Stuck on You and Celebrity Sightings
Who hasn’t had the daydream of running into Nathan
Fillion Ryan Reynolds Jeremy
Renner some hot celebrity
who takes one look, totally sees under the surface to my her
inner supermodel, and tumbles head over heels? *crickets* Oh, no. Me, either.
I’m asking for a friend. Certainly Laura Charles hasn’t. She’s just an unemployed
administrative assistant turned employed waitress dressed like a showgirl. She’s
surrounded by celebrity look-alikes when the real deal saunters
in. It’s definitely not love at first sight, but
the Rock’n’Rolla
Hotel and its owner
Willodean Jackson are about to work some magic.
*****For a short period of time only, Stuck On You will be 99 cents before going back up to the regular price of $2.99. ****
******** EXCERPT ********
“Sal, can I get an
update on the entrees for table twenty?” Laura leaned forward to add, “It looks
like the Chers are fixing to turn back time on my rear if you don’t get me
something quick.”
She tried to
stealthily tug up the neckline of her uniform. Since Vegas was the theme, the
wait staff dressed like they’d be forming a kickline at any minute. The short,
skintight dresses could have been a lot worse. Everything Laura had was covered
but she wished she had a quarter for every time she inched the sequined halter
up or smoothed the bottom down. And the hot pink satin drew attention. More than
the color or the cut, the three huge feathers attached right over her rear had
taken some getting used to.
When there was no
answer from the kitchen, Laura said, “Ha! Get it? Turn back time?
Chers?”
Sal didn’t seem to
appreciate her joke as he wiped a pristine white towel across his forehead and
slid three plates through the pass. “Always the same, these folks. Don’t eat for
three months before they come, so worried their gall-dang costumes won’t fit,
and when they get here, they’re starved. And mean.”
Laura slid the plates
on a small tray. “Thanks, Sal. Let’s just hope they’re good
tippers.”
He muttered, “Don’t
count on it.”
Sal was never a ray of
sunshine. In the four months she’d worked here, she’d seen him smile twice. He
and Marcy, the waitress who had taught Laura everything she knew about waiting
tables, had done their best to prepare her for the bar’s Almost Famous
competition. An April Fool’s Day tradition, the celebrity look-alike talent show
had always been popular but this year the stakes were even higher. A travel show
was going to tape the whole thing and somehow they’d roped in real Hollywood
judges. She had less than a week to adjust to sliding a burger and fries in
front of Elton John while Michael Jackson looked on. The best thing about
waiting tables at Viva Las Vegas was that every day was a new challenge. It was
also the worst thing.
As Laura approached
the Cher table, she had no idea who’d ordered what. The Chers were nearly
identical, although one had a rounder face and more…generous measurements. Laura
thought she might also be a woman. The other two were harder to
guess.
“All right. I’ve got a
burger.” Laura held up the plate and waited for a reaction. When the tallest of
the three finally huffed out a breath, she slid the plate in front of
her.
The round Cher said,
“And I had the pasta.”
Grateful for the help,
Laura flashed her a smile and slid the remaining two plates on the table. She
grabbed her tilting headdress and slid it back as she asked, “What else can I
get you?”
None of them spoke,
just flashed darkly mysterious eyes her direction in a clear dismissal. Laura
picked up her tray and carefully schooled her face into pleasant vacancy. She’d
made the mistake of rolling her eyes in the early days, completely forgetting
the mirrors and lights of ten thousand suns lining the bar. That customer had
only been calmed with a free dessert and a solemn, if completely insincere,
apology.
She quickly and
efficiently checked on all her tables and then darted back to the dressing area
to dump her headdress and heels. They were part of the official uniform but
nobody managed the plumed headdress for long. Laura was the only one who
abandoned heels at the first opportunity, but ballet flats were more
comfortable, entirely more her. Without the extra few inches from heels, the
three feathers tacked on right over her butt would drag the ground. Being
shorter than average meant lots of her clothes dragged the ground. That was a
sacrifice she was willing to make even if she did occasionally sweep up old
French fries. Her tips would be better in stilettos but her toes might secede
from the union of her foot after a six-hour shift.
Laura
made it back out in time to hear the rustle of whispers as every diner in the
bar turned to watch KT Masters sweep in with Willodean Jackson, owner of the
Rock’n’Rolla Hotel and Laura’s personal guardian angel, on one arm. She couldn’t
blame the crowd. KT Masters should be talked about in hushed tones. At first
glance, he seemed handsome but only in a slightly above-average kind of way.
Instead of true movie star perfection, he had eyes that flashed both humor and
intelligence and character lines that showed more smiles than brooding glances.
Laura had the feeling it was the kind of face she’d never get bored with. He was
tall, with broad shoulders, and brown hair cut in what was probably a very
expensive style but it wasn’t trendy. The long sleeves of his button-down were
rolled up to reveal truly top-notch forearms. Distressed denim covered long legs
and he wore…running shoes. That wasn’t really what she expected, but overall he
looked healthy. And fit. She liked the look. A lot. He might just be classically
handsome. Not the sexiest man alive, but his charm was apparent with just one
glance, even at this distance. His star power competed with the lights of the
bar.
BIO
Cheryl Harper is a small-town Southern girl who spends too much time with any show people will be talking about the
next day. Visit her at http://cherylharperbooks.com for Elvis
songs, trivia, and more information on the other Rock’n’Rolla Hotel books coming in 2013.
