The Accidental Boyfriend Read Online Free PDF Page A

best friend, Daniel, the fake engagement came to an abrupt end, and Jack was cast as the rejected, heartbroken lover.
    Until now.
    There beneath the photo on page thirteen, the caption read: “Jack Everett shows he’s the bigger man by coming out to support the union of his ex-fiancée and his business partner at their wedding in Italy last month. Perhaps his ability to forgive and forget is thanks to the beautiful blonde who sources say never left his side.”
    Holly drained the rest of her glass.
    The wine was delicious and went directly to her head, enveloping her in a lovely warmth from her head down to her toes and taking the harsh edge off of her jangled nerves. She slipped the magazine back into her purse. That was a problem for another day. For tonight, she was going to enjoy herself.
    She was in no rush to get back to her hostel, where she was sharing a room with three loud, college-age Polish girls who didn’t speak a word of English. One glass of wine led to two and then a lovely elderly gentleman offered to buy her a round and really, who was she to refuse a sweet old man?
    It was in a state of giddy, lovely tipsiness that she sauntered back into her hostel. The ground floor had a bar area that was popular with expats—a sort of backpackers’ United Nations. She’d spent a lot of time at that bar the last time she’d stayed. Her boyfriend-of-the-hour, Lyon, had worked at a nightclub nearby and he’d meet her there for drinks before, during, and after his shift. Holly hesitated for a moment. But no, that was years ago, there was no way Lyon still haunted this bar.
    She headed toward the bar area. Had it always smelled so strongly of smoke? Probably. Ooh, but that pool table was new. A group of young men were standing around it. Almost all looked to be too young for her. They had the straight-out-of-college look going on with their backward-facing baseball caps and faded T-shirts. For a brief moment, Holly had a stab of longing to be back in her early twenties; footloose and carefree. Back then she would take off to a new destination on a whim, never worrying about those pesky grownup things like health insurance or pension plans or declining fertility rates.
    Granted, this trip to Paris had been a whim. But that was different. She was on a mission.
    She sauntered over to the pack of English speaking young’uns and caught enough of the conversation to know that they were betting on the next game. One of the boys closest to her threw out a number that made her jaw drop.
    No college grad had that kind of money unless they were tapping into a trust fund. Unless… She wandered closer to the group to get a better look. Yup. They were techies, the early twentysomethings who could be found in droves in Silicon Valley and who tended to travel together in packs. The famous website logos on their faded T-shirts were far better marketing than business cards. Whoever the poor sucker they were gambling against, he was in over his head.
    The poor sucker was currently out of eyesight but a shockingly familiar voice said, “Bring it on, boys. Double or nothing.”
    Holly’s saunter turned into a stumble. It sounded like—but no, it couldn’t be. But it really sounded exactly like—
    A cheer went up from the group of boys and several of the boys started chanting their new hero’s name. “Jack, Jack, Jack….”
    A wave of dizziness struck her as she froze in the middle of the room. Oh. My. God.
    Before she could wrap her head around the fact that Jack Everett was here— here at her hole in the wall hostel, home to vagabonds, students, and the dreaded backpackers—the crowd before her parted and there he was, framed between a programmer from Twitter and a digital marketing consultant from Facebook. Or at least, that’s what she assumed they did.
    But they didn’t matter. The boys fell away along with the rest of the world at the sight before her. All she could see was the handsome man with a five o’clock shadow