by Hazel Parker
Accidental Forever
Hazel Parker
Table of Contents
Famous Fiancé
Chapter One: Jessica
Chapter Two: Jace
Chapter Three: Jessica
Chapter Four: Jace
Chapter Five: Jessica
Chapter Six: Jace
Chapter Seven: Jessica
Chapter Eight: Jace
Chapter Nine: Jessica
Chapter Ten: Jace
Chapter Eleven: Jessica
Chapter Twelve: Jace
Chapter Thirteen: Jessica
Chapter Fourteen: Jace
Chapter Fifteen: Jessica
Epilogue: One Year Later
Yours Only
Chapter One: Anna
Chapter Two: Brett
Chapter Three: Anna
Chapter Four: Brett
Chapter Five: Anna
Chapter Six: Brett
Chapter Seven: Anna
Chapter Eight: Brett
Chapter Nine: Anna
Chapter Ten: Brett
Chapter Eleven: Anna
Chapter Twelve: Brett
Chapter Thirteen: Anna
Chapter Fourteen: Brett
Epilogue: Anna: Six Months Later
Bodyguard
Chapter One: Abby
Chapter Two: Devon
Chapter Three: Abby
Chapter Four: Devon
Chapter Five: Abby
Chapter Six: Devon
Chapter Seven: Abby
Chapter Eight: Devon
Chapter Nine: Abby
Chapter Ten: Devon
Chapter Eleven: Abby
Chapter Twelve: Devon
Chapter Thirteen: Abby
Chapter Fourteen: Devon
Chapter Fifteen: Abby
Epilogue: One Year Later: Abby
Preview of Her First, Her Boss
Author Bio
Accidental Forever © 2019 Hazel Parker
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Accidental Forever
Will fake it for $$
You know how it goes …
Someone needs to rehab a reputation.
Or fulfill the terms of their inheritance.
Or worse—protection from a stalkery ex.
Enter the fake relationship.
For the right price,
it provides everything you need …
But sometimes the things that start out fake
become startlingly real.
Famous Fiancé
Chapter One: Jessica
Jessica had been sitting in the lobby for over half an hour with nearly twenty other girls around her age waiting for the chance to audition for a role that she didn’t even want. She’d already cycled through her normal pre-audition doubts. How will I pay my rent this month if I don’t land this job? What if I’m not a good enough actor to get a better role than this? Why did I pick this outfit when I know peach washes me out? Why did I study for four years in college if I’m still not going to get the jobs I want?
Before she could open up the job site that she frequently looked at but never quite got up the nerve to use to leave show business behind forever, a short man with a clipboard stepped into the lobby from a hallway.
“Jessica?” he called, and she gathered up her portfolio and stood.
“That’s me,” she said, forcing a smile for the man and dropping it as soon as he turned around expressionlessly.
“You know the drill,” he assumed. “The auditioners have your resume and your headshots. Here’s your script,” he said, handing her a short monologue, “and they’ll tell you when to start singing.” Jessica paled.
“Singing?” she echoed incredulously. “I didn’t know this was a singing role. I don’t know how to read music; I don’t sing.”
The short man rolled his eyes, his expression mean and uncaring. “Well,” he shrugged, “that ain’t my problem.” She must’ve looked particularly distraught, because just before he opened the door, he hummed a little tune, so quietly she almost couldn’t hear it. “I’ve heard it like fifteen times today,” he sighed. “Good luck.” Desperately playing it over and over in her head, she thanked him and walked through the open door to stand in front of three other men, all in cheap suits, sitting at a long table. None of them looked up at her when she entered.
“I’m Jessica Owens,” she began, pausing for a greeting that didn’t come. “I’m twenty-three, graduated from University of—”
“We’ve got your resume, sweetheart,” one of the men said in a tone dripping with condescension. “You can just go ahead and begin whenever you’d like.”
Jessica flushed bright pink, hoping that her embarrassment wouldn’t be too obvious, and began to read the paper she’d been handed at the door with put-on, chipper enthusiasm.
“Juniper brand frozen fish sticks are the only kind that this choosy mom buys for her hungry teenagers. With real, GMO-free ingredients, Juniper is—”
“That’s good,” the second man cut her off. She looked up and smiled, which he didn’t return, and nodded. “Now for the singing.” Jessica took a deep breath and sang the jingle, barely managing to keep the grimace of embarrassment out of her voice as she trilled quickly through the song.
“Fine,” the third man said when she’d finished, “great. You did well. We’ve got your number, and we’ll be in touch.”
Despite feeling like she hadn’t even really been any throughout the audition, Jessica forced a polite, “thank you for your time!” before she exited out the back door, not wanting to risk running into the man from the lobby again, especially if he’d been able to hear her sing. In the sunlight of the early afternoon, she felt a little lighter, almost like she hadn’t just wasted another day fighting for a job that she didn’t even want. She opened her phone to a text from her best friend, Marissa, and the first genuine smile of the morning crept over her face.
