Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 16728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
I left the spotlight behind… but can she become the star of my story?
Eric
As Rylan Rhodes, I have it all—fame, fortune, and fans who worship the ground I walk on. But behind the Hollywood smile, Eric Cobalt is exhausted, disillusioned, and ready to disappear. So, I trade the flashing cameras for the quiet charm of Silver Spoon Falls.
But one bachelor auction later, my carefully crafted peace shatters.
She’s a fiery redhead with curves that could make a grown man beg and a spark in her eyes that sets my world ablaze. She won a weekend with me, but I want so much more than two fleeting days.
Now, I have to convince my curvy goddess that the man behind the stage name—the real me—is worth taking a chance on.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Eric
The wind outside picks up, banging against the thick walls of my secluded cabin, and sending a chill through the large living room. It’s peaceful here, a far cry from the chaos of Hollywood. Silver Spoon Falls, my personal haven, is where I’ve blended in, becoming invisible among other defunct celebrities and highflyers who decided they’d had enough of the relentless circus.
I stretch out on my overstuffed sofa, nursing a coffee that’s long gone cold, but I don’t mind. The quiet is a luxury I savor. After years spent under the harsh glare of studio lights, peace is a commodity more valuable than any multi-million-dollar contract. My once long, trademark golden hair is now cropped short and dark—the way it was before the films, before the fandom, before the bullshit. Out of sight, out of mind. Here, I’m not Rylan Rhodes, Hollywood's golden boy. I’m just Eric, the grumpy recluse.
The phone rings, jolting me back from my thoughts. A quick glance at the screen confirms it: Ace Gray, my former agent. Persistent bastard.
With a resigned sigh, I pick up. “Ace, if you’re calling to drag me back to hell, don’t bother.”
“Rylan, come on,” he wheedles, a blend of desperation and charm. “You’ve been off-grid too long, man! There are offers—big ones. An action movie that’s practically written for you.”
“Call me Eric,” I remind him, sticking with my decision to leave my entire life, including my stage name, behind. “There’s no fucking way I’m ever coming back,” I reply, settling back into my comfy spot on the couch. “I’m done with that shit. I like it here. Simple town, simple life.”
“Oh, come on, you can’t be serious!” he protests, the pitch of his voice climbing. “You’re the hottest name in Hollywood, and you’re just gonna throw it away for some backwater life?”
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” A smirk tugs at my lips at the thought of Ace pacing in some sterile L.A. office, probably sweating through his overpriced suit. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”
And I do. The little house is surrounded by thick woods, with just enough space and solitude to keep me sane. The townsfolk, jaded by their own brushes with fame, don’t look twice at me. I can grab groceries without getting mobbed and drink a beer at a local bar without a whisper of recognition. It’s bliss.
“You’re really not coming back?” Ace asks, and there’s something softer in his tone now. He’s known me long enough to know I don’t change my mind once it’s made up.
“Nope,” I say, allowing myself to stretch further into the embrace of the life I’ve carved out for myself. “Look, Ace, tell them I said thanks but no thanks. I’ve found my happy place—and let me tell you, none of that glitz and glamour holds a candle to this.”
He sighs a sound that’s more understanding than frustrated. “Alright, alright. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when the itch to act again gets too much.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I chuckle, finding amusement in the idea. “If I ever get the urge, I’ll be sure to give you a call.”
We hang up, and the silence returns, wrapping around me like a comfortable old coat. I glance out the window at my little property on the edge of Silver Spoon Falls. On nights like these, I appreciate the nothingness most—the absence of constant noise, of eyes watching my every move.
Here, I don’t have to be anyone except the man I choose to be—a foul-mouthed, grumpy bastard who’s content in his own skin. I have no scripts to memorize, no public to appease. Just me, my thoughts, and the simple joys that come with them. In this quiet retreat from a world I once conquered, I’ve found the one thing none of the blockbusters or awards could give me: peace.
And so, as the evening settles in, I kick back and raise my mug in mock salute to the whispering trees and open sky. Silver Spoon Falls might be a sleepy little town to some, but to me, it’s the backdrop of my new life. A quiet existence without all the limelight bullshit, where I finally feel free.