Tara Taylor Quinn - Her Secret Life

It takes courage to choose love...

Internet security expert Michael Valentine knows his place in Kacey Hamilton’s life. The soap opera star lives in two worlds: glamorous Hollywood and small town Santa Raquel, where she volunteers with him at The Lemonade Stand women’s shelter. The key to their friendship is maintaining boundaries. And after an accident years ago left him badly scarred, he won’t expect anything more. But when threats against Kacey escalate, Michael will stop at nothing to protect her. Even if his investigation means confronting more than just her attacker as Kacey’s interest in him starts to go deeper than friendship...

A friend. He was a friend.

“I’ve got your back completely on the photo thing, Kace,” he ended up saying. “I’ll be watching every day.” Multiple times a day. He’d set up email notifications for additions to the thread on the site where the photos had been posted, but was cruising the broader internet, as well.

“I know that. And I’m here, anytime. Even when I’m at home. If you need me, you call. If I’m on set, I’ll return your call as soon as I’m alone.”

Two things she’d said hit him at once. Home. And alone. Santa Raquel was not home to her. Beverly Hills was. And when she was there, she was rarely alone.

His friendship with her might appear to be close, to be growing closer, more intimate, but in reality, he wasn’t a part of her life.

He was only her vacation.

Dear Reader,

I’m so glad you’re joining us at The Lemonade Stand. It’s a place where secrets really are safe. Life is filled with choices. It’s odd, though, that the time in our lives when we have to make the choices that will shape our entire lives is when we’re too young to know what we need to know to make the best choices...

Growing up in front of a camera, Kacey Hamilton was certain she wanted to spend her life in front of it. She loves the bright lights and being “on.” She’s good at it. And yet...she finds herself thirty years old and alone. Kacey always has an entourage...a list of suitors. She never has to worry about getting a date or a party invitation. But all the glitz and glamour can’t cover up the emptiness. She’s doing the only thing she ever wanted to do. She’s happy doing it. And yet it’s not enough.

If you’ve never read a ttq novel before, you’re just on the cusp of getting your first introduction. I love glitz and glamour, but it’s not enough for me. My stories look behind the larger-than-life. They go deep into the messy part of living. The feelings that we all experience but so often shy away from. The emotions that are confusing. Sometimes threatening. And yet...if we can find a safe place to explore them, we can oftentimes find that elusive happiness we’ve been seeking.

The Lemonade Stand is Kacey’s safe place. I hope my books can be one of yours.

I love to hear from my readers. Please find me at Facebook.com/tarataylorquinnand on Twitter, @tarataylorquinn. Or join my open Friendship board on Pinterest, Pinterest.com/tarataylorquinn/friendship!

All the best,

Tara

www.TaraTaylorQuinn.com

Her Secret Life

Tara Taylor Quinn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Having written over eighty novels, TARA TAYLOR QUINN is a USA TODAY bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is known for delivering intense, emotional fiction. Tara is a past president of Romance Writers of America. She has won a Readers’ Choice Award and is a five-time finalist for an RWA RITA® Award, a finalist for a Reviewers’ Choice Award and a Booksellers’ Best Award. She has also appeared on TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. She supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.

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For Rachel,

Your life introduced me to bright lights. And to the strength of love that rests quietly beneath. Memories really do help seeing “us” through. I love you forever.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“UH-HUH. YES.”

Mike Valentine listened unabashedly to the half he could hear of his lunch companion’s phone conversation the first Monday in March.

“I know. Mmm-hmm.” Her tone was more flirty than not. Glancing at Mike, Kacey rolled her eyes. And then mouthed, Bo.

A guy she’d been talking to in LA for the past several months. She said she wasn’t in love with him, but she liked him a lot. He fit her life in the city. She’d never, ever bring Bo to Santa Raquel, which was where Mike lived, and where he and Kacey volunteered at a local domestic violence shelter, the Lemonade Stand. Bo was part of her Beverly Hills life. And, Mike assumed, her sexual partner.

A subject that had nothing to do with Mike.

“Okay, tomorrow night. But only if it’s just a few of us. I meant it when I told you I don’t want to go clubbing.”

While she listened, she ate a French fry. Or as much of one as she’d allow herself. Just the tip. Off Mike’s plate.

She fell for the wrong guys. It didn’t take a genius to figure that one out. Besides, she’d told him so herself.

“No, I’m not going to change my mind...” Her tone of voice changed from playful to deadly serious.

While she couldn’t seem to control her propensity to date the wrong types, she was determined to make serious changes to her life and had already.

Like the drinking. She still did it. Socially. She might have been teetering on being a drunk, but she wasn’t an alcoholic. Her body didn’t have a chemical dependency on the stuff. And she hadn’t been drunk in ten months, not since she’d made up her mind to change her life. He knew...because she’d told him.

“I do want to be with you! It’s the clubbing I don’t want.” She was smiling now—not at Mike. She’d never smiled at Mike that way.

For which he was utterly thankful. That smile...it was the one reserved for the disposable men in Kacey’s life. The ones who were part of the soap opera star’s Hollywood life.