Title: Happily Ever After
Series: Cinder & Ella #2
Author: Kelly Oram
Publisher: Bluefields Publishing
Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sequel
Release Date: April 11, 2017
The end
of one story is often the beginning of another. Hollywood heartthrob Brian
Oliver and his Cinderella princess Ellamara Rodriguez have finally found love
outside the digital world. But leaving their anonymity behind creates a whole
new set of obstacles for the nation's new favorite sweethearts. With the stress
of Brian's fame and the pressures of a new relationship weighing down on them,
the It Couple quickly begins to wonder if they can hold on to their newfound
joy, or if maybe happily ever after is only a fairy tale after
all.
Excerpt
Scott
closed his laptop, which was a sign that he was really serious now. “Like it or not, Brian, she is in this. Up to her eyeballs in it, in
fact. She won’t be able to avoid it forever, and when it catches up to her,
she’s going to have some real choices to make. If you don’t bring her in with
you, then your management team—along with everyone else in town—will bypass you
and go straight to her. Do you really want her to meet with people and make
decisions without you?”
My
jaw clenched. Hollywood people could be nice enough, but they were all sharks
in sheep’s clothing. Ella was a strong, smart woman, but she wasn’t used to
playing their game. No way did I want her having to navigate this business on
her own.
“You’re
absolutely right that your team will try to use her as much as possible. That’s
why you should be there when they do. At least if you’re together, you can tell
her when they’re trying to work her over.”
Damn
him again. Why did he always have to be right? Letting out a breath of defeat,
I scrubbed my hands over my face and then raked them through my hair. “All
right, all right, fine. Let’s schedule a meeting with Ella. But not yet. After
the holidays. After New Year’s.”
Scott’s
posture eased up a little, and he gave me an apologetic smile. “I don’t think
they want to wait that long. You guys are in the headlines now. You’re the biggest story of the year. With the movie releasing
in two days, they want to take advantage of all this free publicity.”
I
huffed in exasperation. “The Druid Prince
is the biggest release of the holiday. The studio has put millions of dollars
into advertising. How much more publicity does it need?”
“Not
the film, Brian; you.”
“I
don’t care about the publicity. I don’t want the attention.”
I
shot to my feet with a groan and headed for my coffee again. It wasn’t as hot
now, so I chugged it as if it held the answers to all my problems.
“You
do want it this time. And so does
Ella.”
I
was still frowning, but I leaned against the counter again and gave him my full
attention. He jumped on the window of opportunity but spoke cautiously, as if
he was afraid I might explode if I didn’t like what he said. “How you and Ella
deal with this attention will affect your future, and you know it. The world
loves you guys right now. You’re a real-life fairy tale. People are dying to
see the two of you living out the happily-ever-after you promised them.”
“Forget
the world. I want that. But if the
freaking media doesn’t leave us alone, no one will get that happily-ever-after,
because Ella will dump my famous ass.”
Scott’s
snort of disbelief was only mildly reassuring.
“She’s
not like everyone else, Scott. She doesn’t care about the money, and my fame is
a problem in her eyes, not a fun
perk. She’s fragile. If this gets too crazy, she’ll throw in the towel. She’ll
have to. And I’ll have to let her.”
“If
you would just make a couple of appearances together, do an interview or two
and a photo shoot, that would satiate the public, and things would die down.”
“Tell
that to Kim and Kanye.”
Again,
Scott spoke right over my cynical mutterings. “It would help you both in other
ways, too. Ella is exactly what you need for your career.
This relationship will completely erase your last year or so of debauchery.”
I
cocked an eyebrow at Scott, trying my hardest not to smile. It wasn’t easy. “Debauchery?”
His
cheeks turned a little pink, but he stood his ground. “Do you have a better
word for all the partying and womanizing?”
I
held his gaze a moment longer but then cracked. “Fine. Debauchery.”
“Right.
And after a few appearances with Ella, as in love as you guys are, not even
Kyle Hamilton will remember your previous reputation as an arrogant, immature
playboy.”
My
eyebrow went up again, and this time it was Scott who relented. “Okay, Kyle might. But no one else will; I
guarantee it. You’ll be the mature down-to-earth A-list actor who chose to be
with a physically-disabled woman when he could have anyone. You’ll be admired by all of Hollywood. And a man like that
might just win himself an Oscar, whether he earned it onscreen or not—that’s
simple Academy politics. Not that you haven’t earned it, but no one in the
Academy would hesitate to vote for you. And no director will hesitate to
consider you for a role in the future. Play your cards correctly right now, and
you’ll be earning thirty million a picture for the Cinder Chronicles sequels and turning down roles you’d beg for
right now.”
A
year ago, that would have been a persuasive argument. “It’s not me I’m worried
about. I’ll earn my A-list status eventually; I don’t need to use Ella to get
there.”
“She
might want to use this opportunity, though. You should at least explain to her
what is going on and what it means for her. From what you’ve told me, she’s an
extremely independent woman and isn’t going to want to live off of her father’s
money forever, or yours. This could be a very lucrative time for her. It could
help her with her future and even give her something to focus on. It could give
her positive reasons for living with the fame and maybe help her make sense of
how much her life has just changed.”
I
shot Scott a glare, hating that last accusation, and got his
Super-Assistant-Stare-Down again. “Like it or not, Brian, the moment you gave
that Cinderella interview on The Kenneth
Long Show, you changed her life. There’s no going back for her, so help her
move forward. Help her make the best of a hard situation. Ease this transition
for her by being straight with her. You know no one else will.”
I
rubbed my head. All this thinking about the future first thing in the morning
was giving me a headache.
“Sorry,
boss, I know it’s not what you want to do, but it is what you need to do. I’d let you keep ignoring
them and turn off my phone over the holiday if it wasn’t.”
My
hands dropped to my sides as all the fight left me, and I met Scott’s gaze
again, frowning. “Do you ever get tired of being right?”
The corners of
Scott’s mouth twitched. “Not really, no.”
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Kelly
Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen—a fan fiction about her favorite
music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease
her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting
by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four
children, and her cat, Mr. Darcy.
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