America’s Sweetheart
Old flames burn bright...
“True love and steamy seduction, with a healthy dose of destiny, make this latest entry a success!”
“From Hollywood to the heartland, this sexy, poignant romance from Jessica Lemmon proves that you can go home again and rekindle your first love.”
Formats
📲 EBOOK
🎧 AUDIOBOOK
📖 PAPERBACK
🎮 INTERACTIVE GAME
(Details at the bottom of this page)
Old flames burn bright.
A disgraced starlet returns home to lick her wounds, and discovers her high school sweetheart is as tempting as ever…
When Allison Murphy left for California, she gave herself a new name and never looked back. Now her carefully crafted good-girl image is getting torn to shreds in the press thanks to her Oscar-winning A-hole of an ex-boyfriend. She escapes to the only safe haven she knows and trusts—her hometown—to take a breather while she plots her triumphant Hollywood comeback. However, when Allie arrives at her parents’ house, Jackson Burke answers the door instead. And suddenly the past comes rushing back…
First kiss. First time. First love. Jackson Burke shared a lot of firsts with Allie back in the day. And when she left, she took half his heart with her. Except she’s back, and even though he swore he’d keep his distance, he finds himself directly in her path now that her parents have hired him to remodel their house. His plan? Finish the job. Ignore his ex. Until one hot kiss goes viral, and suddenly, they’re the next big celebrity couple. Jackson agrees to play the part for Allie’s sake, but there’s zero chance he’ll allow her close enough to break his heart all over again.
Details
Book 5, Real Love series, featuring Jackson Burke & Allison Murphy
Awards
The Real Love Series
“Excellent contemporary romance—a second-chance love story that skillfully blends lighthearted sweetness and gut-wrenching emotion.”
Extras
Excerpt
“Burke. Man.” Tommy is grinning as he gestures to my ex-girlfriend. “Do you know who this is?”
I glance at Allie to find she’s grinning as well and that stops my brain cold for a few sluggish seconds. Her wide mouth is spread into an infectious smile, her teeth straight and white and perfect. Her dark eyes are ringed by a million lashes that don’t have the help of makeup today and don’t need it. She has the mysterious “it” factor famous people have. A pull that makes you want to be in her space. Her eyes brighten and her throat bobs with a silent laugh at Tommy’s question.
“Yeah,” I answer, unable to look away from her for a beat. “I know who this is.”
“So get this,” he says, more excited than before, “my girlfriend and I start bingeing this show on Netflix called America’s Sweetheart over the weekend. We watched, I don’t know, four or five episodes on Sunday. Then I’m standing here and Nina Lockhart strolls into the kitchen and I’m thinking, ‘Holy shit! That’s Samantha from the show!’”
“To be fair, you actually said the ‘holy shit’ part,” Allie tells him.
“Right.” Tommy gestures to her as she crosses the room and opens the refrigerator. “Since we started on season one, you can see how I didn’t recognize her at first. She looks the same but different, you know? You watch America’s Sweetheart, Jax?”
“A splashy comedy about four college-aged girls who hack into the world of politics and launch a campaign for one of them to become the future president of the United States?” Allie pulls a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator. “That’s Jackson’s favorite show.”
Tommy’s eyes flash from my face to hers like he’s trying to decide if she’s teasing or not. Or maybe he’s picking up that there’s more we’re not telling him.
“Hey, can you go upstairs and help Daryl clean up?” I ask him.
Disappointment floods my employee’s expression.
“Can’t skip that step,” I remind him.
He twists his mouth like an argument is brewing, but evidently Tommy doesn’t want to start one in front of “Nina Lockhart.”
“Yeah, I know.” He pulls his shoulders back. “I was only taking a break.” He waves at Allie, thanks her for the selfie, and leaves the room.
Now Allie and I are standing at the island in the center of the kitchen. Tommy was half right. She isn’t the same girl she was in season one of America’s Sweetheart. Back then she was twenty and had been on an airplane once. That was before she had a stylist and a makeup person and a trailer with her name on it. But right now, without a stitch of eye shadow coating her lids and with that playful sparkle in her eyes, she looks a lot like she did then. I understand his meaning.
Her cheekbones are more defined now, her hair longer and silkier, her posture straighter and more confident.
“He’s sweet,” she says.
“He’s young.”
“You were that young once.” She pulls two glasses from the cabinet behind her and pours tea into both. No ice. Just like she used to drink it. She’s the only person I’ve met who drinks iced tea without ice. She goes to the fridge again and tops off my glass with ice cubes before delivering it.
“Thanks.” I accept the glass and we sip in silence.
Allie’s wearing a white dress under which I make out the shadow of a red bikini. It’s a great day for a swim and the pool in the backyard is perfection. Which is probably how she’ll look when she takes off that cover-up. My mind makes a pit stop to the gutter as I imagine what we used to do together and wonder if that has changed, too. If her tight, warm little body would feel the same beneath mine. If her skin still tastes the same…
I gulp my tea, and briefly consider dumping it over my head.
