Adrian: Love Under the Lights 3, page 1
Adrian
Love Under the Lights 3
Ella Fox
Rochelle Paige
Copyright © 2020 by Ella Fox & Rochelle Paige
Edited by Editing4Indies
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Adrian
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
About the Authors
Also by Ella Fox
Also by Rochelle Paige
Adrian
Love Under the Lights 3
Adrian Clarke quickly discovered there were drawbacks to playing the hero from the bestselling romance trilogy of all time. It was difficult to have any privacy when everyone knew who you were.
Casey Smythe knew nothing about Hollywood heartthrobs or celebrity gossip. The beautiful college student had plenty of other things to keep her busy, including the dogs she was paid to play with in the park.
Little did she know, the handsome man she tried to get fired after he swore at one of her favorite dogs wasn’t a dog walker at all. He was Hollywood’s newest sensation and Duke’s owner.
And now his sights were set on the one woman who couldn’t care less about his fame.
1
Adrian
“C’mon, boy!” I pursed my lips together to let out a loud whistle, and my French bulldog came running on his short legs to meet me at the front door. Running my hands over the black fur on his back, I gave him a few scratches before clipping the leash onto his collar. “It’s time to go for a walk, buddy.”
Since Duke tended to overheat easily, I took him out to exercise in the early morning or evening after it had cooled off. After being on set until after midnight, I would’ve preferred sleeping in today, but I had an event tonight, so it wasn’t an option. My agent wanted me to show my face more while I was a hot topic in the gossip rags, so he’d sent in an RSVP for me to attend the opening of a new Italian restaurant owned by some celebrity chef with a popular television show.
“My shitty schedule is yet another thing to blame on my stalker,” I muttered as Duke and I made our way down my driveway. Pausing at the sidewalk, I turned and looked up at my new home. There was no denying the six-thousand-square-foot brick structure was fucking awesome, but that didn’t stop me from grumbling over the need to move in the first place.
When I’d signed on for the role of the male hero in a movie franchise based on a bestselling trilogy of romance novels, I hadn’t expected it to turn my life upside down. I knew there would be changes, being in the limelight guaranteed it, but I hadn’t counted on becoming a household name overnight. Or having a young woman with psychological issues break into my home while I was sound asleep in my bed.
Her arrest had been splashed all over the newspapers, and I’d been hounded relentlessly to comment on the situation. The disregard for my privacy had been almost as bad as having the alarm go off in the middle of the night during the break-in. When the paparazzi kept showing up on my doorstep, I’d finally decided it was time to move into a gated community with a full-time guard at the entrance.
This was my first week in the new place, and I already felt more relaxed knowing it was more difficult for anyone to invade my personal space. But I still tensed up when I heard an unfamiliar female voice say, “I think that’s Adrian Clarke.”
When I looked over my shoulder and spotted Morgan Kelly walking toward me with two other women, my tension eased away. Considering she’d won an Academy Award, was with Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor, and had once dealt with a weird stalker situation of her own, she’d been through even more than I had with the paparazzi. “Hey, Morgan.”
She glanced up at my house and grinned. “Are you our new neighbor?”
“Yup.” I nodded. “Just moved in last week.”
“Welcome to the neighborhood. These are my friends, Allie and Mila.” Both women smiled at me in greeting. “Be prepared to see them around since Allie and Vaughn live down the street. And Mila is family, so she visits them a lot.”
I’d thought Allie looked familiar. Now that Morgan had mentioned her name in connection with Vaughn Corbett, I figured out who she was—Morgan’s best friend and the woman who’d captured the heart of the man every celebrity wanted to be interviewed by on the red carpet. I didn’t recognize Mila, but I was intrigued by how she ducked her head and blushed when Morgan introduced her.
As the three women crouched down to pet Duke, Gage and Vaughn stomped down the sidewalk to us. “We can’t leave you three alone for five minutes,” Vaughn grumbled with a glare aimed my way.
Morgan stood, and Gage threw his arm over her shoulders to pull her close as he glowered at me. I chuckled softly, shaking my head. It was surreal to see Gage acting territorial when he’d been infamous for his refusal to get into a serious relationship before he met Morgan. Now he’d be able to play the stereotypical jealous husband with an air of authenticity because he was one.
I held my hands up in a gesture of surrender, careful not to tug too hard on Duke’s leash. “You don’t have anything to worry about with me, man. With all the shit going down in my life at the moment, I’m not in the market for a woman. And if I was, it wouldn’t be someone who was already taken.”
“You never know when the right woman will come along and make you rethink everything.” Gage flashed me a grin and slid a mischievous look Mila’s way. “For all you know, she might just walk right up to you.”
“Shut it.” Vaughn shifted his glare Gage’s way and lowered his voice to grumble, “No setting Mila up with anyone, or else you’ll have Dane and me on your ass.”
