Synopsis

Serena has the job she ' s always dreamed of and Chase , the man her heart never dared to . As a new editor at Vogue , she bags the biggest interview of the year with Yvette Renault , the infamous former editor of French Vogue , in The Carlton- InterContinental Hotel during the Cannes Film Festival . She eagerly jets off to France while Chase stays home , working with her father , a former senator , on his upcoming mayoral campaign .

Everything feels unbelievably perfect ... until it doesn ' t . The

This excerpt is from chapter three of French Coast by Anita Hughes .

Serena walked through the lobby and thought her legs would collapse . Her throat was dry and her head pounded . She stumbled to the bar and sank onto a leather stool , holding the marble counter to stop the room from spinning . “ Can I help you ?” the bartender asked . “ Just a glass of water ,” Serena replied , touching her hand to her forehead . ��o� �oo� �i�� yo� �o��� ��� something stronger ,” said a young woman with thick bangs and bouncy brown hair perched on the stool next to her . She ordered two gin and tonics and scooped up a handful of pistachios . “ I ’ m sorry ,” Serena said , and shook her head . “ Have we met ?” “ I saw you arguing with reception ,” the girl replied . “ It ’ s true what people say about the French , they ’ re cold as icicles and just as sharp .

hotel loses her reservation hours before her big interview . Serena fears that she ' ll have to go home without her story , but then she meets Zoe , a quirky young woman staying in the suite below Yvette ’ s who invites Serena to stay with her . Serena is grateful for her mysterious roommate ' s generosity , but it seems that there ' s more to her story than meets the eye . To make matters worse , soon after arriving in Cannes , Serena learns a shocking secret about her parents ' marriage , and it isn ' t long before she begins to question her own relationship . With her deadline looming and

I expect they have blue blood running through their veins .” “ My reservation is for next week ,” Serena sighed . “ I tried everything , but the man wouldn ’ t budge ; I ’ m going to have to sleep in a ��hin� �oat�� “ Hardly .” The girl raised her eyebrow . She had hazel eyes and creamy white skin . She wore a cotton sundress and had a silver necklace around her neck . “ The ��h�rm�n �o��� �har�� a h�n�r�� euros to step foot in a boat . It ’ s the Cannes Film Festival ; even the pigeons know how to gouge the tourists .” “ I ’ m here to write a story for Vogue ,” Serena replied . “ If I don ’ t have a room I ’ m going to lose the most important assignment of my career .” “ I came to get that je ne sais quoi , but so far I ’ ve gotten a haircut that makes me look like a third grader an� ���nt a h�n�r�� an� ��ty ��ro� on a dress you could buy at Woolworth ’ s .”

pressure mounting , Serena will have to use her investigative journalism skills , new friendships , and a little luck to get her life and love back on track . Fast paced and impeccably written , French Coast will draw readers in to the intoxicating world of the Cote D ' Azur . Hughes ' beautiful prose and sense imagery bring the food , fashion , and feel of the ocean to life in this audacious new novel .

Released : April 7 , 2015 ( Unabridged version ) Hardcover : 304 pages Publisher : St . Martin ' s Griffin

“ What do you mean ?” Serena asked . ��o� �no�� that air that �r�n�h women have , like some impossibly expensive perfume . I grew up watching old movies with Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot . I ’ ve always wanted to be one of those women with dark hooded eyes who looks sexy blowing smoke rings .” “ No one thinks smoking is sexy anymore ,” Serena argued . “ Have you been to the nightclubs ?” the girl asked , laughing . ��o� �o��� ��t �an��r �tan�in� at the door . I just want to learn how to hold a cigarette and wear my hair and talk with a French accent .” “ Why ?” Serena asked , suddenly intrigued . The girl looked vaguely familiar , as if she ’ d seen her face in a magazine . But she didn ’ t have a mo����� ���r� an� ��r�na couldn ’ t remember seeing her on a movie screen . “ It ’ s a long story , perhaps another time ,” the girl said slowly . “ On you that jumpsuit belongs on

the catwalk ; on me it would look �i�� � ���t �ni�h�� �n��r �aintin�� Some people have ‘ it ,’ others don ’ t . I may as well give up and go home .” “ If you ’ re giving up your room , I ’ ll ta�� it�� ��r�na �ni�h�� h�r �rin�� feeling a little light- headed . “ My editor in chief will kill me if I miss this story .” “ How exciting that you work at Vogue ; you must know everything about fashion ,” the girl mused . “ I bet you know exactly what to wear without going through your closet and deciding your whole wardrobe is hopeless and should be donated to the HOPE Foundation .” “ I mainly write celebrity interviews and features ,” Serena �i�h��� �a�hin� on ���tt�� ���m h�r� to int�r�i�� ���tt� R�na��t� she ’ s staying in a suite on the ����nth �oor�� “ I ’ m staying in the Cary Grant ��it� on th� ����nth �oor�� th� �ir� exclaimed . “ Six rooms of pink marble �oor� an� i�ory �i�� �o�a� an� a view of the whole coast .” She gazed at Serena and suddenly her eyes ��ar����� ��o� �an �tay �ith m�� I ’ ve got an extra bedroom .” “ I couldn ’ t do that .” Serena shook her head . ��o� �an �har� a�� yo�r �i��om�� the girl continued enthusiastically . ��o� �an t�a�h m� to �� on� o� tho�� �om�n �a����ir�� ��ht over instead of someone they snicker about when I ’ m in the dressing room .” “ Why would you want to share your suite with a complete stranger ?” Serena asked curiously . She searched the girl ’ s face to see if she was hiding something . Maybe she ran a drug ring or was the madame for a house of highclass call girls . “ I grew up in British boarding schools and I never learned to wear

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