Melissa James – Celebrity Wedding of the Year (страница 1)

About the Author

MELISSA JAMES is a mother of three, living in a beach suburb in New South Wales, Australia. A former nurse, waitress, shop assistant, perfume and chocolate demonstrator, among other things, she believes in taking on new jobs for the fun experience. She’ll try at least anything once to see what it feels like – a fact that scares her family on regular occasions. She fell into writing by accident, when her husband brought home an article stating how much a famous romance author earned, and she thought, I can do that! She can be found most mornings walking and swimming at her local beach with her husband, or every afternoon running around to her kids’ sporting hobbies, while dreaming of flying, scuba diving, belaying down a cave or over a cliff – anywhere her characters are at the time!

Celebrity Wedding of the Year

Melissa James

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

Mills & Boon have been crafting happy endings for over one hundred years now and I am so glad to be part of that tradition. In a world where that doesn’t happen as often as it ought to, I love to read stories of hope, that have a positive outcome, that show the best of humankind. I also love to create stories of love and commitment and tender romance. I am proud to be an author for Mills & Boon, and give people stories they can read over and over again, to come back to as an old friend when life can become overwhelming.

In Celebrity Wedding of the Year, I have taken the traditional marriage of convenience story and given it a fun twist. I hope it becomes a friend on your bookshelf, one you can turn to for a guaranteed smile.

Happy reading,

Melissa

PROLOGUE

1977

It seems rock wild child Billy Browning is at it again—with the wife of the founder of Solutions for Poverty. Nice one, Billy …

1982

How brief “forever” can be in the music industry. End Game’s guitarist Billy Browning has left his wife and two-year-old daughter Mia for a blond starlet fifteen years his junior …

1996

Billy Browning has checked himself into rehab for the seventh time—but he has had full custody of his daughter Mia since his ex-wife died last year. Child psychologists worry about the child’s exposure to his wild lifestyle. Where is Mia while her father dries out again?

2000

The most successful lead singer of End Game has called it quits. After four years C.J. Hunter has left the band for reasons unknown and gone into hiding. Guitarist Billy Browning has called for auditions for a new singer, but seems to be busier doing the rounds of international parties with his press secretary Michelle Glaser, who is half his age. His third marriage ended a month ago, which seems to be Browning’s maximum mourning period.

2001

Since C.J. Hunter left End Game he’s gone from strength to strength. The former rock god won a Grammy for “Shades of Gray”, the number one song he wrote for End Game. He refused his invitation to the Grammys, concentrating on his studies at Sydney University. He’s in his second year of medical school, and has ambitions to enter the research field.

The world of rock music is poorer for his leaving it.

2007

It seems Billy Browning never changes. Despite his vigorous denials, it seems he’s in a relationship with Nicole Neilson, the estranged wife of his longtime friend crooner Martin Neilson. So much for loyalty, Billy!

A source close to Browning said today, “I don’t know how much longer Mia can put up with her father’s lack of morals. She’s such a nice girl.”

CHAPTER ONE

The Present Day

THE entire End Game family, including every lead singer since the band’s inception in 1975, turned up in a “Who’s Who” of rock to attend Billy Browning’s wedding to Nicole Neilson. Browning married Nicole only four days after her return from Vegas, where she obtained a quickie divorce from crooner Martin Neilson. The private ceremony was surrounded by tight security. The couple are said to be very happy.

Browning and Neilson are said to be cruising in the Caribbean for their honeymoon. Browning’s daughter Mia was unavailable for comment, but her publicist said to expect a special announcement from Mia soon.

The former lead singer of End Game, C.J. Hunter, approached for comment, said he’d never seen Billy so happy.

Martin Neilson apparently sent a telegram wishing them all the best.

A Month Later

“So that’s it?” From the plush chair of the large, well-appointed office, Billy Browning frowned ferociously into his specialist’s face. “I pay you an indecent amount of money to keep me healthy—”

“You’re almost sixty, Billy,” Dr. Bascombe said bluntly. “I haven’t found the fountain of youth, and with your past …” He shrugged. “It was bound to catch up with you, even if you have been clean and healthy for the past five years.”

“Hepatitis B,” Billy whispered in horrified wonder. Shaking his head made his short silver hair shimmer in the glaring halogen lights of the private sanatorium. “There’s no cure. It’s not fair … I’ve tried so hard to change my life …”

His fourth wife, Nicole, squeezed his shoulder with sympathy. “You have changed your life, Billy.”

A semi-conservatively dressed Billy glared at his doctor. “So why did this happen? Didn’t I follow your every meticulous instruction to the letter?”

“Dad, it’s awful, but it’s not the doctor’s fault.” Mia Browning turned to the doctor. “What can we do to help?”

The doctor smiled at Mia with relief. Billy’s temper tantrums were almost as famous as his revolving door love-life, and far more frightening. “We have drugs to stabilize the progress of the disease, and with a good diet and gentle exercise regime, it hopefully won’t get worse for a few years.”

“There’s also a lot of herbal tonics that’ll help, darling,” Nicole said softly, and Billy smiled at her, albeit after a struggle.

“There are herbal tonics that will help.” Her husband gently corrected her grammar with the pedantic nature which few of his fans knew. Nicole, who’d loved him for twenty-five years and knew he used his corrections to cover his fear, let it go with a smile.

“More than anything else you need absolute rest for three to six months, Billy,” the doctor inserted.

All three of the Brownings stared at him; it was no wonder, given the paparazzi contingent camped outside. Since her father had married Nicole four weeks ago their life had become a circus again.

“Absolute rest, Billy,” Dr. Bascombe repeated, looking stern. “You don’t want to know what will happen if you push yourself, or allow life—and the press—to stress you.”

Billy and Nicole sighed together. Even though yesterday’s news was supposed to be old, Billy’s past still haunted them all. Nicole had left Martin five months ago, and flown to Vegas for a divorce last month. The paparazzi still ran regular updates on why Billy would “steal” his friend’s wife, and then marry her within days of her divorce being made legal. There’d even been a TV viewer poll with outrageous reasons for the “wife swap”.

Mia sighed and bit her lip. From experience, she knew she had five minutes to come up with something before Nicole started crying and Dad began exploding. Entertaining was Dad’s forte, not forward planning. The only plans he’d ever made that had worked had been flashes of spur-of-the-moment brilliance that always shocked Mia when they came.

She frowned. “Dad, you have to rest. You can’t handle this situation about Uncle Martin. If I finish the book faster, he can come out earlier—”

“No.” Billy said it firmly. “In this industry, timing, reputation and public perception are everything. Martin’s been there for me through women and rehab, and he helped bring you up. He didn’t blame me when Nicole came to me, blowing his cover. We have to wait until the book’s release.”

Uncle Martin had asked for six months before he went public with his love for his longtime secret partner, Dane Wilson, and openly announced that he was gay to his adoring female fan base. Mia, who was co-writing his autobiography, knew he was doing the right thing. In giving Uncle Martin these six months for people to wonder why Nicole had left him for Dad, the groundwork had been set.

“We have to come up with something else,” Nicole said quietly. “I wouldn’t hurt Martin for the world.”

Mia smiled at her new stepmother. Nicole was small, plump and smiling, comfortable in her wrinkles and greying hair. At fifty-three, she was the oldest of Mia’s stepmothers—and the nicest.

It had rocked her world to discover she hadn’t really known her father until he’d got together with Nicole. It had been only then she’d discovered the reason for Dad’s decades of stupid behavior and successively younger women—and for the clean-up of his life five years before. It had all been for the sake of the one woman he couldn’t have, and couldn’t live without.