Book Title: Love Among the Stars (Entertaining Love, Book 1)
Author: Claerie Kavanaugh
Publisher: Half Caff Press
Cover Artist: Cath Grace Designs
Release Date: March 19, 2023
Genre: Contemporary F/F Romance
Tropes: Matchmaker, Celebrity
Themes: Coming out
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 40 000 words/ 250 pages
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Hollywood’s best matchmaker may have finally met her match.
Blurb
Genevieve “Eve” Davis is Hollywood’s best, most sought-after matchmaker. Just about everyone in the City of Angels owes her for their happily ever afters. She’s been in the business for ten years and has never made a false move. The only person she hasn’t been able to hit with Cupid’s arrow? Herself.
Then Jemma, Hollywood’s most recent “it” girl, appears on her doorstep. But rather than having an extra bounce in her step, she looks like a dog just crapped all over her brand-new designer boots. The date Eve set up for her was anything but a fairy tale beginning. In fact, it was a downright disaster. The first bad review Eve has ever had. If she can’t fix this, her perfect reputation will be torn to shreds.
Even worse, the deeper she digs for that secret ingredient that will help her find Jemma’s perfect match, the harder she falls.
Book one in the standalone sapphic celebrity romance series ENTERTAINING LOVE
“Jemma! What are you doing here? And… why didn’t you make an appointment?”
She huffs, crosses her arms, and jabs an accusatory finger toward me. “Best matchmaker in Hollywood, my ass. First, he’s a total jerk because he thinks I’m too good for him. And then, when we finally warm up to one another, I get diarrhea!”
My hand flies to my mouth, and my eyes grow wide. “Oh no!”
“And why did you even set me up with him anyway? I told your stupid website how much I love Kiki. You should have known Ray was afraid of cats!”
I barely hide a gasp as I put my hand to my heart. “You took him home?”
She raises a pointed brow. “You expected me not to? I thought you wanted this to go well!”
“I… did. I mean… I do! But um…” I bent down and scrambled to reorganize all the papers cluttering my desk while skimming every one of their contents for Jemma’s file.
“What kind of question is that anyway? It was my date. It’s my business what we do.”
My cheeks flame. “Yes. I mean, of course, it is. I mean–” Found it!
I pluck her folder from the file and flip it open as I sink into my chair. Then I grope for a pen on the top of my desk, and my fingers barely graze the end of one before it rolls to the other side. Jemma stops talking, and we both watch, mesmerized, as it plops onto the floor next to her black lace-up boots. She bends down to pick it up, but instead of handing it to me, she places it on the edge of the desk. I lean forward to take it, and our fingers brush for the slightest instant. Prickles of electricity skitter up my arm and make my hair stand on end. We pull away at the same moment, but the strange feeling in the air never quite disappears. The pen stays right where it is.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity of awkward silence, I clear my throat and meet her gaze. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s just, well….” My leg shakes beneath the desk as I search for anywhere to look besides her intoxicating brown eyes. ” I’ve never had this happen before.”
Jemma scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Clearly.”
Sweat beads on my forehead as I look at her file. ” I can honestly say I have no idea what went wrong. On paper, you two looked like a perfect match.”
“Except for Kiki?” The biting edge to her words makes me cringe. I hang my head.
“Yes. Except for Kiki.” How in the world had I missed the fact that Ray was afraid of cats? It’s such a simple, simple thing, and yet, to Jemma, it meant everything. I had never missed such an important detail like in my entire matchmaking career. Was I off my game? Was I losing my touch?
For years people warned me that my gift was just a one-off coincidence. Every time a couple I matched up worked out, they would taunt me about it being a one or two-time thing and how I should never expect it to happen again. But when my numbers went from single digits to double digits to triple digits, no one could say that anymore.
Except now they can. Because for the first time, I had failed to deliver on the company’s slogan: Happily ever afters aren’t just in fairy tales.
Jemma isn’t saying anything, but I know she thinks I’m no better than any of the other fake people she’s met since she moved here. I don’t blame her. For the first time in my life. I feel like a complete fraud. “I am so sorry, Jemma.”
She nods and softens a little. “Thanks. Too bad that’s not enough to find me a date.” She sits in the plush lounger opposite my desk, and an idea sparks at the edges of my mind. “Why can’t it be?”
She gives me a dubious look. “What are you talking about?”
I take a deep breath, then draw myself up and round my desk to stand in front of her. “In ten years of doing this, I’ve never had an unhappy client leave this office. I’m not about to start with you. So, let’s make a deal.”
She sits up and folds her hands. I barely resist the urge to smile.
“What kind of deal?”
I sink my weight into my hip. “If I don’t find you your perfect match before Valentine’s day, I will refund your money and give you a full recommendation to one of my competitors. It’ll be like nothing ever happened.”
She purses her lips. “What’s the catch? Nothing in Hollywood comes for free. Not even love.”
I let out a dry chuckle. Pretty and has a sense of humor. “All right, you got me. If you can stomach the sight of me just a little longer, I need to take you out to dinner.”
She practically does a spit take without water. “Dinner? What for?”
I shrug. “If I’m going to help you find your perfect match, I need to get to know you better.”
Jemma sits back in her chair, crosses one leg over the other, and purses her lips. My heart skips a beat as her piercing brown eyes meet mine. “Deal. She stands up, spins on her heel, and strides out the door. “Oh,” she stops with one foot over the threshold and offers a saucy wink as she plucks the pen tucked behind her ear and twists it into her beautiful blonde bun. “And I’m keeping this pen.”
I hold up my finger and open my mouth to object, but she disappears before I can, leaving only the lingering scent of rosewater and the slightest hint of cherry in her wake.
Claerie Kavanaugh has spent most of her life telling stories, but she never imagined herself writing romance. In fact, she used to think it should only be reserved for Hallmark movies. It wasn’t until college, when she discovered fanfiction, that she learned what romance was truly about: not just fluffy relationships and happily ever afters, but human connection, the desire to push one another to be better, and create hope that somewhere, somehow, everyone has someone.
When she’s not writing, she loves to travel and explore new cultures, helping other authors polish their works as a freelance editor, and singing while doing so. Broadway musicals are her soul-food, something her mother and sister know well. She constantly blasts the newest soundtrack through the halls of their Missouri home, much to the chagrin of her very sassy and spoiled cat.
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