The Last Bridesmaid (eBook)

Hollywood Girl

Pam Carpenter (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
278 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-111065-6 (ISBN)

Infos

From bestselling author Pam Carpenter comes the glamorous, laugh-out-loud third installment in The Last Bridesmaid series.
Jules Alexander has finally found her Mr. Right, and in just four short weeks, she's set to marry the love of her life. But in true Jules fashion, the road to 'I do' is anything but smooth.
Between whirlwind trips on private jets, dazzling red carpets, relentless paparazzi, and celebrity-packed parties, Jules finds herself juggling more drama than ever.
A bestseller, this romantic comedy whisks readers from the sun-kissed beaches of Cabo San Lucas and Malibu to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood-complete with movie premieres, and behind-the-scenes studio chaos-before landing in the breathtaking beauty of Hawaii for the big day.
But trouble is never far behind. Jules' scheming ex suddenly resurfaces with a dramatic story that doesn't quite add up, while her jealous workplace nemesis is determined to sabotage her happiness at every turn.
With distractions, deceptions, and drama piling up, Jules begins to wonder: Will she finally make it down the aisle... or will her dream wedding go up in Hollywood smoke?

Textauszug

Prelude

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico…

 

Jules slowly woke up as the morning light began to peer in through the sheer white curtains of her hotel room. She’d slept so peacefully that she hated to open her eyes.

Rolling over, Jules glanced at her gorgeous fiancé, Chase, who was sleeping peacefully next to her. She smiled as she thought about how lucky she felt to be loved by this incredible man.

The past three weeks had been such a whirlwind. From reuniting with Chase in Hawaii a year after they’d broken off their first engagement in New York, to Chase’s surprise proposal at her home in Los Angeles surrounded by her closest friends, to Chase whisking Jules off to Cabo San Lucas in his private jet for a romantic three-day weekend. It all seemed like one big dream.

Jules held up her left hand and admired the exquisite five-carat cushion cut diamond engagement ring that Chase had slipped onto her finger back in L.A. It was the most beautiful ring that she’d ever seen. Sometimes Jules couldn’t believe that this was her life!

After Chase proposed, he’d stayed with Jules in her Los Feliz rental home for a week since the two lovebirds couldn’t tear themselves away from each other. When Jules wasn’t showing Chase around L.A. by taking him to all of her favorite restaurants and hangout spots, they’d spent practically the whole week in each other’s arms.

The newly engaged couple also spent a lot of time talking about how to make a bi-coastal relationship work. Chase managed a hedge fund in New York City, and Jules had relocated to Los Angeles the year before after she’d accepted a General Counsel position for Capitol Pictures. So there were a lot of logistics to figure out.

Jules loved the excitement of working for a major movie studio, but she also missed New York terribly. Her closest friends and family were there, and frankly, where else could she get a slice of pizza after midnight?

But she’d only been in her position at Capitol Pictures for a year, and she didn’t feel comfortable leaving her job to move back to New York after such a short time. Chase had offered to hire Jules as his firm’s lead attorney, but she’d turned him down, joking that she wasn’t the type to sleep with the boss.

Ultimately, Jules saw herself moving back to New York to begin her married life with Chase. She wanted to have children with him, and she wanted to be close to her family and best friends when that happened.

Plus at thirty-six years old, Jules knew that she and Chase would need to begin trying to start a family soon. Chase was ten years older than Jules, and he too was excited by the idea of becoming a father and having children with the woman that he loved.

At the same time, because their two courtships had been so short, first in New York, and then in Hawaii, Jules thought that it was important that she and Chase spend more time getting to know one another on a daily basis. She was one hundred percent certain of their love, but she really wanted to build a strong foundation before they said their “I do’s”.

Jules’ parents, Sharon and Mike Alexander, had a great marriage, and they were still married after thirty-seven years. So it was important to Jules that she and Chase take time to build a strong bond that would last a lifetime.

So for the time being, Chase and Jules had agreed that Chase would work remotely from L.A. as much as he could, and he’d fly back and forth to New York for meetings when he needed to.

Thankfully, money was no issue for Chase, whose net worth had climbed up to ten figures last year. And owning his own plane definitely didn’t hurt.

After spending a week together in Los Angeles, Chase had surprised Jules with a romantic getaway to Cabo San Lucas. Jules had gone to Mexico years ago on vacations with friends to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, but she’d never been to Cabo. So this was a fun and unexpected treat for her.

The lovers had stayed at The Mabry Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort, which was a luxurious hotel that sat right on the Pacific Ocean. Jules and Chase had a suite on the fourteenth floor that had floor-to-ceiling windows with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, the resort’s private beach, and an infinity pool.

