How to Wed a Country Music Star: Rich and Famous Fake Weddings, #3

By Genevieve Goodwin

Some memories are best forgotten. And some people, you just can't forget. 

Country Music Super Star, Jeremy Halston has had enough. Suffering from exhaustion after three non-stop years of touring and sick of having his life micromanaged, Jeremy heads home to Evansville, the small Texas town where he grew up.

Working as a personal chef for a reclusive celebrity being paid big bucks seemed like the perfect job for cash strapped Madelyn Wilson. Until that celebrity turns out to be Jeremy Halston, who just happens to be her ex.

Thrown into close quarters while faking their marriage, it soon becomes obvious that deep feelings still exist between them. Has it been too long to heal their broken hearts and find love again?

 

 

Genevieve Goodwin writes sizzling sweet Contemporary Romance and Romantic Comedy with swoony heroes that will melt your heart. She loves writing witty banter, real life emotions, and forcing her hero and heroine to wake up and realize they've found the love of their life. All the sweet sizzle of falling in love with no excplicit content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Love Smitten Books
• Release date: Jun 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9798215597767

Genevieve Goodwin

Genevieve Goodwin writes sweet, romantic Contemporary Romance and Romantic Comedy with swoony heroes that will melt your heart. She loves writing witty banter, real life emotions, and forcing her hero and heroine to wake up and realize they've found the love of their life. She love chocolate, traveling and an endless cup of carmel machiato coffee. She currently lives in Florida where you can find her on the beach with her toes in the sand, when she's not spinning another story for her next book.

Book preview

How to Wed a Country Music Star

Genevieve Goodwin

Books by Genevieve Goodwin

Rich and Famous Fake Wedding Series

How to Wed a Billionaire

How to Wed a Quarterback

How to Wed a Country Music Star

How to Wed a Movie Star

Evergreen Crushes Series

Crushing on my Enemy

Crushing on my Boss

The Joy of Christmas Series

Her Christmas Billionaire

Click here to get a free copy of The Wedding Date!

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

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher and author. For more information regarding permission, contact the author.

Copyright © 2019 Genevieve Goodwin

All rights reserved.

Love Smitten Books

How to Wed a Country Music Star

Some memories are best forgotten. And some people, you just can’t forget.

Country Music Super Star, Jeremy Halston has had enough. Suffering from exhaustion after three non-stop years of touring and sick of having his life micromanaged, Jeremy heads home to Evansville, the small Texas town where he grew up.

Working as a personal chef for a reclusive celebrity being paid big bucks seemed like the perfect job for cash strapped Madelyn Wilson. Until that celebrity turns out to be Jeremy Halston, who just happens to be her ex.

Thrown into close quarters while faking their marriage, it soon becomes obvious that deep feelings still exist between them. Has it been too long to heal their broken hearts and find love again?

Chapter One

I’m not going out there again. I’m done. Jeremy laid back on the sofa in his dressing room and stretched his legs out. He was utterly exhausted. I’ve done two encores already. I’m not doing anymore.

Your fans are screaming for more. Don’t let them down, Jeremy. Most performers would kill to get your sort of rabid fans, Albert said, rubbing a hand over his bald head.

Albert Kent was Jeremy’s manager and a major pain in his backside. No, he said, trying to rub the pain in his temples away. I’m not feeling well. There is no way I can do another song.

Come on, kid. You’ve got the best fans in the business. You owe them one more, Albert said.

Jeremy knew him well enough to know he’d never let up. And Albert knew the one way to manipulate him was to talk about his fans. Without them, he’d still be some broke kid working on a ranch, shoveling manure. Even though he was truly exhausted he gave in, exactly like Albert knew he would.

One more, that’s all, Jeremy said, shoving his hair from his eyes. The well-coiffed style he’d started the night out with was long gone, and he wasn’t mourning the loss. He hated how they made him over for the stage before every single concert. He loved music, loved singing. It had been his passion his entire life. It was the only thing he’d ever wanted to do. But he hated how he had to give up so much control, so much of who he was to make a living as a musician. Well, a little more than a living these days, but there didn’t seem to be any alternative. You were either a starving artist or a mega star. There wasn’t any in between.

That’s my boy. One more, that’s all kid. Just one more. Albert sounded more like a used car salesman than a manager most of the time. But then again, maybe there wasn’t much of a difference between the professions.

Jeremy shoved off the couch and stumbled. He felt dizzy and grabbed a near-by chair to steady himself.

You okay? Laurie asked.

Jeremy rubbed his forehead. Yeah, just tired. Will you join me for a song? We can do the duet, he said.

Upcoming star, Laurie Kelly had been touring with him the last six months of his three-year tour. She’d been a godsend to take at least some of the pressure off of him. She came on board with boundless energy, a great voice and a star presence that seemed to come natural to her in a way it never had to Jeremy. Laurie had become like a little sister to him as they’d traveled the road together over the last few months. Despite his mistrust of the many managers and handlers that carefully orchestrated his career, she was one of the few people he actually trusted. He felt she had his best interest at heart, when no one else did.

