Series: Chapel of Love, #3
On Sale: August 29, 2017
Publisher: Forever
Mass Market: $7.99 USD
eBook: $5.99 USD
Audio: $19.98 USD
There goes the groom . . .
For Professor Laurie Wilson,
planning her wedding to longtime boyfriend Brandon Kopp has been a whirlwind.
But somehow, between all the cake tastings and dress fittings, she never
imagined being left at the altar. In the aftermath, she does what any sensible
woman would—she swigs champagne and considers keying his car. Until someone
knocks on her door with a much better idea for revenge.
Best man Andrew Lyndon thinks
Laurie's better off without Brandon. But Laurie's father—and Andrew's boss—isn't
going to accept anything less than a reconciliation. And he's made it Andrew's
problem to solve. So Andrew decides to make Brandon jealous by setting Laurie
up on a string of "dates." After a couple of weeks, Brandon will be
begging Laurie to take him back. But Andrew's plan works a little too well
because suddenly he's the one falling for Laurie—and planning a proposal of his
own.
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Enjoy this excerpt:
Laurie was busy killing her waistline with her days-long ice cream,
popcorn, and pizza binge. But hey, she didn’t have to worry about fitting into
the beautiful lace wedding dress anymore. And binging on junk food and all
twenty-six episodes of the first two seasons of House
of Cards kept her mind off her troubles.
But she hadn’t watched more than fifteen minutes before someone
knocked on her front door. Damn. Couldn’t people just leave her alone? But then
whoever it was decided to peep through the gigantic living room window that
overlooked her rickety porch.
Laurie’s heart soared. The visitor who pressed his face up against
the grubby window pane was definitely male. For an instant, she thought it
might be Brandon, come to tell her that calling off the wedding was a horrible
mistake.
But the guy on her porch was taller and thinner than Brandon . “C’mon, Laurie,
open the door,” he said as he raised a green and red donut box. “I brought
Krispy Kremes.”
Speak of the devil. Andrew Lyndon himself. The best man. With
donuts.
She hauled herself up from the couch and padded to the front door.
She cracked it open. “I’ll take the donuts, please.” She reached her hand
through the narrow opening.
He cocked his head like an adorable puppy with big, soulful eyes.
“You don’t get the donuts unless you let me in.”
“I’m not dressed for company,” she said, glancing down at her pink
bunny slippers, gray sweatpants, and George
Washington University
“I’m not company,” he said.
“No? Then why are you here bearing bribes?
Andrew’s mouth twitched. “Your dad sent me.”
How could you not like Andrew when the guy always told the truth?
He was dependable. And honest. “Why did he send you and not come himself?”
“I don’t know. I’m here to talk to you about an idea.”
“What kind of idea?”
Andrew looked away and to the left, his body language screaming
discomfort.
Laurie was suddenly intrigued. She opened the door wide and knew a
moment of humiliation as he scanned her from head to toe. She hated the look in
his eyes. Was it pity? She didn’t want anyone, least of all Brandon ’s best friend, to pity her. “So what
is this idea?”
“Teaching Brandon
a lesson.”
“How? And why would you be interested in doing that? I mean, you’re
his friend, right?”
He looked her straight in the eye. “Yes, I am. And I also work for
your father.”
“Right. So conflicted.”
He nodded. “Your father wants to help you and Brandon get back
together. He’s enlisted my help.”
She snatched the box of donuts from his hands. “I’m really sorry,
Andrew. He can be a pain in the butt. But thanks for these.” She clutched the
box to her breast and tried to shut the door in Andrew’s face.
Unfortunately, Andrew had good reflexes. He wedged his foot in the
door and forced it open.
She retreated in the face of his superior strength, but not without
a snarky retort. “I’m not sharing the donuts.” She selected a donut from the
box and nodded her head at him. “Okay, you’ve got exactly five minutes for
whatever it is you came to say.”
“On Saturday, when I asked
you what you wanted, you told me that you were willing to forgive Brandon. Do
you still feel that way?”
A rush of sugar coursed through her as she sank her teeth into the
donut. There was nothing in the world—not even sex— as good as a Krispy Kreme.
She thought carefully about Andrew’s question as the donut melted in her mouth.
“I don’t know,” she said honestly.
Andrew nodded, as if her answer hadn’t surprised him in the least.
“He broke my heart,” she added, just to be clear. “How can I forgive that?”
“Easy. If you love him and want to be his wife.”
“Not so easy. I mean, why did Brandon
do that to me? We were together for so long.”
“What if that’s the problem?” he asked.
“What? That we’ve been together? Like it’s okay for him to get
bored?” Although that’s exactly what had happened.
Andrew shook his head. “No, it’s more like fear of better options.”
“What does that mean?”
“Maybe he feels as if he never took the time to…I don’t know, play
the field, sow some wild oats, whatever.”
“Right.” She took another bite of the donut. In a minute, she would
ask Andrew to leave, and she would forget this unsettling conversation.
“So,” he said when she was
down to licking the sugar off her fingers, “what if we showed Brandon the
consequences of looking for better options?”
“Okay. And what, in your judgment, are the consequences?”
“I’m pretty sure Brandon hasn’t thought through how he might feel
if you decided to go out and play the field.”
“So you’re saying that if I do what Brandon asked me to do—go
explore other options—it will make him jealous?”
“Well, sort of. See, I’m not suggesting that you actually date
other people. I’m suggesting that you give the appearance
of dating other people. In order to make him realize what an idiot he’s being.”
“Okay, how do I give the appearance of dating? What do I do, just
go directly to Match.com and post a sexy profile?”
He leaned back in the chair, looking so completely comfortable that
it irked her. “Instead of Match.com, I was thinking along the lines of setting
you up on a series of show dates, with guys Brandon either knows or admires or
even hates. In short, guys that will annoy the crap out of him. We’d arrange
them so that Brandon
either sees you out with someone else, or hears about it. I’m betting that
seeing you out with someone else will drive him crazy.”
THE CHAPEL OF LOVE SERIES
A FAIRYTALE BRIDE, #.5
A CHRISTMAS BRIDE, #1
A SMALL-TOWN BRIDE, #2
HERE COMES THE BRIDE, #3
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 |
| Photo credit Wess Brown |
Hope Ramsay is a USA Today bestselling author of
heartwarming contemporary romances. Her
books have won critical acclaim and publishing awards. She is married to a good
ol' Georgia boy who resembles every single one of her Southern heroes. She has
two grown children and a couple of demanding lap cats. She lives in Virginia
where, when she's not writing, she's knitting or playing her forty-year-old
Martin guitar.
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