Title: The One Thing
Series: Hollywood Timelines Book Two
Author: Briana Gaitan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Day: January 16th 2015
Synopsis:
When everything falls apart, he's the one thing that holds me together.
Ginger Teague may seem like your typical Hollywood actress with the famous boyfriend, designer clothes, money, and hit TV show, but constantly being in the public eye has its downside.
People seem more interested in her chaotic relationship with her on again/ off again boyfriend than her acting career,and Ginger isn't dealing with her new found fame in a way she always envisioned. She masks her unhappiness with too many parties and an unhealthy habit of binge drinking. As much as she wants love, men find her as a pretty amusement, not the type of girl you take home to mom and dad.
When she meets Caspian Norwood, they quickly begin a regimen of flirty emails.
He's a struggling musician that doesn't quite fit her idea of the perfect boyfriend.
He's older, mysterious, cultured, knows exactly what to say and do in all the right situations, and Ginger can't help falling for him. But the world is against them, pushing them apart, and it's beginning to feel as if they're only meant to be friends.
The One Thing is a standalone novel and book two in the Hollywood Timelines series. You met Ginger in The Last Thing, now hear her love story.
He's a struggling musician that doesn't quite fit her idea of the perfect boyfriend.
He's older, mysterious, cultured, knows exactly what to say and do in all the right situations, and Ginger can't help falling for him. But the world is against them, pushing them apart, and it's beginning to feel as if they're only meant to be friends.
The One Thing is a standalone novel and book two in the Hollywood Timelines series. You met Ginger in The Last Thing, now hear her love story.
(Intended for ages 18 and up)
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Excerpt #1
“The Meet- Cute”
I
lean back against a brick wall to catch my breath and regain my
composure. I slide down against the brick until my I can lean my face
into my knees and take a few deep breaths.
“What’s
a pretty young thing like you doing wandering the streets all alone?”
a voice says from beside me. Looking up, I blink against the bright
sun to try and find the source. I stand up.
“Over
here.”
I
follow the sound of the voice and spin around to see a lanky guy, a
little older than me, sitting on the stoop of an old brick
auditorium. My eyes graze his shaggy, dirty blond hair that falls in
his eyes and his strong, square jaw. When he smiles, there’s a cute
dimple in his left cheek. His eyes are kind, clear blue engulfed with
dark lashes. My eyes move downward against his lean chest and tight
skinny jeans. As if on instinct, I flashed him a flirty grin. Man,
this guy is beautiful…in a grungy skateboarder kinda way.
“Just
taking a leisurely stroll,” I comment. I examine the cigarette in
his hand and wrinkle my nose a bit. He notices my displeasure and
smashes the butt under his old converse. Converse?
No, no, no. I talk
myself down. He takes a swig of water from a plastic bottle and sets
it down on the ground. This guy isn’t cute, he’s shabby. He’s
an emo. He’s—and I’m—he isn’t my style at all. Oh, gross.
How could I have stooped so low as to even for the briefest moment
consider him attractive? I tend to go for more classic, metro-sexual
men. Armani suits, expensive cars, slicked back hair and Rolex
watches. That’s what turns me on; not smokers with tattoos. Though
from what I can see of his, they look quite impressive. A flash of
something large on his right bicep, but I can’t make it out. Not
wanting to get caught staring, I look up at the bright sky instead.
The urge to walk away consumes me, but I need another moment to catch
my breath and rest my aching feet. He stands up and walks closer,
making my heart pound against my chest. Oh,
shit. I stare straight
ahead at his old gray tee shirt and black jeans that hug his body. He
stops right in front of me and rests an arm on the wall behind me to
support himself.
“You
look really lost. Need some help?”
God,
that sexy voice. Heat begins to pool between my legs. No, this isn’t
a safe position. He’s a stranger! I straighten up and look into his
face, that beautiful face. Focus,
Ginger!
“I’m
not lost. Would you kindly back off?” I snap.
Men
don’t randomly offer to help women. They always have ulterior
motives. They always expect something in return. He backs up with his
hands out in front of him in surrender. His face is sincere, honest.
Like I even know what
that looks like.
“Hey,
I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m only trying to offer you some
local hospitality.”
I
sigh in exasperation and pull my phone out to check the time.
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m
late to an audition, like it even matters now. I won’t get the job
anyway, and your little distraction.” I dangle my fingers in the
air at him. “It isn’t helping either.”
“Their
loss.” He shrugs while giving me a wide smirk that makes my body
tingle.
He
has perfectly straight white teeth. It’s amazing. It’s the kind
of teeth that only dentist’s kids have. I lean in to get a closer
look at his mouth. Stop
that! Just
look at him. He will use you and throw you away with a broken heart.