My brows rose in surprise at Vaughn’s words. Dane had learned the hard way not to trust women in Hollywood. I knew it would take a special person to capture his interest. For his sake, I hoped she was the real deal.
“I owe the man my career”—even though it was frustrating me to no end at the moment—“so I have no interest in getting on his wrong side.”
“Whose wrong side?” Mila asked after one last stroke to Duke’s back.
“My agent, Dane Garrison.”
“Oh,” she gasped, her cheeks turning pink.
Allie sighed as she stood, tugging on Mila’s and Morgan’s hands. “C’mon, let’s finish our walk. I’m sure the guys will wrap up whatever they’re talking about soon.”
“Yeah, as soon as we get ten feet away, they won’t be able to resist following us,” Morgan chuckled.
Her prediction was right because the women had barely made it past my mailbox before the guys bade me a hasty goodbye and stomped after them. They were all headed in the same direction I’d intended to take Duke. As interesting as the group was, I wasn’t in the mood for company at the moment, so I decided to change my plans. “Let’s go to the park instead.”
I had a lunch meeting scheduled with Dane in about an hour and a half at a little Greek place in Beverly Hills that was dog friendly, so I could bring Duke with me. The house I’d had before making the move into the gated neighborhood had been near the restaurant, and Duke’s favorite dog park was right there, which meant we could hang out there for a while before the meeting.
I strapped Duke into my black Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, and we headed out. He loved riding with the top off, but it could get a little hot with the sun beaming down on us. I cranked the air conditioner up and aimed a few vents his way to keep him cool during the drive, which took about a half an hour. After pulling into a parking spot, I gave Duke a quick drink of water. Then I tugged my ball cap as low as it would go on my head. It only worked as a disguise if people didn’t get too good of a look at me, but it was the best I could do.
Seeing that the park was mostly empty, I heaved a deep sigh of relief. It was short-lived, though. As soon as Duke and I made our way through the gate to the off-leash section, a young woman approached us, waving excitedly at my dog. He tugged at the leash and raced toward her like she was an old friend.
She was dressed casually in a pair of blue shorts and a cream top, with her long, brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. There wasn’t a speck of makeup on her face, and her bright blue eyes were partially hidden by her black-rimmed glasses, but it didn’t detract from her beauty in the least. She was naturally stunning without even trying.
“Sir Duke, you’re back!” she exclaimed as she reached us. “I’ve missed you, you handsome devil.”
Crouching down, she put out her hand and began petting his head. He panted happily, his tail wagging about a hundred miles an hour as he ate up the attention. Duke was a lot of things, but guard dog wasn’t one of them. Normally I was fine with that, but I couldn’t believe he was letting someone who was likely as fuck a mega fan this close to us. Considering that she knew my dog’s name, all signs pointed to the overzealous fan scenario. I wasn’t thrilled about that, either. I had a strict never-date-a-fan policy, but goddamn if the beauty bent down in
For fuck’s sake, I’d had to uproot my life and move because of a stalker. There was no way I could seriously consider trying to woo a fan. Not now, not ever. That being the case, I needed to take Duke and get the fuck out of the dog park.
I tugged at the leash attached to Duke’s harness. When he ignored me, twice, I stiffly gave him a command. “Dammit Duke, get your furry ass over here.” Looking up, he huffed and gave me a dirty look as he turned away from the beautiful girl fawning all over him and came to my side.
The beauty frowned as she stood. Putting her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes. “Does Jen know you curse at him?”
Fucking great, I thought. If she knew Duke and also knew my assistant, Jen, the beauty before me likely wasn’t just a regular fan. Worse, she probably scoped out the park every day.
“Cut to the chase,” I grumbled. “What’s it going to take for you to go away?”
A splash of color spread across the girl’s cheeks as she gaped up at me. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Don’t play stupid. Just answer the question.”
If looks could kill, I’d have been ash. “Wow. You’re ridiculously rude,” she said.
“Yeah, well, it’s the only way people like you get the hint.”
“People. Like. Me,” she said slowly, her voice sharp. “Buddy, you picked the wrong day to be a dick. What’s your name, and what service do you work for?”
Oh, cool. She wasn’t just a stalker. She was nuts. Dane always said that the hot ones tended to be the most fucked up. I hadn’t totally agreed with him before, but now I realized he had a point.
“You may think not answering will save your job,” she snipped, “but it won’t. I’m going to tell Jen what an obnoxious asshole you are.”
My eyes followed her right hand as she reached into the left side of her bra and pulled out her cell. Just that hint of cleavage quickened my pulse. It sped up even more the second she held the phone up and snapped a photo of me. Goddammit, how stupid was I? I should’ve walked away before she had a chance.
“I didn’t say you could take a picture,” I snapped.
