Camp Payback (30 page)

“Hey, guys, I’m trying Javier’s latest creation today…” She talked up my cooking and dissected the finer points of the sauce, forcing me awkwardly into the frame to discuss what I’d done differently with the recipe.

At first, it had felt weird to see myself on the computer screen with her, but by now, I was used to it. I’d even gotten some fan mail, which Alex insisted would be good for the restaurant I’d open one day.

With Alex in my life, I’d gotten used to dreaming big.

Reaching for the camera with cinnamon-covered fingers, Alex ended the video snippet with a shot of her palm.

“It’s amazing,” she sighed happily between bites. “You’re so talented. You should be teaching the classes at that school.”

“You think so?” I took her hand, checked that no one was looking, and licked the excess cinnamon off her thumb.

“I know so.” She fed me a bite of the pastry dipped in chocolate sauce. “What if you become a famous chef while I’m still a struggling actress and I can’t afford to eat in your fancy restaurant?”

She was full of it, and I knew it. But it also felt damn good not to be the “foster kid” anymore. I was paying my own way these days. I had new shoes. My mom had taken a job doing prep work at a high-end restaurant, and she loved it. They were paying for a couple of college courses related to her job, so she was working toward a culinary degree, too.

Things were good. Life was awesome.

“You’ll always be able to afford my cooking.”

“Yeah?”

“If you can’t afford my restaurant, I’ll come over to your house and cook for you.”

“Wrong answer.” She poked me between the ribs and kissed my neck at the same time. “You won’t need to come over because I’ll already be with you. We’re a package deal.”

“Okay, okay.” I couldn’t argue with her, but sometimes it was fun to rile her up.

“I promised your mother I would make sure you had some fun,” she reminded me.

“Next time I see her?” I kissed her forehead. “I’m going to tell her you’re doing a hell of a job.”

Joanne

To authors who have made me laugh out loud, cry into my pillow, and wish for happy-ever-afters—whether you’ve delivered them or not! Thank you for making me believe in the impossible and making me care about characters that exist in our shared imaginations. Also, to my mentors who made me believe I could share that gift of story too, most especially the members of North Louisiana Storytellers and Authors of Romance who read my books long before I sold them and listened patiently while I justified all my mistakes. On that note, here’s wishing the authors of tomorrow the persistence, patience and passion that it takes to hone their craft. I continue to learn from all the new writers I meet and I’m grateful to them for sharing their enthusiasm for writing with me. You keep me inspired for the work I do! Finally, to the ever-awesome Kate Kaynak, the always-insightful Patricia Riley and the mega-dedicated Cindy Thomas at Spencer Hill for believing in our books and giving us a wonderful, welcoming home for them.

Karen

To Danielle—who’s more Alpha than Beta when it comes to reading for me and in all of the other incredible achievements in her life. Thank you for sharing your talent and love with me. Thank you as well to my loving husband, Greg. There is no greater gift than knowing that I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you both so much. Thank you as well to my wonderful in-laws, my father, and sisters, Jeanne and Cathy, for being such a caring family to me. A hug and huge shout out to my mentor and friend, Cynthia Leitich-Smith who believed in me until I did too. Much appreciation as well to my wonderful and supportive writer and blogger friends like Amy Guglielmo, Lucy Cooney, Jacqueline Tourville, Kayleigh-Marie Gore, Gaby Navarro, Dale S. Rogers, Jen Cooke Fischer, Brooke Watts DelVecchio, Lola Verroen, Marci Curtis, Cindy Ray Hale, Rachel Harris, Trisha Leaver, Lindsay Currie, my writer family at Spencer Hill, and our amazing street team, The Rock Stars, whose talent, support and positivity have been a great source of inspiration and encouragement! Finally, I am incredibly grateful for the blessing of my amazing sister-in-law, writing partner, and closest friend, Joanne Rock. We’ve spent many years talking about books and swapping writing ideas. It’s a wonder and a privilege to share this experience with her and I look forward to our future projects together!

About the Authors

J.K. Rock is the pseudonym for writing partners—and sisters-in-law—Joanne and Karen Rock. After selling some adult romances on their own, they thought it would be fun to write YA together and
Camp Boyfriend
was dreamed up while floating around the pool at a family party. For more information visit jkrock.net.

A full-time eighth grade teacher, Karen Rock recently sold her first romance to Harlequin Heartwarming. Prior to her work with Harlequin, Karen published numerous YA short stories in and a YA screenplay designed for high school drama clubs. An active member of SCBWI and RWA, Karen has helped several students to publish their own work.

She has a wide following as a “Cynsation” blogger on Cynthia Leitich Smith’s website. She lives in the Adirondack Mountain region with her husband, her much-appreciated beta-reader daughter, and two King Cavalier spaniels that have yet to learn the concept of “fetch” even though they’ve taught her the trick!
Camp Boyfriend
marks her debut as a YA novelist. Learn more about Karen at
www.karenrock.com
.

An unapologetic romantic, Joanne Rock started writing while working toward a Masters degree in Literature at the University of Louisville, craving a creative outlet to break up her studying. Today, she is the author of over sixty books for a variety of Harlequin series. She has been nominated for the RITA, the romance genre’s highest honor, three times. She’s also been a Romantic Times Career Achievement Nominee and multiple Reviewers’ Choice finalist. Her work has been reprinted in twenty-six countries and translated into twenty languages. Her three teenage sons encouraged her to try writing YA, a venture that’s been non-stop fun. For more information on Joanne’s books, visit
www.joannerock.com.