American Diva

Table of Contents

 

 

“Fun . . . sensual.”—
Publishers Weekly

 

“London’s wonderfully entertaining Thrillseekers Anonymous series is deliciously sexy, clever, and fun.”—
Booklist

 

“[A] romantic romp . . . a fun, contemporary, second-chance romance.”

—
Midwest Book Review

 

 

“Wonderfully sexy chemistry [with] plenty of humorous moments . . . Perfect for readers who like sexy contemporary romances liberally laced with laughter.”—
Booklist

 

“London gives us the pleasure of a celebrity tabloid without the guilt . . . In movie-speak, the novel is
XXX
meets
Legally Blonde
: witty and sweet with plenty of sparks.”—
Publishers Weekly

 

“A fun romp through the mountains with a side of adventure . . . an irresistible romance with some comic relief.”—
Huntress Reviews

 

 

“Read this fun and fast-paced adventure of the heart. It will make you laugh, cry, and believe in the power of love.”—
The Best Reviews

 

“With saucy wit, London brings her delightful trilogy to a triumphant conclusion . . . [with] sharp, snappy writing . . . deliciously entertaining.”

—
Booklist

“A wonderfully endearing heroine, a delightfully roguish hero, some sizzling chemistry, and writing that sparkles with sexy, sassy charm . . . fabulously entertaining.”—
Booklist

 

“Another ‘knocks your socks off’ read . . . funny, sexy, and touching . . . one of the best books of the year.”—
Affaire de Coeur

 

“Winningly fresh and funny throughout.”—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Great characters, sassy dialogue, and a feel-good ending.”

—
The Oakland Press

 

“Simply irresistible. Precious. A polished gem.”—
Reader to Reader

 

“The romance is great, the sex is fantastic . . . A number one pick for your summer reading.”—
A Romance Review

 

“Her characters come alive on every page and will steal your heart.”

—
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

“Witty, absorbing . . . London’s fast-paced narrative is peopled with colorful characters . . . and not without its fair share of thrills.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Will make you laugh out loud!”—Christina Skye

 

“Delightfully imaginative.”—
Booklist

 

“Romance and adventure, thrills and chills, sensuality and compassion, and characters you will fall in love with.”—
Romance Reviews Today

 

“Completely engaging and fun, as well as sensual and exciting.”

—
All About Romance

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2007 by Julia London

 

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

eISBN : 978-0-425-21564-7

I. Title.

 

PS3562.O78745A84 2007
813’.6—dc22
2007007167

 

 

Marty
Weiss believed he was the luckiest man in all of Chicago. He’d fantasized about meeting the pop star Audrey LaRue since his ten-year-old granddaughter, whom he’d been stuck baby-sitting one night, had introduced him to her by way of MTV. From the moment Audrey had appeared on Marty’s wide-screen plasma TV with that curly blond hair and the bare belly and stiletto heels, he’d been bewitched.

He’d sat on the edge of his seat, his eyes and ears taking in every inch and every sound of Audrey.

The next day, he bought the two CDs she had released and played them over and over in his car. In a month’s time, he knew the words to all twenty-eight tracks. He’d read the liner notes until he’d memorized them and had a concert date list for her upcoming summer tour.

He’d also joined an on-line Audrey LaRue fan club where her most rabid fans posted daily. Marty became a regular poster there, offering his opinion about her love life (she’d been with Lucas Bonner, a second-rate musician, too long to Marty’s way of thinking); her oft-rumored pregnancy (she looked too thin to be pregnant, and as a father of four, Marty
knew
pregnant); and the meteoric rise of her last CD up the charts (spurred along, in part, by Marty’s bulk purchase).

It was only natural that when Marty’s wife, Carol, began to plan his sixtieth birthday party, Marty would call an old business acquaintance in Hollywood and cash in a favor the guy owed him. He told his on-line pals that he was certain he could get Audrey to attend his party.

The other cyberfans scoffed at him. They said there was
no way
Marty could get Audrey to a birthday party. One guy said he’d give Marty one hundred bucks if he could get even a reply from her record label.

Marty knew that those cyberyahoos had no concept of the sort of dough he had to work with to make sure it happened. Thanks to his ownership of a series of computer chip manufacturing plants, plus some dubious connections with some “businessmen” in Chicago, Marty had some serious scratch in his pocket.

His birthday party was Carol’s brainchild. She’d heard from her cousin in L.A. about an extremely private outfit that would arrange an extremely private outing for the adventurous at heart. “They did Olivia Dagwood’s wedding,” Marsha said as she and Carol spent a day at the spa. “I mean,
almost
—they had it all ready to go until disaster struck.”

“Really?” Carol asked breathlessly. “I read about that in
People
!”

“Mm-hmm,” Marsha said. “They’ve done a
lot
of dangerous stuff like that.” She said it as if all weddings were dangerous, and proceeded to tell Carol about this outfit—Thrillseekers Anonymous—that arranged extreme outings for a fee. Their specialty was extreme adventure with guaranteed privacy. But what appealed to Carol most was that TA
worked with movie stars on a routine basis
.

When she told Marty about it, he was all for it. He didn’t care so much about the guaranteed privacy aspect, but some of his friends did, as they had some rather strained relationships with the federal, state, and local authorities.

With the help of a couple of women from TA, Carol planned the whole birthday bash. It would be held on a private island off the coast of Costa Rica. They would do some ocean kayaking, some zip-lining through the jungle, and some waterfall hiking up to a volcano. Caterers would be brought in from the finest eating establishments in the U.S.A.