I’ve
still got that Christmas-theme going on with today’s post. It’s a pleasure to
be a part of the Release Blitz for author Olivia Miles’ THE WINTER WEDDING PLAN.
This
is the second installment in Olivia’s Misty Point series. Today you can read an
excerpt from the story, find out why you shouldn’t pretend to be someone's fiancée,
and enter to win the giveaway.
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Title: THE WINTER WEDDING PLAN
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Author: Olivia Miles
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Series: Misty Point, #2
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On Sale: September 26, 2017
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Publisher: Forever
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Trade Paperback: $14.99 USD
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eBook: $6.99 USD
All she wants for
Christmas is a second chance . . .
Charlotte Daniels has made
her share of mistakes, but now that she's a single mom, she vows to do
better--and that starts with a new career. Working at her sister's
event-planning company is just the fresh start she needs.
Kate Daniels has finally
forgiven Charlotte for her betrayal, but forgetting it is harder. But as the
holidays approach and Kate has her own wedding to plan, she has no choice but
to turn to Charlotte for help to throw a high-profile client the holiday party
of the season.
Charlotte leaps at the
chance to redeem herself . . . until this irresistible client asks her to
pretend to be his fiancée for the party. She knows their charade won't come
without consequences--not just for her fresh start with Kate, but also for her
own daughter.
As Kate's wedding draws
near and Charlotte's fake romance starts to feel more and more real, will she
fall back into the mistakes of her past, or finally prove herself to Kate once
and for all?
In the vein of New York Times bestselling authors Susan Mallery, Robyn Carr, and Elin Hilderbrand, comes the second in a women's fiction series about the complicated ties of sisterhood that bind us together and sometimes tear us apart.
In the vein of New York Times bestselling authors Susan Mallery, Robyn Carr, and Elin Hilderbrand, comes the second in a women's fiction series about the complicated ties of sisterhood that bind us together and sometimes tear us apart.
BUY THE BOOK HERE
ONE
WEEK TO THE WEDDING, #1
THE
WINTER WEDDING PLAN, #2
The
Top 5 Reasons You Should Not Pretend to Be Someone's Fiancée:
1. It’s messy. (Too many
lies!)
2. It’s never as easy as it
seems.
3. The chances of one person
becoming emotionally invested are high, which sort of interferes with the
“pretend” part (See #1: Messy!).
4. Too many stories to keep
straight. (Again…messy.)
5. If you’re publicly off the
market, it could keep you from being available should Mr. Perfect suddenly
appear…
Now here’s an excerpt for your reading pleasure.
She
pointed out the double set of French doors against the far wall, where a
view of a snow-covered stone terrace shone in the moonlight. “Look at
that.
It’s a winter wonderland out there. It’s the perfect night for a
holiday movie.”
He didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”
“I do.” Charlotte settled back against a pillow. “Besides, this one is really terrific—”
“Wait. You’ve seen it before?”
“At least a dozen times! We watch it every Christmas. It’s sort of a family tradition.”
Greg’s brow furrowed. “That sounds nice.”
Charlotte
grinned, imagining how wonderful it would be when Audrey was old enough
to partake in the event. “Usually we make a big bowl of popcorn, have
some hot chocolate. We can recite all the lines, of course, but that’s
just part of the fun. Whenever I think of this movie, well, it just
feels like coming home.”
Greg glanced at her. “I can make some popcorn if you’d like.”
Charlotte considered the
holiday dress she’d hoped to squeeze herself into for the party, and
then decided the diet could wait. She grinned. “I’ll pause it. You don’t
want to miss the opening scene.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to do that,” Greg teased, but she could sense that he was pleased.
Charlotte couldn’t wipe
the smile from her face as she snuggled deeper under the chenille
blanket and waited for Greg to return with the popcorn. Despite the size
of the house, she could soon make out the sound
of popping—she glanced sharply at the baby monitor, silently willing
Audrey to be unaware of the noise. She was enjoying herself, maybe more
than she should, and she wasn’t ready to be on mom duty again just yet.
For just a few moments she wanted to just be
Charlotte.
And somehow, with Greg,
she was. Greg, who didn’t know her past. Greg, who had no hold on her
future. Greg, who knew her just as she was. Today. Present moment only.
No mistakes. No slip-ups.
