A Cinderella Wedding Romance with a Twist

by Madelle Morgan

New Adult romantic comedy Caught on Camera is the first in my “Upstairs-Downstairs” romance series. The premise – “Hollywood in cottage country” – is that Hollywood A-listers fall in love with local service providers in Muskoka, a beautiful lake district.

Caught on Camera, Book 1, has a Cinderella theme. However in this wedding romance it’s the stand-in bridesmaid who gets the make-over.

Backcover Blurb

To achieve her dream of working on Hollywood film sets, star struck chambermaid Rachel Lehmann needs $35,000 for film school tuition by the end of the summer. When she’s asked to fill in for a missing bridesmaid at a movie star’s wedding, it’s her big chance to take candid photos of celebrities and sell them to the entertainment gossip magazines. Then groomsman Mickey McNichol, agent to the stars, sweeps her off her feet.

Mickey’s bitter experience is that everyone in show business fakes emotions. When he falls for the stand-in bridesmaid, he thinks he’s finally met a beautiful woman he can trust. But if Rachel betrays his friends’ privacy, Mickey will ensure she never works in Hollywood.

Excerpt

Rachel bit her bottom lip as she regarded her reflection in the Bridal Suite’s floor-length mirror. An awed part of her brain struggled to accept the extraordinary image of herself barefoot and clad in an exquisite pale-lilac strapless, tea-length chiffon dress with fitted bodice.

The practical part fretted about falling behind schedule. She kept one eye on the digital bedside clock and the other on the ball of white fur rolling over her chambermaid uniform on the unmade bed.

“I need to call the housekeeper, Ms. Kane. I have rooms to clean.”

“Wanda will take care of that,” the bride-to-be said airily. She turned to her personal assistant. “Inform the hotel manager that I need Rachel until Sunday.”

“Right away.” The PA bolted for the exit.

“We booked the entire hotel for the wedding,” assured the tall, slender woman with a medley of blond highlights in waist-length hair. “What the bride wants, the bride gets. Relax and show me a few smiles. Mouth open. Mouth closed. You know the drill.”

“Drill?”

“Your smile for the wedding photos. I need to approve it.” She grabbed Rachel’s bare shoulders and twisted her around for a close-up.

“Photos?” Rachel squeaked. Her heart leaped to her throat. With her beyond-ordinary face and small boobs, she’d stand out among all the beautiful people and not in a good way. “You don’t want me in your wedding photos, surely?”

Ignoring her protest, Ms. Kane tapped a scarlet, French-tipped nail against her perfect chin. “Mouth closed, I think. Yes, a sweet but sexy smile puts the focus on your big brown eyes.”

“Ms. Kane?” Rachel burbled, an embarrassed flush warming her cheeks. “I’m not pretty enough for celebrity photos. I belong behind the camera, not in front of it. You need to find someone else—”

As Rachel gestured at the mirror, she caught sight of the tiny white dog on the bed behind them. Its devilish black eyes stared straight at Rachel’s backside. To her horror, she noticed a dark stain spreading out from under its butt and over her uniform.

“Oh my gods. Your dog just urinated on the bed!”

“Did she?” With Ms. Kane’s good humor restored, she merely glanced at her pet sitting innocently beside a puddle rapidly disappearing through Rachel’s uniform into the eight-hundred-thread-count Egyptian-cotton duvet cover.

“Naughty Mopette,” she cooed. “It’s Wanda’s fault. She’s supposed to walk you every four hours. The maid will clean it up.”

“I’m the maid!”

“Not anymore you’re not. This weekend you’re my bridesmaid. A distant cousin on my mother’s side from…from…”

“Toronto,” Rachel supplied.

“Right, Toronto, Canada. Where they have that international film festival.”

“And the largest city in Canada,” Rachel added dryly.

“So it’s settled.”

“But”—Rachel flung an arm toward the mirror—“look at us,” she wailed. “Standing beside you I’m…I’m the beautiful princess’s ugly stepsister.”

“Not stepsister,” Ms. Kane scolded, wagging a slender, elegant forefinger. “Cousin, remember? And give me some credit for the ability to make you presentable. You must know that I was a model before I launched Candy Kane Cosmetics? It’s my business to transform women’s faces into the best they can be. A skillful application of makeup, and you won’t recognize yourself.”

Rachel heaved a tremulous breath, then another. She’d viewed hundreds if not thousands of films, so she knew all about the magical transformation that actors underwent in a makeup artist’s chair. All eyes would be on the bride anyway, right?

I’ll merely be a secondary character. Not even that—an extra. No one pays attention to walk-ons. I’ll be practically invisible. Her galloping pulse slowed.

Taking Rachel’s acceptance for granted, Candy Kane’s mind was already on a different track. “Don’t you dare tell any of the guests you work here.” Candy swiped fingers across her mouth in a zipping motion. “There’s a big tip in it if you keep the secret and pull this off.”

How big? Rachel wanted to ask, but kept her “sweet but sexy” lips clamped shut. Truthfully, a generous tip wasn’t the reason a shiver of excitement rippled across her exposed skin.

Panic receding, she’d belatedly begun to appreciate the photo-taking opportunities associated with being on the set in a supporting role, so to speak, instead of as a hotel employee with no legitimate excuse to approach a celebrity wedding guest.

Listen to the Playlist for Free

Each novel in the series will have a YouTube Playlist. Find the link under the description here.

Enjoy the summer!

Madelle

CAUGHT ON CAMERA BUY LINKS 

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com.au | Kobo | Apple Books | Walmart

SEDUCED BY THE SCREENWRITER BUY LINKS

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com.au

Kobo  | Apple Books | Walmart

Madelle's romantic thriller DiamondHunter is a free read in Kindle Unlimited.

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