He isn’t a safe choice. My word, how does he keep them so white
with all the smoking? Stop it, Ginger!
“Are
you okay?”
I
realize I’m scowling at him, and staring at his teeth like a
gawking monkey. I’m tempted to smile, but refuse to. Attraction or
no attraction, I’m not about to let him know how affected I am by
his presence.
“I’m
fine, thanks for asking. You can go back to…whatever it is you were
doing.” I wave my hand as if he’s a minion out to do my bidding.
He
laughs, but doesn’t take the hint. “I’m just taking a smoke
break between sets. We’re doing a sound check for a show tonight.
Hey, you should come check us out.” He motions toward the building
beside us, an ancient looking place. Great, he’s a musician.
They’re even worse than actors. I raise an uninterested slim brow
at him, but don’t say a word.
“Doesn’t
like music, duly noted.” He laughs again. It’s
so intoxicating. He
articulates all of his syllables, but I can’t pinpoint the accent.
His voice isn’t suave or deep, he definitely sings with a wide
range, kind of like Ben Gibbard. That’s right; I like music. In
fact, I love music and Death Cab for Cutie is one of my favorite
bands. I just don’t like the reputation that precedes musicians. I
open my mouth to protest, but stop. I don’t need to explain myself
to this guy.
“Thanks
for the neighborly concern.” I roll my eyes and wait for him to go
back inside, but instead we both anxiously stand there daring the
other to walk away first. With a crooked grin plastered upon his
devilishly handsome face, he digs into his back pocket to pull out
another cigarette. He lights up, but blows the smoke away from me. My
nostrils flare, and I have to keep from kneeing him in the balls. How
dare he trap me in a corner while he puffs on those death sticks.
Such a disgusting habit, if you ask me. After a minute, I give up,
push myself off from the wall, and turn my back to him.
“Have
a good one!” he calls out from behind me. “Fuck you,” I mumble
to myself as I strut away. I throw my purse over my shoulder and
curse myself when a smile appears on my lips. He is an interesting
character. It’s not every day I get to meet someone who isn’t a
stuck up social climber.
My feet scream in agony with each
step, but I refuse to turn around. Well, that is until I make it
about two blocks down the road. Only then do I allow myself to stop
and peek over my shoulder. He’s still standing in the same spot on
the sidewalk. His eyes are locked on me, I think. From far away, his
hair appears darker, making him seem more mysterious. When he raises
his hand to wave, I quickly turn around. My pale skin heats in
excitement. I haven’t been this worked up over a man in a long
time, not since I first began dating Barrett. I should feel bad for
getting so turned on by another guy when I just broke up with my
fiancé, but I’m not. Barrett screwed it up. Ergo, I don’t care.
The crosswalk flashes green for
me to go, but before I step across the street, I take one last look
behind me. Disappointment fills me as I gaze at the empty sidewalk.
He must have gone inside. Nashville is a big city, and I’m only
visiting for a few more days before I return to LA. It’s unlikely
that I’ll ever see him again.
Review by Gia:
The One Thing is book two in the Hollywood Timelines series. I think you would be okay reading it as a standalone. Book one was Quinn and Chase's story and this one is Ginger's story. Ginger is Quinn's cousin so we do get more Quinn and Chase in this book.
In The Last Thing (book one), we meet Ginger but we don't learn a lot about her. In The One Thing we learn that Ginger has a lot going on.
She's a Hollywood star and when she breaks up with her boyfriend Barrett, she masks her sadness with drinking and parties. It seems like her life is going to be a train wreck but a tabloid journalists dream. Then Caspain stumbles into her life.
Caspain is a struggling musician. He is kind of a mystery and has some demons of his own. In the beginning all they can give each other is friendship. You can't help but read on to see how they turn their friendship into something more.
This story is told in both Caspain and Ginger's POVs. I love being able to read both of their POVs. We also get to read text messages and tabloid reports. As a bonus there are book discussion question at the end, which makes this book perfect for book discussion groups.
4 Amazeballs Stars!!!!
About the Author
Briana Gaitan grew up in the South, but calls herself a geek at heart. She is a blogger,author,and fangirl who loves Star Wars, Star Trek, and Jewelry (bet you never thought you'd hear those three things in a sentence together) For fun, she loves watching any show on the SyFy channel, relaxing with her family, reading, and listening to indie music (sometimes all at the same time). Briana loves to write stories where there are no limits to the imagination. She is also the co-author of the fantasy Ethereal Underground series.
Don't miss the other books in the Hollywood Timelines series
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