Caitlyn has been a real life-saver and a complete pro. She had her script memorized in days and jumped straight into rehearsals. Wait until you see what we have in the can already. She’s perfect for Rebecca. Better than Cindy, even.”

Finn didn’t necessarily agree. The Cait he remembered was too primal and wild. She’d been able to channel that into light frothy characters, but the earthy, quiet strength of Rebecca? It had been three years, but …

“Trust me, Finn. You’re going to be really pleased.”

“If you honestly believed that, you wouldn’t have signed her to Folly behind my back.” He picked up his phone and scrolled through the voice mail messages. “Naomi is fit to be tied. You want to hear?”

“I’ve heard enough, thanks. Naomi doesn’t want to share her spotlight with anyone. She’s a real diva.”

“That’s a privilege she’s earned and one we’ll tolerate to keep her happy on this film.”

Naomi Harte was one of the biggest names in Hollywood right now, and based on star power alone she had no reason to worry about anyone stealing any of her limelight. But this was personal for Naomi, too. She and Cait had launched at about the same time, and their rivalry went back to the years when they’d both still been playing teenagers in high-school romantic comedies and slasher films. Cait had always managed to stay a rung above Naomi on the ladder, though, her trajectory seemingly unstoppable until she’d flamed out so spectacularly. Many people said that Naomi wouldn’t be where she was today if Cait hadn’t left town when she had—and Naomi knew that. They were probably right.

“You know there’s bad blood between Naomi and Cait. Did you intend to turn the set into a battlefield?”