Title:
Anyone But Him
Author: Cassie Graham
Release Date: Fall
2014
Whitley Hayes is an ordinary girl with a
gypsy heart. College is the only constant in her life. She’s made a
lot of mistakes and she intends on keeping them in the past.
Move on and forget.
That’s her
motto.
Jennings Cohen is no ordinary
man—not at all. He would have never imagined his life would turn into
such a spectacle. The tabloids exploit him, fans stalk him and the paparazzi
are relentless. It’s not always fun being Jennings.
It doesn’t help that he has a secret. One that
comes at a price he’s not sure he can pay.
Relationships get complicated and hearts
shatter.
It’s not easy living a lie, but
it’s easier than telling the
truth.
“These
people?” I question. I hadn’t noticed anyone else but
Whitley since the moment I picked her
up.
She
levels her eyes, taking a drink of the water that was just delivered. I watch
as she plays with the straw with her tongue, unintentionally. My mouth goes dry
and I have to gulp past the lump in my throat.
“Yes,
these people.” She slyly motions at the room. “Every person
who’s made any sort of contact with you has this starry-eyed, dopey
look to them.”
I put my arms on
the table and lower my head. “You know,” I whisper.
“I’m sort of
famous.”
Next comes a swift
kick to my shin and I wince, laughing. “Okay, okay. That was
tacky.”
She covers her
mouth from laughing. “Maybe a little.”
“What can
I get you?” the waitress asks, interrupting us.
Whitley’s
eyes widen. “Oh, umm.” She pushes the hair back from her face.
She’s so
beautiful.
“Instead
of the Mahi-Mahi, can I just get the one Mahi, because I’m not that
hungry?”
My eyes bulge and I
can’t contain my burst of
laughter.
Saying nothing, the
waitress pauses as Whitley looks up to her looking innocent and
doe-eyed.
I have to give it
to Whitley, she doesn’t break. She keeps a straight face and looks to
the waitress, expecting a
response.
“We,”
the waitress, whose name appears to be Lacy, stutters, not understanding the
movie quote. “We’re actually out of the
Mahi-Mahi.”
Unaffected, Whitley
closes the menu. “Oh, well, okay. I’ll just have the
tilapia with roasted vegetables. Thank
you.”
Lacy
takes Whit’s menu, shakes her head and turns to me. “And,
for you?”
Now she’s
short with me.
“I’ll
take the flounder. Thank you.” I smile at her, struggling to break
the tension.
Lacy’s
shoulders soften and she takes my menu and heads toward the kitchen.
When
we’re alone, I look to Whitley. “House Bunny?
Really?”
“What? I
thought it was
funny.”
“Me
too,” I admit. Laughter is something that has been sparse in my
life.
“Is it
your favorite
movie?”
She laughs.
“House Bunny? God, no. Funny, but certainly not my favorite.”
“Then,
what is?”
She takes a moment
to think, not answering right away. “Honestly? I don’t
really have a favorite movie. Well...I mean, maybe I do. It’s just so
hard to choose. It changes all of the
time.”
“Okay.
Top three.”
“Umm...Princess
Bride, Ferris Buller’s Day Off, and uhh—oh geeze, any Harry
Potter.”
She seems
embarrassed by her admission, but I sort of love her list. All classics in
their own right.
“My name
is Inigo Montoya. You kill my father. Prepare to
die.”
“Yes!”
She whoops. “Best line,
ever.”
I laugh.
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it
means.”
She stomps her foot
under the table. “Inconceivable!”
We laugh together,
and Whitley’s eyes sparkle with mischief.
“Okay,
Mr. Famous, what is your top three?”
I hesitate.
I’m always asked this question in interviews. Most are just hoping
for their next endorsement, but I always give a generic answer. Usually,
it’s the movie I’m filming or promoting at the
time.
Cracking my
knuckles, I try to really think about my answer. I’ve never genuinely
thought about it. “Oh Christ, you can’t ask an actor
that,” I laugh. “Really, I don’t
know.”
Her
shoulders sag. “You don’t
know?”
“I
don’t. I’m always in movies. I don’t have time to
actually watch them. Hell, I’ve never even seen any of the movies
I’ve
filmed.”
“Wait,
wait.” Whitley puts her hands up, stopping me.
“You’ve never watched one of your own movies? Like,
you’ve never watched yourself on the big screen?”
I shrug my
shoulder.
“Nope.”
“What?”
she asks, dumbfounded. “Why? How? I mean—Jesus, Jenns, what
do you do at
premiers?”
I
turn away, not really proud of my answer. “I leave. Slip out the
back, or sit in the lobby. It’s always deserted while the film is
running.”
“Then
what? You return as the credits
roll?”
“Basically,
yeah.”
“Wow,”
she breathes.
“It’s
just my thing. I don’t like to watch myself. In my eyes, I could
always change my performance. I could have said something with more feeling, or
looked deeper into the characters eyes. I’m hard on my acting, and in
turn, end up beating my myself up. It makes me a shitty
actor.”
Whitley stares at
me blankly as I give up one of my
secrets.
It
seems like hours before she
blinks.
“What are
you thinking?” I ask. Frankly, I’m tired of waiting for her
to say something. I thought she’d at least have an
opinion.
Slightly shaking
her head, she drags her fingers through her hair. “Holy shit. You
have no idea.”
My mouth quirks down,
and I tilt my head. “I have no idea,
what?”
“You
are...,” her eyes haze, letting me see into that door of her soul.
“You are phenomenal on screen. Charismatic and fluid. Compelling and
magnetic.” She touches my hand. “You draw people in with
looks alone, Jennings.”
Not that my ego
needs anymore feeding, but, fuck me, hearing her say those words. Words that
don’t mean shit from anyone else, makes me feel like jumping on the
table and shouting for fucking
joy.
My smile
can’t be controlled. “You’ve seen my movies, Whitley?”
She rolls her eyes,
a smirk breaking through her features. “Shut up. Everyone
has."
“I
didn’t peg you for someone to watch those kinds of movies.”
She snorts a laugh
and rubs under her eye. “Yeah, well, you’re sort of
famous.”
“You
can’t resist my raw magnetism, right? God, I’m
sexy.”
Author of Unable to Resist, Cassie resides
in Arizona with her husband, daughter and two
dogs.
Cassie went to school to be an English
teacher, but decided to quit to be a military wife. While, she always loved
writing, she didn’t find her true passion for New Adult until she turned
twenty.
Now, with one novel under her belt, she
can’t wait to release Anyone But Him.
If Cassie isn’t writing, you’ll probably
find her in the kitchen making baked goods for her family. She’s
always believed the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and
her husband proves that correct every day.
Cassie loves her readers and hopes she
makes them proud.
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