She stared at the frozen
television screen. A year ago she had watched this movie alone, with
tears streaming down her face as she worked her way through a
family-sized bag of potato chips, wondering if her sister
and parents were watching it together, if they were happy she wasn’t
with them.
Little did she know at the time just how different this year would be. Better. Or at least on the up-and-up.
Greg came into the room with a bowl of popcorn, his grin sheepish. “I won’t lie. It’s microwaved.”
“The best kind,” Charlotte
remarked. Her eyes widened slightly as he slid onto the couch beside
her again. Was it just her imagination, or was he coming a little closer
this time?
She looked to her right.
There wasn’t much more space left for her to move. “Ready to start the
movie?” she asked, gripping the remote.
He passed her the bowl of popcorn, and she helped herself to a few kernels. “This isn’t one of those feel-good movies, is it?”
She raised an eyebrow. “It’s a holiday movie. What do you think?”
He shook his head, but she could tell by his faint smile that he liked her response. “Oh, boy. Let’s get it over with then.”
“I have a feeling you’re going to enjoy it. Trust me.”
He gave her a strange look. “I do trust you.”
She rearranged herself on
the couch, unsure of what to make of that remark, and fighting back the
strange feeling that she just might be able to trust him, too. If she
let herself.
The fell into silence as
the movie started, and a few glances at Greg told her that he was fully
engrossed within minutes. She smiled in satisfaction, and decided to
enjoy herself and put her troubles from her mind
for a bit. But the next thing she knew the television screen was quiet.
There was popcorn sprinkled all over the leather couch, and the baby
monitor crackled somewhere behind her.
She tried to remember the
last scene in the movie she’d watched, and realized with a sinking
feeling that she’d fallen asleep well over an hour ago. Her eyes sprung
open. She wasn’t in her bedroom, and the pillow
under her cheek wasn’t a pillow at all. It was a chest. A very hard,
very sturdy, very manly chest. She blinked in panic as her heart began
to race. Staying as still as she could under the tense circumstances,
she listened to the steady drum of Greg’s pulse
though his sweater, felt the rhythm of his breath as his chest moved
softly up and down, moving her with it, almost lulling her into a state
of tranquility.
He was asleep. And so help her, she intended for him to remain that way.
Inch by inch, she eased
herself off the couch, grabbed the baby monitor by the handle, and made
her way to the half-open French doors.
“Hey.”
She winced, and closed her
eyes before turning to face the owner of the smooth, groggy voice that
was much too deep and husky for her own good. “I think we fell asleep.”
She didn’t bother
mentioning just what position they’d ended up in, or how that might have
happened. She felt the blood drain from her cheeks when she considered
that while she had dozed off somewhere around the
scene where the young boy goes to the mall with his wish list, meaning
somewhere in the first third of the movie, it was entirely possible that
Greg hadn’t nodded off until a few minutes ago.
“Too bad. That was a pretty good movie.”
She nudged him with her elbow. “Told you so.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Rain check then?”
That sounded an awful lot
like an invitation she should probably resist, but with that friendly
grin and those warm eyes, really, what was a girl to do? “Can’t wait.”
And she realized as she
turned from the room and hurried back upstairs that she couldn’t wait.
And that was really quite a problem.
Author Olivia Miles |
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GIVEAWAY
Thanks
for stopping by today. Are you thinking about the holidays already? Would you
pretend to be someone’s fiancée if you could and you thought it would help
them?
Now
here’s the giveaway. Best of luck to those entering.
Congratulations Olivia.
ReplyDeleteI am a woeful liar. Pretending to be someone's fiancee could only end in disaster.
Love the excerpt! Hot chocolate and popcorn and holiday movies are a tradition at my house. Pretending to be engaged to someone can leave a lasting wrong impression--tricky, very tricky!
ReplyDeleteLies are messy.
ReplyDeleteKeep the theme going. Make my brain pretend it's not in the upper eighties right now.
I love the winter setting for this story! Thanks for sharing, Mason.
ReplyDeleteGreat review but no I wouldn't pretend to be someone’s fiancée, I been married for almost 32 years so I say I can't even pretend! LOL! Yes I already started the holidays,Fall is my favorite time of year. thanks
ReplyDeletePenney
Ack! I'm not ready to even think about the holidays but books are a good why to get ready!
ReplyDelete