The Idea of You by Darcy Burke Series: Ribbon Ridge #4
Also by this author: You're Still the One
Published by Avon Impulse on November 17, 2015
Format: eARC
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Evan Archer has always preferred peace and solitude to the loud antics of his large, hard-to-navigate family. But when Archer Enterprises needs a new creative director, Evan jumps at the chance to claim the job he’s always wanted. Moving home is easier than he expected, but Evan isn’t prepared for the stunning A-list celebrity hiding out in his family’s garage apartment.
Following a major tabloid scandal, movie star Alaina Pierce escapes to Ribbon Ridge. She’s immediately drawn to the quiet, picturesque town and the incredibly sexy—if a little quirky—Evan. He may be built like a Greek god, but he’s honest and straightforward… so different from the Hollywood types she normally dates.
Their attraction is undeniable, but Alaina can’t elude the paparazzi forever, and Evan has no interest in being in the limelight. When the secret she’s been keeping is exposed, the idea of Evan—of real love and a family like the Archers—could vanish in an instant.
Evan Archer rounded the larger of his parents’ two garages and was immediately hit by the smell of smoke and the peal of an alarm. He instinctively pressed his hands to his ears and looked up at the apartment on the second floor of the garage. Smoke billowed from an open window. Despite the excruciating sound, he ran toward the door, threw it open, and vaulted up the stairs. The door at the top, which led to the apartment, was open. The acrid scent of smoke assaulted his lungs as the scream of the alarm violated his ears.
A woman stood beneath the alarm madly waving a towel.
Evan strode to the dining table situated in front of the windows and pulled a chair beneath the smoke detector. He said nothing to the strange woman, but nevertheless she moved out of his way. He stepped onto the chair and promptly pulled the battery from the alarm. Blessed silence reigned. He closed his eyes with relief.
“Thank you,” she said, draping the towel over her shoulder. “I am so sorry about this. Who are you?”
He didn’t look directly at her but recognized her immediately. “You’re Alaina Pierce.”
“I know who I am. Who are you?” There was a guarded, tentative look in her eyes. He universally sucked at decoding emotional expression, but that was one he knew. Probably because he’d seen it in the mirror so much when he’d been younger.
He jumped down off the wooden chair and returned it to the table. “I’m Evan Archer. Are you staying here?”
“Yes. Sean didn’t tell you?”
“Nope.” Evan hadn’t seen his brother-in-law today, but that wasn’t unusual. He and Evan’s sister Tori lived in a condo in Ribbon Ridge proper, while Evan lived fifteen minutes outside the center of town with their parents in the house they’d all grown up in. “Should he have?”
“Maybe not. My being here is a secret.”
Then it made perfect sense that he hadn’t told Evan. He was terrible at keeping secrets. “I suck at secrets.” And knowing when to keep his mouth shut.
“I see. Well, do you think you could keep me a secret?”
Maybe. If he didn’t make the mistake of blurting it out without thinking. “I guess.”
“Hey,” she said with more volume than she’d used before. “Would you mind looking at me so I can see if you’re telling the truth?”
He forced himself to look straight at her. She was beautiful. But not in the glamorous movie star way he’d expected. She wore very little makeup, not that she needed any at all. The color of her skin reminded him of rich buttermilk, and her hazel eyes carried a beguiling sparkle. They were very expressive and probably her defining feature. Along with that marquee smile he had yet to see.
“Do you have a superpower that allows you to detect lies?”
Her mouth inched up into an almost-smile. “Yes, I do. It’s a side effect of being ridiculously famous.”
“Good to know. I was only moderately famous, so that’s a skill I don’t possess.” He was also fairly lousy at lying. How could he recognize it in someone else? He looked away from her, settling his gaze on the still-smoky kitchen. “I’ll do my best not to expose your secret.”
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bestselling author of hot, action-packed historical and sexy, emotional
contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a
happily-ever-after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved
him, with exceedingly poor illustrations.
edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious
kids-who each seem to have inherited the writing gene in some form-and two
Bengal cats. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled
in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps
having to start over. Her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at
the Gorge.