They entered the stage together, dressed in sequined, over-the-top matching outfits that felt ridiculous to him. He’d much rather wear his Stetson and cowboy boots he’d grown up wearing in the small, Texas town where he’d grown up. He started the duet, and Laurie answered in song while the crowd cheered them on. The bright lights felt hot against his face, and a splitting headache struck his temples, nearly blinding him with pain. He fumbled on stage, forgetting the next line in the song.

He saw Laurie’s concerned face rushing over to him as he fell.

Then, everything went black.

~

Madelyn Wilson stretched, trying to give her aching back some relief after her double shift cooking at Maxine’s diner. As she slid into the driver’s seat, she wondered if moving back to her small, Texas hometown was a mistake. In the few months she’d been back, she could only get temporary gigs as a fill-in cook. Evansville only had a handful of fine restaurants. Most eating establishments were diners or cafes. They were a far cry from the five-star New York City restaurants she was used to running as head chef.

Maxine waved at her from the front door of the diner. That Sunday double shift will get you every time, she yelled out with a wave.

That’s the truth, Madelyn called back from her window before driving away.

She was tired but nowhere near as tired as she’d been on her previous jobs. After five years of working as a chef in some of the best restaurants in the New York City, she’d burnt out. While she missed the large, pristine kitchens and the staff of sous chefs she’d grown accustomed to, she didn’t miss the ungodly hours and the constant pressure to garner five-star reviews from the finicky food critics. Truth be told, she’d only worked a double shift because Travis, the full-time cook was home with his kid who had the flu. And backache or not, she really needed the money.

Living in Evansville had its advantages; it was much cheaper to live in a small town than a city, especially a city like New York. But even living in her parent’s old house she’d inherited, she still had bills to pay. Lately, things had been very tight. After five years living in New York City, she hadn’t a penny to her name. It had taken every dime just to rent her fourth-floor walk-up studio in Manhattan.

She needed money to start up her cooking show pilot with the hopes of getting the attention of the Gourmet Channel executives. She’d already pitched her idea to the producer, Robin Mitchell, but as much as he was impressed with her, he wasn’t biting. He said they were looking for more of a down to earth family show, rather than an upscale, fancy chef show. So, she was back to square one with her show’s theme. And with a dwindling bank account to boot.

She’d originally left Evansville a decade ago, following some crazy impulse that had left her alone, broken hearted and on her own in Las Vegas at the ripe old age of twenty. She couldn’t have moved back then, empty handed and a broken failure.

Now that she’d attended culinary school, had become an award-winning chef and had worked in some on New York’s finest restaurants, she’d decided it was time to come home. It was time to follow her dream. She wanted to settle into a quiet life, write cookbooks and start a cooking show. Money was tight, but she hoped that would change with a successful show and a publisher for the cookbook she was writing. In the meantime, she needed temporary work to help her through.

She drove a short way out of downtown, which only took about ten minutes in a town as small as Evansville, stopping to pick up a few groceries before heading home. She was grateful for the cool breeze that accompanied a quick rain shower, a welcome chill on a spring night in Evansville. The three acre plot she lived on could use some rain.

Two dogs greeted her as she stepped up to the covered porch of the old clapboard house. Where on earth did you all come from? Bertie? Peanut? Have you been behaving? She opened the front door and the dogs rudely ran in front of her. Hey, whatever happened to ladies first? she called out.

Bertie was a big, mixed breed mutt she’d picked up at the pound. Peanut was an abandoned chihuahua she’d found only a few months ago. Luckily, they’d taken to each other like two peas in a pod. Bertie seemed to think he was Peanut’s personal bodyguard, which suited her little boy just fine. They were another reason she was glad to be back in Evansville. She’d missed having pets when she was living in New York.

She set the bag of groceries down on the kitchen counter just as her phone went off. She pulled it out of her purse and checked the number. It was Samantha, an old friend who also worked for her current employment agency.

Hey, Sammy, she said as she stuck a package of chicken in the fridge.

I know it’s late, but I have a last-minute job I thought you might be interested in, Sammy said. It’s very hush, hush. Apparently, the guy is some sort of celebrity who had a meltdown. His manager called me to arrange someone to come and cook and clean for him. He’s staying at the Belmont Manor. I guess he’s renting it out for a while. Are you up for it?

Belmont Manor? That is the closest thing we have to a mansion in this town. Madelyn pulled a package of zucchini out of the bag. So, he’s looking for a personal chef and maid, huh? I’m up for the cooking, but I’m not cleaning up after some celebrity snob, Madelyn said.

He needs someone who will do both. If you’re not interested, I understand. But I need to know now, Sammy said. He’s paying a lot more than you’re making at the diner, though you’ll probably have to work full-time hours.

How much money are we talking about?

Sammy named a number and Madelyn whistled. Wow. Is that per week?

No, that is per day, she said.

Blazing saddles, that’s a lot! Why on earth is some celebrity staying in this sleepy old town?

I don’t know. I don’t even know the guy’s name. His manager doesn’t want anyone to know he’s here. Maybe that’s why. This town isn’t on most maps. Evansville is in the middle of nowhere.

Madelyn opened a bag of dog treats and tossed a couple to Bertie and Peanut who scrambled to scoop them up, their paws sliding on the tile floor. "That’s not true. We’re