Help A Bitch Out

HaBO: Hot Author Owns a Beach Cottage

This HaBO is from Nicole, who is hoping to find this romance again:

I don’t think this was by a famous author, pretty sure I stumbled onto it in my building’s laundry room a few years ago but left it behind. Pieces I remember:

Contemporary timeframe, I think it takes place in Australia?

He’s a super famous author, she works at the publishing house as a researcher. He’s of course tall dark and mysterious, and from what I remember she’s silvery blonde and thin (no one said this was winning points for originality)

They first meet at a party for one of his books, and have a full night of sex after he impresses her with his hotel suite’s private rooftop (yes there are fun times on the roof that comes with a convenient glass retractable cover for privacy). Then in the morning they both play it super cool with each other like it was casual and not amazing-best-night-of-my-life

Jump ahead in time, they clearly have the hots for each other but didn’t work out. She’s been working very hard and her boss convinced her to take a break so she rents a cottage on the beach he recommends. Lo and behold, said cottage is owned by hot author, who is working on his next book in his mansion next door. Cue uncomfortable run-ins leading to seeing “true” hero away from his famous author persona and with actual friends (one of whom was a famous music producer or something?). There’s also time for jealousy with a lady who keeps coming over to hero’s house and turns out to be a secret editor because he’s actually dyslexic (I think?).

There is also a pregnancy! The timeline is a little fuzzy for me, but I remember she is determined to have the kid and is buying what to expect books, etc. Hero obviously finds the books, thinks she betrayed him, and runs off to be upset and hate her. She then goes to the doctor and they say she isn’t pregnant, it was a “ghost pregnancy” where you show symptoms or maybe she miscarries super early? (I’m not a doctor so I do not know whether any of that is truly plausible.)

Anyways, hurt hero comes back to the cottage and heroine slips over cat (did I mention there’s some subplot of a kitten she finds and adopts at the cottage?) and lands awkwardly on abdomen so hero freaking out over baby and she tells him what happened. Hero then takes care of her and my memory completely shorts out at that point, but I vaguely remember she gets pregnant (again? actually?) and she freaks about his reaction and starts to pack to leave?

You would think with this many details I could find it but it has been driving me crazy!

I give it about five minutes before this is identified.

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  1. Fiona Marsden says:

    Susan Napier Just Once

  2. Fiona Marsden says:

    I think it might also have been published in the US as a Harlequin Presents called Price of Passion by Susan Napier.

  3. Gloriamarie Amalfitano says:

    Sounds all sorts of crazysauce.

  4. Taylor says:

    10:00 am post, 10:14 answer. This site is awesome.

  5. MGW says:

    Another vote for the Susan Napier Price of Passion!!! One of my all time favorite guilty pleasure reads that I got for free on kindle when I first got mine!

  6. Bronte says:

    Susan Napier was my favourite presents author. Such a shame she stopped writing.

  7. Lola Belloli says:

    Holy crap, I’ve read that! I just want to say, I love this site so, so much.

  8. SB Sarah says:

    Thank you Lola! I’m so pleased you’re here!

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