Meet Me at the Inn

By Roni Denholtz

Actress Tarren Reilly is still smarting from being dumped by her former boyfriend--whom she stole from her cousin. Reeling from the pain she has caused, she agrees to a fake relationship for publicity reasons.

Country singer Clint Jackson has wanted Tarren since they first met. Together, they visit the Deerbourne Inn for the Thanksgiving holiday, where he plans to suggest they take their phony relationship to the "friends with benefits" level.

Both Tarren and Clint are dealing with personal issues from prior entanglements. As they draw closer, can Tarren and Clint deal with their pasts and turn a pretend relationship into the real deal?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Nov 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781509233601

Book preview

Inc.

We should enjoy a comfortable night at the inn. She replaced the phone, meeting his eyes. Everyone thinks we’re sleeping together.

It popped out of his mouth. We could be.

Tarren stared at Clint as a shimmer of excitement swept up her spine.

They could be? Yes, they could be sleeping together, but—

What I mean is, Clint continued, his eyes gleaming, everyone thinks we’re a couple, for real. We’re already friends. We could be—friends with benefits.

Praise for Roni Denholtz, Award-Winning Author

"Roni Denholtz’s ENCHANTED VERMONT NIGHTS is a delightful read with the appealing backdrop of a quaint New England town and its charming Deerbourne Inn. The story takes place during Thanksgiving and Denholtz’s vivid depiction of the sights and sounds of the locale had me yearning for another trip to Vermont. The hero and heroine draw you into the magic of their meeting and the lovely unfolding of what can happen when you let love in."

~M. Kate Quinn, award-winning author

Meet Me

at the Inn

by

Roni Denholtz

Deerbourne Inn

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Meet Me at the Inn

COPYRIGHT © 2020 by Roni Paitchel Denholtz

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Kristian Norris

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Champagne Rose Edition, 2020

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3360-1

Deerbourne Inn

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

For my friend,

Barbara Picker Bender.

We met in fifth grade—and our friendship has continued all these years! I’m glad we’re friends!

Chapter One

Tarren Reilly clutched her purse as Clint steered the car on the interstate. He was going fast, but not too far ahead of the speed limit. Still, for a mostly-city-living girl who was used to buses, cabs, subways, and slow-crawling urban traffic, the open highways with cars zooming by was unsettling. And as they headed northeast toward Vermont, her tension had only increased.

And it wasn’t just from the speed on the highway. The upcoming weekend with Clint Jackson and her family would test her acting skills.

Nervous? he asked now, glancing her way.

She swallowed. Maybe, a little. But I’ll be fine, she added.

She glanced at him. Clint was tall and handsome, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. They’d met in August when they were both taping a talk show in New York City. She was one of the stars of the popular Suburban Vampires show, which was being filmed in her home state of New Jersey. Clint was an up-and-coming country-western singer who was doing a concert in the city.

They’d been attracted to one another. But still reeling from the break-up with her fiancé, Chad, last Thanksgiving, Tarren hadn’t been dating much. She’d spoken with Clint and had a few laughs. He’d asked her out, and she had declined.

Next thing she knew, his agent was calling her and telling her she was the inspiration for his new song When You Walked into the Room. They wanted her to be part of the music video he was making.

She’d been flattered and agreed to meet him for drinks.

They’d gone out a few times, and then the media had spotted them at a posh New York City restaurant. Someone spoke to his agent and learned he’d written the song for her.

From then on, they’d been linked together.

It was Tarren’s idea to pretend that they were involved. She still had the desire to bash her former fiancé over the head—and to cry—when she thought of him. Chad had tried to go back to his former girlfriend, her cousin. Brianna was the woman he’d originally left for Tarren.

She knew they’d hurt Brianna terribly when she hooked up with Chad. But she had been head over heels for him and thought he felt the same. He had—until he saw Brianna in a tabloid, linked with a handsome billionaire.

Then Tarren became history as Chad left her in the dust to pursue Brianna again.

She’d been up front with Clint. At the same time, he’d told her that a former girlfriend—from years ago—tried to claim they were engaged, giving him plenty of bad publicity.

They agreed that a mutual, fake relationship was good for both of them as they healed. The publicity would be good for both their careers, as well. And Clint was good company, enjoyable to be with.

Worried about your family? Clint continued his thought from a minute before, interrupting her rather dark thoughts.

She swallowed. Yes. This Thanksgiving will be the first time we’ve all been together in a couple of years. With Thanksgiving only two days from now, I can’t put off thinking about seeing them. Clint had met her parents, Brianna and Brianna’s boyfriend briefly, but not her extended family.

Tarren knew she was lucky. She’d asked Brianna to forgive her last year, and her cousin, happily in love with her new guy, Kyle, had generously done so. But they’d never discussed it at length, and she felt she owed a bigger apology to Brianna. She intended to speak to her over the holiday. And Tarren felt guilty—she knew some other members of her family blamed her for originally stealing Brianna’s boyfriend away. Even if it turned out he’d been a total jerk.

This weekend could be uncomfortable, to say the least.

Whoa. Clint whistled as a fancy-sports car careened past them. He must be going 90 miles per hour. Not that Clint’s car wasn’t special. His sports car, a shiny black Dodge Viper, was moving at a good clip.

He’ll end up in an accident at that rate, Tarren said, watching the car ahead weave in and out of lanes. When do you think we’ll get there?

Less than two hours, babe. He smiled. Since they’d agreed to pretend to be a couple, he’d taken to calling her babe.

His warm tone caressed her like a smooth hand, and she swallowed. She didn’t want him to know how enticing it was. After all, they were just friends, right?

After a while, they left the interstate and began traveling on more local highways. Tarren thought back to the stop they’d made an hour ago. The rest stop had prominently displayed copies of The National Snoop, a magazine she hated. Just a week ago the headline on one of the inner pages read, Tarren Reilly tells boyfriend Clint Jackson ‘I’ll Never Marry. I still love my ex!’  Ha!