Written in the Stars Series Collection Read online

  Written in the Stars

  A Series

  L.L. Hunter

  Copyright © 2021 L.L. Hunter

  Written in the Stars

  By L.L. Hunter

  * * *

  All Rights Reserved

  First Edition

  Manuscript Services Provided by

  Rogena Mitchell-Jones, Literary Editor

  www.rogenamitchell.com

  * * *

  Cover Design by KILA Designs

  http://www.kiladesigns.com.au

  This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the properties of the author, and your support and respect are appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Both author and editor have taken considerable effort in presenting a manuscript free of errors. However, editing errors are ultimately the responsibility of the author.

  This author writes in both American English and Australian English and may include Australian diction.

  Contents

  Woman in the Photograph

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Epilogue

  Man Amongst the Stars

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Epilogue

  Girl with the Dream

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  A Touch of Sparkle

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  One Year in Hollywood

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Boy Behind the Camera

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Girl in the Spotlight

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Also by L.L. Hunter

  About the Author

  Woman in the Photograph

  Chloe’s Story

  A glance. A touch. Is all it takes.

  Darkness. Secrets. One mistake.

  Whispered words and broken promises.

  Darkness hides the secrets, or so you think.

  Secrets as dark as mine will make you sink.

  —Chloe Vanderbilt

  * * *

  “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars”

  —Norman Vincent Peale

  Prologue

  You know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words?

  Well, it’s true.

  And I’m going to tell you why. Or rather, show you.

  My name is Chloe Vanderbilt, and a few weeks ago, my life changed forever.

  And it’s all due to one single photograph.

  1

  I leaned back in my chair and stretched my arms over my head. It was lunchtime at last.

  I’d been in this job for six months now, and the time had come. Today was the day I wrote my first official article for the website. Sydney Showbiz News was the most prominent entertainment website in Australia, and up to this point, I’d only done photocopying, coffee runs, and collecting snippets of news that might be worthy of an article.

  And now I was about to ruin someone’s life.

  This isn’t what I’d signed up for, but it paid the bills.

  It was a writing gig, and those were hard to come by. I wanted to be a writer of fiction. Growing up, I’d always wanted to be a writer—whether funny skits and plays written and performed by my sister and me and then played out for our parents or poems revealing my darkest dreams and secrets. I’d always wanted to write a novel. So, each night, after a long day at the website where I worked, being around people who made up stories for a living, and twisting the truth about real life people, I came home, poured myself a glass of wine, and sat in front of the computer to make up my own stories.

  My mu
sings were just that—musings. It was a way to vent, a way to get my feelings out about what I was doing at work—which was making up a story based on a photograph to bring traffic to the website.

  It was wrong.

  My job as a journalist was morally wrong. And judging by the story I’d just made up, the one I hesitated to send to Susan, my boss, this was either going to come back and bite me in the arse, or I was going to hell.

  The story which I had been asked to write was an exposé on top breakfast TV host, Charles Raymond. He had been snapped with a woman who wasn’t his wife, and I had his life and career in my hands. I took a sip of my coffee and read over the article once more.

  “Charles Raymond’s Steamy Affair”

  * * *

  Veteran TV host, Charles Raymond, was spotted dining out this week in a trendy Sydney restaurant with a new lady love. The pair held hands across the table and even ordered oysters and champagne. Which made us ask—is it trouble in paradise for one of Australia’s favourite TV personalities? Has Charles officially split from his wife of thirty years? It sure looked serious in the exclusive Sydney Showbiz News photo, featured above.

  If I wanted to get paid, I had to hit send. So, I gave the article another read, attached it to the email, and pressed send. I’d watched this man on my TV screen for years, and he was one of the most popular personalities on the small screen. I had to remind myself that this was what I had to do to get paid as a journalist. And if I was going to make it here, then I had to sell my soul.

  When I went home that evening, my flatmate was watching a movie in the living room.

  “Hey,” I called as I walked in the door.

  “Hey, roomie,” replied Sarah. She was a doctor and worked mostly nights at the hospital. So I was surprised to see her at all, let alone watching a movie in her pyjamas.

  “Hey, no night shift tonight?” I headed to the kitchen in search of wine. I needed it after the day I’d had, after possibly ruining someone’s life. I found a bottle of Merlot on the counter and figured Sarah must have had some. So, I poured myself a glass and joined her on the couch.

  “No. I… one of my patients died. So I was told to go home.”

  “Oh no! I’m sorry. I’m sure it wasn’t your fault.”