She scoffed and didn’t bother to look up at me as she shrugged. Her head stayed down while her thumbs flew across the keyboard. I figured she was probably typing out a goddamn tweet to let everyone and their mom know where I was.
Looking up at me, she smiled victoriously. “Too bad. Since you wouldn’t tell me your name, I just sent Jen a text with a photo of you so she’ll know exactly who not to let Duke go with in the future. You’ll never walk her dog again.”
My eyes widened as her words sank in. She’d texted a photo of me to my assistant because she thought Duke belonged to her, and she was acting like I was in danger of being fired from walking my own dog.
Holy. Shit.
Was it possible that she truly had no idea who I was?
2
Casey
There had never been a time growing up when I didn’t have a dog. It was pretty much the only thing my dad put his foot down about with my mom, and the only decision she let him make without putting up too much of a fuss. He earned all the money, but she was the one who ruled the roost. Growing up in that house had been incredibly difficult. The dogs I’d grown up with had made a huge difference in my life since unlike my mother, they loved unconditionally.
Getting distance from her was the main reason I’d moved into a dorm for my freshman year of college even though I went to school six miles from home. It was telling that having a pet was the only thing I missed about living in my parents’ house. My mom continuously reminded me that I could move home, live in the lap of luxury, and have a dog whenever I wanted, but that wasn’t happening.
My parents paid for all expenses related to my education, but everything else was on me. To make ends meet, I worked a bunch of part-time jobs in order to afford the rent on a shoebox-size apartment and what felt like an unlimited supply of peanut butter, jelly, marshmallow fluff, wheat bread, and potatoes. Between my rent, car payment, car insurance, food, and utilities, I was strapped for cash. That meant I couldn’t afford extras like cable, a gym membership, manicures, home décor, cleaning supplies that came from anywhere other than the dollar store, or eating out, but I was happy, and that was what mattered. Learning to make my own laundry detergent wasn’t a bad thing either, especially when it was better for the environment.
Best of all, I was out from under my mom’s thumb, which was good since the two of us were like oil and water. I loved her because she was my mom, but I’d come to terms with the fact that our relationship was never going to be solid. How could it be with her penchant for snide comments about what a disappointment I was to her? I always felt out of place with her, and a lifetime of dealing with it told me it wouldn’t change.
She only wanted me to move home because she craved control. Other than that, she wasn’t interested in me, and I’d learned to live with it. Where I was a disappointment to her, my sister, Cindy, was the apple of her eye. The two of them were obsessed with designer labels, celebrity gossip, and keeping up with the country club crowd while I had no interest in any of that. Hell would have to freeze over before I moved home.
Thus, even though I was exhausted from the number of plates I had in the air in order to afford to live on my own, I just kept going. As much as I wanted a dog, putting myself back under my mom’s thumb was never going to happen.
I had a crapload of schoolwork, and it felt like I was always on, but I intended to keep going. Every weekday morning, I tutored in math for a few hours at UCLA. Then after I finished my own classes for the day, I came to a Beverly Hills dog park where owners and walkers could book me to play with their dogs. My sister was appalled that I threw tennis balls as a way to make money, particularly at a park so close to home, but honestly, it was my favorite job. My other two part-time gigs, house cleaning and being a substitute server for a local event space, rounded out my earnings. It wasn’t much, but it was mine, and no one was lording it over me.
It was easy for my sister to judge the things I did when she’d never had to support herself, and if she had her way, she never would. I didn’t concern myself with her attitude because, in truth, I liked my life. Also, the money I earned in the park was nothing to sneeze at. I made myself available for twenty dollars for half an hour of playtime, and people lined up to hand their dogs off to me for exercise. More often than not while I was busy with their pups, their owners or professional walkers would sit on a bench and work or play on their phones. On Monday through Friday, I’d spend a few hours in the park, and on a normal day, I’d leave with well over a hundred dollars. It wasn’t glamorous work, but it was fun, the time passed quickly, and the money was good. To me, that was a win all the way around. The other thing that was great about the park gig was that there was never any real tension or drama.
At least there wasn’t before I came across Duke’s newest walker. Mr. Attitude had a baseball cap slung low, but when I was crouched down petting Duke, I’d looked up and saw how gorgeous the guy was. His eyes were a rich, bright blue, and he’d been blessed with a lean face, high cheekbones, a strong jawline that was covered in blond scruff, and a set of too-damn-sexy lips. Since he was scowling at me, I couldn’t see his teeth, but I had a feeling they were as perfect as the rest of him. I’d come across some seriously attractive dog walkers during my time in the park, but this guy was hotter than anyone I’d come across before, by a mile. The fact that he was rude as hell was a letdown, but I wasn’t all that surprised. Hot guys were a dime a dozen in LA, and in my experience, a lot of them were insufferable jerks.
