Exclusive Excerpt + Giveaway: Stars In Their Eyes (#1, Wrapped Up In Love) by Lauren Blakely - Vilma Iris | Lifestyle Blogger

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Exclusive Excerpt + Giveaway: Stars In Their Eyes (#1, Wrapped Up In Love) by Lauren Blakely

stars in their eyes So excited that Lauren Blakely has come out with a brand new series and today, I’ve got an exclusive excerpt from Stars In Their Eyes, the first full-length novel in the Wrapped Up In Love series. This is a New Adult spinoff series from her New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Caught Up in Love novels. The prequel novella, A Starstruck Kiss, is included in Stars In Their Eyes, so that you can enjoy the experience of reading through the full-length standalone novel in its entirety.

Synopsis


WARNING: The hero in this book is not an asshole. He is hot, charming, smart, funny, ripped, gorgeous, respectful and completely panty-melting. Please proceed.

A sexy and swoony new adult romance…

Celebrity photographer and college senior Jess Leighton desperately needs to crash the wedding of the year. Snapping just one pic of the A-list Hollywood couple tying the knot will pay her way through grad school. But with security tighter than the bride-to-be’s corset, she’ll need more than her camera and smarts, she’ll need help from her biggest rival–hot, British, motorcycle-riding William Harrigan, whose sexy accent can melt the panties off any woman. He’s the last person Jess should trust, but he’s her only ticket in.

William Harrigan wants one thing – to stay in L.A. past college graduation. With a student visa set to expire, the clock is ticking. When he lands a gig that pairs him with the beautiful blond spitfire Jess, he’s scored his best shot at living out the American dream. Winning her trust would be a whole lot easier, however, if he didn’t have ulterior motives…

But there’s no faking the intense attraction between them. Try as they might to resist each other, soon sparks are flying, as they devise a plan to sneak into the ceremony. But when Jess’ new celebrity client raises the stakes, she starts to smell blackmail, and soon she and Will are chasing down cheating directors, staking out clandestine trysts, and making fake IDs, all while sneaking scene-stealing kisses and hot nights together.

The audience loves a happy ending, but in a town where everyone’s acting and no one’s playing by the rules, can Jess and William find their own ever after in time?

**Stars in Their Eyes is the start of the sexy, swoony and scandalous new adult series Wrapped Up in Love, which is a spin-off of the NYT and USA Today Bestselling Caught Up in Love series. You don’t need to have read Caught Up in Love to follow this new series, but you’ll likely enjoy those books!**

Excerpt

“But then I got it all sorted out, and I’ve been fine ever since.”

The last words came out too quickly, too crisply. I knew there was something more to it. Something she was afraid of sharing, but Jess wasn’t prone to oversharing, and I sensed she’d somehow reached her limit for the afternoon. I took her cue and shifted gears too.

“You know, Jess, I’m a pretty good cook. I can make salads, and pasta with vegetables, and eggs without the yolk,” I said, since I was starting to figure out she wanted someone to understand and respect her food choices, not push pizza and ice cream on her if she didn’t want it.

She arched an eyebrow. “Now you’re just talking dirty to me when you use words like eggs, hold the yolk.”

There we were, back to the jokes, our familiar territory. “I knew the way to your heart was through healthy food. You’re so California.”

She held up a hand and shook her head. “Did I say it was the way to my heart? I believe I said talking dirty, which means it’s the way to my–” she dropped her voice lower “–pants.”

A small groan escaped my lips. I bent my head to her neck, pressing a light kiss near her earlobe, then whispered, “Lettuce. Grapefruit. Whole wheat bread.”

She inhaled and moaned quietly, as if I were turning her on with my food talk. Naturally, I had to continue. Even if she was playing pretend, she was so damn sexy when her eyes floated closed and her lips parted.

“Broccoli. Carrot sticks,” I said in a low, growly tone. She ran a hand across her thigh as if I were driving her wild. “Yogurt.”

She turned to me, grabbed a fistful of my T-shirt and tugged me close. “Now, you’re just turning me on way too much.”

She might have been teasing, but I wasn’t. Not one bit and I had the hard-on to prove it. This was getting to be the usual state around her. “Jess, believe me when I say there’s nothing I’d rather do than turn you on,” I said.

This time, when her breath caught, it seemed for real. No more pretending. “You do,” she said quietly, but she quickly returned to safer ground. “Will you tail Keats and Wordsworth as well as you tailed me?”

“No. I’ll do a much better job.”

“You didn’t do a good job tailing me?” she asked as she speared a pineapple chunk.

“I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to get to know you. I noticed you the second you walked into J.P.’s office that first day.”

She held her fork in the air. She didn’t bring it to her mouth. She didn’t put it down. It just hovered in her hand. “From the first day?”

“Of course. You were coming through the same door.”

“That’s the only reason I noticed you, too. It had nothing to do with your fantastic ass,” she said, then wiggled the fork with the pineapple chunk in my direction. “You know you want this pineapple, don’t you?”

“Oh, I’m dying for it. Bring it here,” I said, and held my mouth open. She fed me the pineapple, and I smacked my lips, declaring it delicious. I was no shrink, but I had a hunch she needed to return to her way of controlling her world, and if that was by giving me a piece of fruit, I’d let her do that. “Now, tell me more about how much you wanted me the second you laid eyes on me.”

She threw her head back and laughed and it felt good to both comfort her and to make her laugh. Hell, it felt good to spend time with her. So good, in fact, that it occurred to me how much I’d miss her if the State Department sent me packing in less than two months. In a few short days, she’d somehow become one more thing I found immensely appealing about America. The thought should have scared me that I liked her this much already. But it didn’t. Instead, it made me even more certain that I needed to find a way to stay.

She nodded. “So did J.P. He likes boys, too. He called you Criminally Handsome,” she blurted out as if making a confession.

“I’m flattered that you checked out my ass and that your boss thought I was hot,” I said, as I pulled my plate to her side of the table and took another bite of my sandwich.

When I finished chewing, she placed her hand on my arm, wrapping her fingers around me in a way that felt almost possessive, and I liked that from her. “Wait. Turns out, I transposed the order of events. I was the one who called you Criminally Handsome. I was the one who thought you were hot first. And I’m the one who’s inviting you to come over tonight after I run some errands. You can make me a salad.”

I wasn’t sure if she was asking literally or if it was some new code word for dirty talk. Didn’t matter. There was only one answer.

But before I could give her my yes, she continued, her eyes truthful as she caught my gaze. “And you can talk to me about salad too.”

Another groan escaped me and all I could manage was a one-word answer.

Yes.”

Reading Order and Links

stars in their eyes stars in their eyes

About Lauren

Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in her novel, Far Too Tempting, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. She loves hearing from readers! Her novels include Caught Up In UsPretending He’s MinePlaying With Her HeartTrophy HusbandFar Too TemptingThe Thrill of It, and Every Second With You. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.

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