Still laying in the bed next to a sleeping Chase, Jules thought about what an incredible time they were having in Cabo. On their first day, Chase had a chauffeured black SUV drive them from their hotel in Los Cabos to Cabo San Lucas, which was one town over, and only a fifteen-minute drive away.

Once at the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Chase hired a water taxi, that was named the Spotted Pig, to take them on a boat ride, and to show them the sights. Jules loved discovering the different layers of Chase’s personality.

She marveled at the way that Chase, who was one of the wealthiest people in America, could flip back and forth between his ultra-lavish lifestyle, and just being a regular guy at times. She attributed this to Chase being a self-made billionaire, who hadn’t grown up with the wealth that he had now.

Chase was raised in a middle-class neighborhood in Chicago, and was the only child of a school teacher Mom, and an engineer Dad. His mother passed away about five years ago, and his father died a year later, seemingly from a broken heart after losing his wife.

Jules’ best friend Robin, was also Chase’s first cousin. She was the one who’d introduced the couple through a blind date in Manhattan a year ago. Robin gushed to Jules that Chase’s parents had been wonderful people who’d done an amazing job of raising Chase to be the grounded person that he still was today.

Chase could fly Jules to Cabo on his Gulfstream G650ER private jet, and rent a suite at a ritzy hotel for ten thousand dollars a night, but then turn around and hire an inexpensive water taxi like the Spotted Pig to cruise them around Cabo’s ocean landmarks just for the fun of it. Jules found Chase’s ability to adapt to any surroundings to be one of his most attractive qualities.

It was a sunny October afternoon, and the weather was a perfect eighty-five degrees. Luckily, Jules and Chase had been wearing shorts since they’d had to take off their flip flops, walk knee-deep into the ocean, and then climb up a short ladder to get into the Spotted Pig, which was just a small wooden boat that was rocking back and forth in the choppy waters.

The captain of the Spotted Pig was a local man who’d looked to be around seventy years old. He’d held out his hand and helped Jules and Chase onto his boat with a welcoming “Hola!”

“Hola!” Jules and Chase both had responded in unison as they’d laughed over getting their shorts wet from splashing waves while they’d climbed into the boat.

“Cómo estás?” the Captain had inquired with a warm smile.

“Muy bien, gracias!” Jules had responded, proud of herself for remembering some of her high school Spanish. Chase had squeezed Jules’ hand, impressed that his fiancée was attempting to be bilingual.

The captain, who didn’t seem to speak too much English, had pointed to the bright orange life vests that were stored in a bin towards the middle of the boat. So Jules and Chase had put their life vests on, sat down on a bench inside the boat, and the captain had driven them away from the shore.

The Spotted Pig had bounced along the choppy waters of the Pacific. It was such a beautiful blue-sky day, and absolutely perfect weather for their boat ride.

Jules looked like a movie star on vacation dressed in a short sleeve, light blue linen button-down shirt, with khaki shorts, and Burberry mirrored aviator sunglasses. Her long dark brown hair had blown in the wind as the boat bounced along the Pacific.

An alum of Stanford Business School, Chase’s muscular chest had showed through his white t-shirt that read “Stanford” in red letters on the front. He’d looked sexy enough to be the next James Bond! Chase also wore navy shorts, and black Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, which had complimented his rugged handsomeness.

The striking couple loved being out on the water enjoying the fresh sea air. They had marveled at how many other water taxis, whale watching boats, yachts, and cruise ships were also out on the water at the same time. There definitely hadn’t been a shortage of tourists on such a beautiful day.

The first stop on the Spotted Pig tour was to see Lover’s Beach, which was a tiny beach that was sandwiched in between magnificent rock formations that stood on either side of the beach. Jules had read up on Lover’s Beach that morning, and learned that it is where the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean meet.

The captain had told Jules and Chase in broken English that Lover’s Beach had gotten its name from an old story from the 1800s, where a Japanese sailor had been rescued by a local woman on that beach. They’d fallen in love, and then unfortunately, her disapproving father had killed the lovestruck sailor.

After about a ten-minute boat ride, the Spotted Pig had pulled up close to Lover’s Beach right next to other water taxis that had dropped their touring passengers off. The captain had told Jules and Chase that he would let them out to go see Lover’s Beach, and then he’d return for them in fifteen minutes.

Apparently, boats weren’t allowed to linger at Lover’s Beach for long. They were only allowed to drop passengers off, and then come back to pick them up. So Jules and Chase had taken off their life vests, climbed out of the Spotted Pig back into knee-deep water,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 21.11.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 0-00-111065-9 / 0001110659
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-111065-6 / 9780001110656