“Lunch, 12:00, Little Mama’s Bistro,” she read aloud to herself. It was an invitation that, in true Marissa fashion, hadn’t even offered the option to decline, so she flagged down a taxi and headed into town to meet her.
By the time Jessica arrived at the restaurant, Marissa was already situated in their usual corner booth and had already ordered two glasses of their favorite wines. One was sitting in front of her, half-drank, and the other was at the unoccupied seat, surprisingly untouched. She smiled when she spotted Jessica and waved her over to the table.
"Jessica," she greeted cheerfully, moving her purse out of Jessica’s seat. "How did your audition go?"
Without answering, she picked up the glass of wine, emptying half in a few seconds. Marissa quirked one eyebrow at her in amusement.
"That bad?" she asked.
"Worse," Jessica replied. "I had to sing, and I know there's going to be some kind of skimpy costume involved." she shuddered at
the thought. "I don't even want this job, but I can't find anything else locally, and I need the money."
Marissa, who had been a paralegal at a major law firm for over three years now, rolled her eyes. "You know that I can help you out if you need cash," she offered, not for the first time. It was an offer that Jessica appreciated, of course, but one that never became any less awkward.
“No,” she declined, as she always did, “I can make it. I’ve got a little savings, anyway—I just really don’t want to dip into it.” She sighed, swirling the wine around and watching the glass tint purple. “Why does it feel like everyone else our age is buying houses and getting married?”
Marissa laughed, clearly already a little tipsy but not letting that stop her from sipping more of her wine. “I’m not married,” she contradicted, showing her naked left hand as evidence, “and I’m not even looking to be. I think you’re being a little hard on yourself.”
Jessica shrugged. “Maybe,” she admitted. “But even if you’re not married, you’re working in your dream career. You’ve got so much going for you.”
“Hey,” Marissa said, her tone sobering, “you’ve got things going for you, too.”
“I’ve got fish sticks, if I’m lucky,” she deadpanned, unable to keep her face straight as Marissa giggled. Before she could change the subject to something a little less self-deprecating, her phone began to buzz in her purse. “Speak of the devil,” Jessica said when her agent’s number popped up on the screen. She slid her finger across the screen to answer.
“You got it,” Jessica’s agent, Kim, began, not wasting any time with pleasantries. “The Juniper ad. They just called and said they wanted you.”
“Yay,” Jessica said unenthusiastically. “When’s the shoot?”
“This weekend,” Kim replied. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll email you all you need to know.”
She hung up without another word, and once Jessica had put her phone away, Marissa was leaning forward expectantly.
“I got the job,” she near-whined.
“Wow,” Marissa laughed, “don’t get too excited.”
Jessica sat back in her seat, running a hand through her hair. “Sometimes I think I should just give up on the acting thing in general,” she confessed.
Marissa frowned. “Jessica,” she reasoned, “come on. You’re just stressed because you’re not getting the roles you want. This has been your dream since we were kids.”
Jessica groaned. She was right about that much—Jessica had been dreaming of becoming an actor since before she’d even met Marissa in second grade. In every school production, Jessica had played the lead, one of the only students that didn’t dread the holiday concerts, excellent at giving presentations. All her teachers had told her parents that she was destined for the spotlight, and Jessica had thrived on that attention. She’d gone to a highly competitive college with a world-famous conservatory.
None of it, now, seemed like it had been worth it.
“To hell with wine,” Marissa declared, flagging down a young waiter, “you need chocolate. Can we get a slice of devil’s food cake? With extra ice cream?”
It was rare that Jessica broke her strict diet to eat something so filled with sugar and fat, but when Marissa was right, she was right. Chocolate would make her feel better right about now.
“Okay,” Jessica said, taking a deep breath, “enough feeling sorry for myself. You’ve got to pay your dues, right? That’s all.”
Marissa nodded emphatically. “Exactly,” she agreed. “Jessica, you’re the most talented person I know. You’re an amazing actor, and you’re smart and resourceful. It’s only a matter of time before you make it big. You just have to stick with it.”
Jessica couldn’t help but smile. “We’ll see, I guess,” she said, picking up her fork as the waiter, a cute college-aged guy, set the chocolate cake on the table in front of them, deliberately and exaggeratedly not making eye contact as he shuffled pointedly away. “What was that all about?” she accused, and Marissa grinned.
“I have no idea,” she disclaimed innocently. “However, it might have something to do with the fact that I took him home with me last time we ate here?”
