Title: Unwanted Stars
Author: Melissa Brown
RELEASE DATE: February 3rd
Blurb
It’s funny how the
tiniest of things can change your life… an invitation, a simple kiss goodnight,
a matchbook…
Auden Kelly is in
need of a change.
She’s trading in
her nine-to-five sales job for the adventure of a lifetime: a one year contract
with a European tour company.
For one full year,
Auden will get paid to see the world. What could be better? Her brother gives
her a journal, instructing her to document all of her adventures as she travels
from country to country. And that’s exactly what she does.
When a mysterious
stranger enters her life, however, everything changes: her expectations, her
priorities and her view of the world. And nothing for Auden will ever be the
same.
Note:
Although these books are part of a series, they do not need to be read in order.
Excerpt
I was
distracted from my daydreaming by the most intense eyes I’ve ever seen. The
were blue, the brightest blue. Although one of them had a patch of brown next
to the pupil. Tan skin, blue eyes, dark brown hair. And a stare that made me
uncomfortable.
I’d
noticed him before. The first day of the tour, in fact. He reminded me of Henry
Cavill. Broad shoulders, tight ass, bulging muscular arms and a gorgeous face.
When he smiled, he had a boyish look about him, but when his lips were pressed
tight, like when he was listening to Anabelle describe the sights, he looked
like an alpha male. A hot, dangerous alpha male. I’d purposely avoided him
because I didn’t want to give Anabelle any ammunition towards getting me fired.
And now that I knew Tom had blabbed, I felt even more determined to keep my
attraction in tact. I’d purposely stayed away. I hadn’t even heard his voice
yet. Was he American? Canadian? British?
But, now
he was staring and I couldn’t avoid him any longer.
“Auden,
right?” he asked, offering me a fresh blueberry from a ziploc bag. I narrowed
my eyes at him and his choice of snack. Here we were, in Amsterdam. He could
buy a brownie laced with pot or a million different kinds of sweets. But, he
was munching on blueberries.
“Thanks,”
I said, grabbing a couple berries from the bag and popping them into my mouth.
They were juicy and sweet. Almost intoxicating.
Stop it, Auden.
“Have you
worked here long? I’ve never seen you before.” It was then that I really heard
his accent. British. Delicious.
“I’m new.
But, why would you have seen me before?” I tilted my head in confusion.
“My mates
and I like to take trips every few months. Blow off steam.” He said, popping
another berry into his mouth. His lips were a gorgeous shade of peach. “And
Jordan’s the best.”
“I see.”
I said, pressing my lips together, not knowing what else to say. It wasn’t
often that a man could get me tongue tied. But, it was happening. All I could
focus on was the dimple on his right cheek when he smiled. And how his left eye
had a small patch of brown within the blue.
“Unique
name.”
“Huh?” He
snapped me out of my daze. “Uh, yeah. I guess.”
“Don’t
hear it very often.” He said.
It was
then that I realized I didn’t know his. And it was my job to know it. How was I
going to get out of this one?
“Campbell,”
he said,“Campbell Hutchins.”
“Like the
soup?” I said. As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they were
unprofessional. But, he simply laughed.
“Wow,
never heard that before.” He said, running his fingers through his silky brown
hair, “My friends call me Hutch.”
“Seriously?”
I asked, taken aback.
“What do
you mean?” He looked confused.
“As in Starsky & Hutch?” I pressed.
“You are way too young to know that reference.”
He said, shaking his head from side to side.
“They
made a movie reboot when I was in high school. Ben Stiller and Owen
Wilson…remember?”
“Right.”
He said with a lopsided grin. He had such a boyish charm to his smile, it was
unnerving.
“Besides,
you don’t seem old enough to know the original show either. That was the
seventies.” I narrowed my eyes at him. He could be in his early thirties, but
there was no way he was old enough to have watched that show when it was on the
air.
“Saw it
in reruns.” He said with a shrug.
“Nice to
meet you, Starsky.” I said with a smirk. He shook his head at me and extended
his hand like the English gentleman that he was. I tried my best not to feel
the electrical current coursing through every nerve in my body. This was a
brand new sensation. Which is saying a lot considering my boy-crazy history. This
was unique and terrifying and wonderfully exciting. “Sorry, I mean Hutch of course. So, Campbell…where’d
your parents think of that one?”
“Do you
always interrogate tour members about their names?” he asked with a chuckle. My
cheeks turned pink when I realized I usually didn’t give a crap about people’s
names or the origin of said names. But, he was different. It was like I needed
to know anything I could learn about this handsome stranger.
“Just
answer the question,” I said, flirting with a tilt of my head and arms crossed
across my chest.
For a
second, everything stopped as Campbell looked down at my feet. He smirked as
his eyes climbed up my calf and to my thighs. They lingered there for just a
second before continuing up to my torso, my chest and finally my face. When our
eyes met, he grinned and I suddenly felt as naked as the day I was born.
“Tradition.”
He answered. When I looked confused (because obviously I’d forgotten the
question since he’d studied every inch of my body as if he wanted to devour
me). “I’m named after my great grandfather. He was kind of a hero in my town.”
“Where
are you from?”
“Jersey.”
What?
“Um, no.
Try again.”
“What do
you mean?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I’m from
the states, pal. I know when someone’s from Joi-zee and when they’re not. And
you clearly are not. Where are you really from?”
He threw
his beautiful head back in laughter, that dimple once again making a grand
entrance on his cheek. Something twitched in my belly—desire, I think. Until I
realized he was laughing at me.
“And you
call yourself a tour guide? The island of Jersey…one of the Channel Islands…”
His voice trailed off as he leaned his forehead in my direction. If he could
read my mind, this is what it would say:
I.
Am.
A.
Dumbass.
You know
those moments when you really just want to crawl in a hole and forget your poor
excuse for a life? Yeah, this was one of those moments. I could never get that
moment back. I could never convince this gorgeous man that I was not only aware
of the Channel Islands, but had probably been to one or two of them as a child.
I just wanted to slink back to the tour bus and hide behind the seats. So not
like me. I didn’t let men get under my skin. Hell, I got under their skin. Who was this guy?
“Uh--Of
course,” I said, stumbling on my words. “I was just kidding.”
Just
then, I was saved by another member of the tour. A mousy brain haired American
girl named Becca.
“Excuse
me, Auden. Anabelle needs you.”
Thank God.
“I’d
better, um…go,” I said.
“Until we
meet again,” he said with a chuckle.
Not if I can help it. The next three
weeks would be agony if I had to dodge that gorgeous man every time our bus
made a stop. Lord, beer me strength.
I have always been fascinated with
books----ever since I was a little girl sitting in front of my record player,
following along with my huge 12x12 storybooks.
I love books---everything about them. I
love reading them, being surrounded by them in bookstores and libraries, and
most recently, writing some of my own.
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