Before He Was Famous: HotFlush Book 1

by Becky Wicks

  ‘You like to travel, right?’ Jamie said, pouring her another glass of wine from the bottle he’d apparently ordered just for her. ‘I mean you must do, working for a circus for so long.’

  She nodded. ‘That was the best part about the job.’ Well, that and sitting astride Carlos on the trapeze.

  Jamie smiled, revealing adorable, slightly crooked teeth that only added to his charm. ‘Well… if you’re interested, I know someone who might be hiring. He’s got a concierge company. Sounds like it might be kind of perfect for you.’

  Lara eyed him over the rim of her glass. Concierge company? What was that? Wasn’t a concierge someone who worked in a hotel, helping lost tourists hail cabs? She swigged even more wine. Oh, hang on. Did he mean escort agency?

  She reared backwards suddenly in shock and all the wine rushed straight to her head, making her sway slightly in her chair. ‘A concierge company?’ she breathed, eyes wide.

  Jamie laughed, seeing the look of horror on her face. ‘It’s like a butler service, but for very wealthy people.’

  Her heart rate slowed again. Butler? Well, she supposed she could be one of those. It sounded a bit more legitimate than being an escort, at least. Lara had known a girl at Uni who’d paid her fees by becoming an escort. And that actress, Billie whatsherface, had made it look quite glamorous on the telly, too. But then… the thought of sleeping with strange men for money made Lara’s skin crawl. All those hideous, old business men wanting a quickie on their lunch break and cheating on their wives… yuck. No thanks. Not her scene at all. But if it was just being a butler…

  ‘Sure,’ she told Jamie. ‘Why not?’

  Beggars couldn’t be choosers, after all. She needed to make some money. The side business she’d developed selling used jock straps, tights and nipple tassles online to Japanese business men (honestly, you wouldn’t believe how many pervs there were in the world) was going to dry up now that she no longer had access to the dressing rooms after hours.

  ‘I’ll put you in touch then,’ Jamie said, an affectionate smile playing on his lips.

  Carry on reading. Get The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft (not Croft) now from Amazon.com

  Acknowledgements

  So much went into writing this book. I was actually writing scenes for this story when I was a teen and it's only recently I felt the time was right to get it out there. I would love to shout out to the minds, hearts and voices of musicians Joshua Radin, Matt Nathanson, Cary Brothers, The Script and Jason Reeves. I imagine Noah's sound and soul to be a mixture of theirs and their music particularly was such an inspiration while I was writing this. I've made a playlist to go with the book, which is on YouTube. There's a longer one on Spotify if you 'friend' me!

  Massive thanks and G&Ts to the fabulous author Sarah Alderson (read her books, they are amazing!) whose support the whole way has been invaluable and whose daily emails are always both a mood-lifter and an inspiration. Huge shout outs also go to Jeanine Henning, whose talent and skills bring you the cover art. I’m so grateful I clicked on that lead on Twitter. Genius hides behind hashtags, I’m telling you!

  To all the bloggers and reviewers, too - massive thanks! It's kind of scary putting a story out there after so long, not knowing how or if it will be accepted. Thanks to everyone for the support and feedback along the way - it all helps more than you could you ever know!

  Huge thanks too, to my awesome dad, Ray, who helps me manage my website and blog and is super web savvy, always helping to fix things that boggle my mind; to my mum and brother for putting up with me in their homes, to all my friends who've always been so supportive, particularly Pip, Tracy, Dacey, Daniel B, Farzana and Koulla and to Ubud, Bali and Gili Trawangan, my second homes and sources of peace and inspiration.

  Thanks to Amanda Preston, whose valuable advice brought me to where I am today, and to everyone who put up with me locking myself away for hours at a time, burying my head in my laptop. Sorry for being antisocial! I hope you love my story and the others in the HotFlush series, coming soon.

  Follow me on Twitter at @bex_wicks, on my Facebook author page, and on my blog: www.beckywicks.com