Jessica nearly choked on her cake. “Marissa!” she guffawed. “I thought we agreed you weren’t going to do that anymore! It took us months to find a new place to eat after you and the Pizzaro’s guy hooked up.”
“I told you I was getting something tasty to-go,” she shrugged. “Learn to read between the lines, Jess.” Jessica half-laughed, half-groaned. “Besides, that’s how people meet these days!”
“It is not,” Jessica argued firmly.
“I think you’re jealous,” Marissa accused, “because you’re not getting any.”
“Please,” Jessica rolled her eyes. “I’ve got way more important things to worry about than my love life.”
“You’re only saying that because it’s nonexistent,” Marissa teased. Jessica set her fork down, noticing that she’d already eaten almost half the cake, and shoved the plate away from her. “You never get out anymore.”
“Maybe I just don’t tell you about it,” Jessica fabricated. “I could have a wild social life outside of you, and you’d be none the wiser.”
Marissa kicked at her under the table. “Right,” she laughed. “You, the person who goes to bed at ten every night and reads entire book series over the weekends, are a full-blown party animal. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”
Despite knowing that Marissa was joking, Jessica couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious about the insinuation. Had her life really become that boring and predictable? The problem was, she decided, that instead of working just one job and having free time afterward, she spent almost every minute of her life either auditioning for roles or searching for new roles for which to audition. Even the jobs she did land were short, low-paying gigs, so she never was able to get too comfortable. It was part of the reason she declined every date she was asked on, and that was part of the reason she sometimes wondered if having a chance at her dream job was even worth all the effort.
As she set her alarm for seven the next morning, she noticed a red notification over her email app and clicked on it. Expecting the information about the commercial from her agent, Jessica’s jaw nearly dropped when she read the name of the sender: Nora Thatch, one of the most famous publicity agents in the business. She represented all the biggest drama and sitcom stars but was famous for being extremely selective in her clientele and not wasting her time on anyone who hadn’t had at least one major movie in their resume. So why, Jessica wondered, was she contacting her?
“Hello, Ms. Owens,” she murmured aloud, speeding through the pleasantries, “we haven’t met, but I’m assuming you know who I am. My client, Jace Oliver, whom you’ve worked with, has requested to meet with you to discuss a prospective opportunity that could benefit both of you.”
Jace Oliver, the famous daytime-TV doctor? Jessica blinked in surprise, reading the line over again. That couldn’t possibly be right. She’d worked with him once, sure, but it was years ago. In what was still the most impressive role her agent had landed her, Jessica had played a terminally ill patient on Jace’s medical soap opera Code Blue, where his hardened, bad-boy doctor character had fallen in love with her sweet dying-girl cliché in the three episodes before her tragic death. She hadn’t even had a conversation with the guy when the cameras weren’t rolling. What could he possibly want?
“If you’d like to know more, we should meet at The Villa Cafe tomorrow at five,” she continued. “The reservation is already made. Let me know what you think.” It couldn’t be real, Jessica decided. It was spam, or a prank.
However, that doubt wasn’t enough to prevent her from replying to the email and telling Nora she’d see her tomorrow, nor enough to keep her from being too excited to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Chapter Two: Jace
It wasn’t often that Jace Oliver wrapped up the end of recording an epis
ode of Code Blue without greeting fans and adding pictures to his social media. Really, ever since he’d become a regular, then the main character, on America’s most beloved daytime hospital show, his media presence had become a ritual, integral to keeping his ego properly inflated, and save for promisingly slutty dates or important auditions for “better” roles, he almost never missed a chance to take a few selfies with the fans (mostly college-aged women or older housewives, the former being his favorite despite the latter being more devoted) and allow some paparazzi to snap a few pictures of him signing autographs on his way to his trailer.
Today, however, Jace left out the back door of the studio to avoid being seen, sneaking directly to his trailer without so much as chatting with his costars. As he expected, his agent, Nora Thatch, was waiting for him, sitting on his couch with perfect, stiff posture, her attention trained to her phone until he shut the door behind him. He tugged his shoulder-length blond hair out of the surgical cap that he’d had it in for the second-to-last episode of the series and began wiping off the studio makeup with cotton wipes.
“Nora, sweetheart,” he greeted blandly, the nickname more of a habit than a pleasantry after so many years of friendship, “tell me you’ve got good news.”
She finished whatever she was writing before she looked up at him over the brim of her glasses, her expression unreadable. “About what?” she asked carefully. Jace had only asked her to do two things: to get him an audition with any one of the award-winning directors on the list he’d given her and to track down “that girl from season three,” but since none of the directors had replied to her, she knew that it was safer to manage Jace’s expectations. A disappointed Jace was not only unpleasant, but, historically, a PR nightmare.
Jace glared at her impatiently, a look to which she was immune after so many years of working with him.