  “I broke down at work after the mother of the child threatened to sue me.” She took a sip of wine and shrugged and turned to look at me. “How was your day?”

  I laughed nervously. “Oh, you know, ruining people’s lives one word at a time. No biggie.” I instantly felt sorry for laughing. My day paled in comparison to Sarah’s regarding shittiness. I patted her shoulder and turned toward the TV.

  “Oh, Jack Dean. I love him.”

  “Yeah. Isn’t he hot?”

  It was an action movie where Jack Dean’s character had to rescue the daughter of a drug kingpin whom he loves from the clutches of her father. It had steamy romance and explosive action scenes and car chase scenes that appealed to both females and males. I watched Jack as he risked his life for the woman he loved.

  “He’s hot in a vulnerable way. He makes you want to know more about him. It gives him depth. He’s not just all abs and good looks. There’s more under the surface.”

  Sarah shoved me playfully. “Perhaps you’ll get to meet him one day. With your job, it’s possible. Then you can tell him all that.”

  I blushed. “A newbie journalist interviewing one of the hottest stars in the world? Yeah, right.”

  2

  I walked into work and logged into my computer. I had a new email waiting for me.

  From: Susan

  To: Chloe

  * * *

  Chloe,

  Good job on your first article! This is certainly going to drive traffic to the website. As a reward, I have a new assignment for you. Usually, we give this sort of work to more experienced journalists, but I think you deserve this. Congratulations. You’re proving you’ve got what it takes to make it in this industry.

  * * *

  Kind regards,

  Susan

  * * *

  Whoa. I couldn’t believe she loved my article! Susan Wickford is the type of woman every young journalist or female entrepreneur wants to be. At just twenty-one, she became the youngest editor of the largest women’s magazine in the country. She was also kind of a dragon lady. I was a little scared of her. I still didn’t feel right about the article, but it was what I had to do. And getting praised by Susan was worth it. Attached to the email was a photograph, and when I opened it and saw just who was featured in that photograph, my jaw fell open.

  It was Jack Dean.

  I had to write an article about Jack Dean!

  The photograph featured Jack and his female co-star, Alexa Long, from the drug boss action movie I’d watched last night. In it, they were locked in a steamy kiss. They were in costume still, but I could tell it was snapped outside the set because the crew and tourists could be seen in the background.

  I knew Alexa Long from the magazines that adorned the break room table and my coffee table at home, as well as the numerous billboards around the city. She had her own make-up line, a vast social media following, and was one of the sexiest female actresses in the world right now. This kiss was going to be one of the biggest scandals in the world.

  This story was sure to break the internet and skyrocket my career.

  But I couldn’t do it.

  There was something about Jack that made me hesitate. I didn’t know Alexa or Jack personally, but a couple of TV interviews I’d seen him do and the few movies I’d watched that he’d starred in, he came across as sensitive and real and raw. He seemed like a guy with emotion. He seemed like he would care if this got out. This guy had layers and secrets, and as much I wanted to expose them, I didn’t want to ruin his life. Somehow, I felt like I knew him. I admired him.

  So, I replied to Susan and declined the assignment.

  From: Chloe

  To: Susan

  * * *

  Susan,

  Thank you for believing in me and for the assignment. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m ready for a story like this. So I will have to decline.

  * * *

  Sincerely,

  Chloe

  No less than a minute later, I got a phone call. It was Susan. She didn’t offer a greeting or anything. She just said, “Chloe, can you come see me in my office please.”

  This was it. I was getting fired. I knew I wasn’t going to last long.

  I walked into Susan’s office—the dragon’s den as everyone called it in the office—with my stomach twisted in knots. I braced myself for the inevitable.

  I approached Susan’s office, nervously wringing my hands and breathing in and out. She didn’t look up when I knocked.

  “Come in and shut the door, please.”

  “Susan, about the email and the assignment—”

  She stopped typing, took off her glasses, and looked over the top of her screen at me. She held up her hand to stop me.

  “Chloe, sit down. I just wanted to have a little chat with you. That’s all.”

  “Oh, sure.” I shut the door behind me and sat down on the fabric covered chair opposite Susan.

  “Now, Chloe, I was curious as to why you declined the assignment? This could be a big break for you.”

  What could I say that would appease her? The truth. I had to tell the truth, no matter how much it might hurt my career. I’d already sold my soul and possibly ruined Charles Raymond’s life. But I didn’t like Charles Raymond. He wasn’t appealing to me. I liked Jack Dean. Yesterday, I was willing to do anything to make it in this job. But now, I was rethinking everything.