Best Friends and Secret Crushes

When I started planning my Billionaire Next Door series, I made a list of tropes that I wanted to write. I mentioned in my last post that I have been trying to be more explicit with my trope choices and really work to integrate them into my stories. Listing them out ahead of time is one way that I’m doing that.

In my mind, a secret crush sounded like a fun trope. Who here hasn’t had a crush that they absolutely knew they could never talk about? Yeah, I didn’t think I’d see any hands.

But the reality of writing a secret crush was…tricky.

Because at the end of the day, it’s a romance novel. So the crush can’t stay a secret. Not forever. It starts out a secret from everyone. Then it gets revealed to the crush recipient. And then? Well, it has to get out of the bag eventually.

There have to be reasons for keeping it secret, too. Something like she’s the honorary little sister of your whole group of friends — and also the actual little sister of your best friend. That’s a good reason, right?

I thought so. And so far, the early readers of The Billionaire’s Secret Crush have agreed.

The book came out on Tuesday, so I thought I’d give you all a little excerpt today.

“What kind of event are we planning? Wedding?”

“Har. Har. Har.” I jabbed my elbow into her side.

“Ow. What? Come on, you have to know I’d wonder. It’s not as if you’re known for putting on soirees.”

“Soirees.” I rolled the word around in my mouth. “Definitely planning one of those.”

Megan stopped in front of a bookcase on the far side of the store and pointed to the bottom shelf. “It probably is ninety percent wedding planning. So if that’s not what you’re looking for, I might have to order something for you.”

I squatted down and eyed the titles. Nightmare. She wasn’t kidding about them being mostly wedding planning books. Bright pink, flower-covered wedding planning books. I couldn’t buy one of them, just on principle.

My heart sank.

I pushed myself back up and blew out a breath. “Well. It was worth a shot.”

“Sorry. I don’t get a lot of people coming in for this kind of thing. But I can order you whatever you need. Did you have a title in mind?”

I shook my head. “I don’t even know what I should look for. They dumped the Christmas gala on me.”

“So work with whoever’s doing this year and have them show you the ropes. Learning on the job’s probably the best bet anyway. Right?”

My stomach twisted. “That’s a great idea. Other than the part where the one I’m in charge of is for this year.”

Megan’s mouth formed an O.

I caught myself staring, just a little too long, at her perfect, pink lips.

“Well then.” She tipped her head to the side. “This sounds like a story I need to hear.”

I shrugged. “That’s it. Basically. Other than the fact that the woman who usually does our fundraising hadn’t done any of the legwork at all. And I spent too much time on the phone with hotels today, only to find out that their ballrooms book up for the Christmas season in March. Or earlier.”

Megan reached out and rubbed my arm. I ignored the electricity zipping up to my shoulder from her touch. That wasn’t what she was going for. I was one of her many honorary big brothers. Period.

“You want some help?” Megan met my gaze. “I’m not a professional. Not by a long shot. But I know how to search the Internet with the best of them. And I have a lot of free time to do that during the day. I don’t even mind making phone calls.”

I clung to her words like a lifeline. “Are you serious?”

She shrugged. “Sure. It actually sounds fun.”

“All right. Thanks.” I blew out a breath. I hadn’t gotten a book, but having Megan on board was better. For the gala, at least.

I wasn’t sure it was going to be the best thing for my heart.

You can grab The Billionaire’s Secret Crush on Amazon (or read it for free as part of KU.)

I’d love to hear about your secret crush in the comments!

Elizabeth Maddrey (292 Posts)

Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.