Spoiler Alert - Olivia Dade Page 0,131

unacceptable conduct for an actor on my show and bond company will pull our insurance, blah blah blah—and, sure, Alex was furious at the reprimand and his allotted punishment and the way no one had asked him what actually happened in that bar, not a single soul, but—

His paid minder, evidently some unfortunate relative of Ron’s, looked like a fucking bird.

This whole discussion wasn’t merely enraging. It was—

“Ridiculous.” Alex snorted, sweeping his arm to indicate the woman on the bench. “This bird-woman barely comes up to my chest. How is she supposed to stop me from doing whatever I damn well please? Do you intend for her to cling to my ankle like an oversized bracelet?”

He considered the matter. It would make his workouts challenging, but not impossible.

Ron smirked briefly. “She may be ridiculous, but she’s in charge.” After casting a sidelong look at his cousin, he turned his attention back to Alex. “You’ll do what Lauren says until the series finale airs. Until then, she’ll accompany you wherever you—”

Wait. Alex hadn’t meant to call her ridiculous. More the idea she could effectively keep him out of trouble for months on end.

But Ron was talking, talking, talking, and Alex didn’t bother to clarify the matter.

That could wait until later, since he and Lauren would apparently be spending endless, torturous months together starting right . . . now.

About the Author

OLIVIA DADE grew up an undeniable nerd, prone to ignoring the world around her as she read any book she could find. Now she has finally achieved her lifelong goal of wearing pajamas all day as a hermit-like writer and enthusiastic hag. She currently lives outside Stockholm with her patient Swedish husband, their whip-smart daughter, and the family’s ever-burgeoning collection of books.

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Praise for Spoiler Alert

“With richly drawn characters you’ll love to root for, Olivia Dade’s books are a gem of the genre—full of humor, heart, and heat.”

—Kate Clayborn, author of Love Lettering

“Spoiler Alert is a delight. April and Marcus will melt your heart.”

—Jenny Holiday, USA Today bestselling author

“Spoiler Alert is a gentle, funny, and sexy romance that captivated me from the first page and kept me enthralled to the very (happy) end. I adored these characters and every moment of their journey to love. Olivia Dade has crafted an unforgettable story, one that’s earned an immediate spot on my comfort-reads shelf.”

—Mia Sosa, USA Today bestselling author of The Worst Best Man

“I was engrossed from page one of Spoiler Alert until the very happy, sigh-worthy ending. Olivia Dade is consistently one of my favorite authors. Her writing is warm and witty, frequently funny, and often achingly poignant.”

—Lucy Parker, author of Act Like It

“I don’t even have words to explain how much I loved this book. It is a legitimate masterpiece. I fervently adored it. It’s rare to read a book that manages to be funny and thoughtful AND sexy at the same exact time, but Spoiler Alert pulls it off.”

—Cat Sebastian, author of Two Rogues Make a Right

“As funny as it is sexy (and boy is it sexy), Spoiler Alert is a love letter to fandom in all its many forms and was an absolute joy from the first page to the last. Reading it felt like a hug to the heart from someone who wants you to know that you are perfect and deserve to be loved exactly as you are.”

—Jen DeLuca, author of Well Met

“Olivia Dade perfectly captures fandom, love, and acceptance in this incredible, delightful novel. I loved every page!”

—Jessie Mihalik, author of Polaris Rising

“Olivia Dade celebrates geek culture and the love for all things fandom in Spoiler Alert. She had me laughing out loud and reaching for tissues, sometimes at the same time!”

—Brina Starler, author of Anne of Manhattan

“The journey to self-acceptance is never easy, and Dade doesn’t shy away from that, but she makes it just as beautiful and gentle as the love that blooms between Marcus and April. . . . Geek out with this romantic homage to fan culture.”

—Kirkus Reviews

Also by Olivia Dade

Lovestruck Librarians Series

My Reckless Valentine

Mayday

Ready to Fall

Driven to Distraction

Hidden Hearts

Love Unscripted Series

Desire and the Deep Blue Sea

Tiny House, Big Love

There’s Something About Marysburg Series

Teach Me

40-Love

Sweetest in the Gale: A Marysburg Story Collection

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SPOILER ALERT. Copyright © 2020 by Olivia Dade. Excerpt from SLOW BURN © 2021 by Olivia Dade. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Cover design by Yeon Kim

Cover illustration by Leni Kauffman

Thumbs-up emoji here © FOS_ICON / Shutterstock, Inc.

FIRST EDITION

Digital Edition OCTOBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-300555-6

Version 08212020

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-300554-9

About the Publisher

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

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Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia