Kiss the Bride
Page 56
Having to end the Children of the Mist series was bittersweet, but I’m thrilled to say there will be more MacGregors of Skye visiting the pages of future books. Camlochlin will live on for another generation at least. And not just in words but in art. Master painter James Lyman has immortalized the home of our beloved MacGregors in beautiful color and with an innate understanding of how the fortress should be represented. Visit PaulaQuinn.com to order a print of your own, signed and numbered by the artist.
Until we meet again, to you mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, and friends, who put yourselves aside for someone you love, I shout Huzzah! Camlochlin was built for people like you.
Find her at Facebook
Twitter @Paula_Quinn
From the desk of Jill Shalvis
Dear Reader,
From the very first moment I put Mysterious Cute Guy on the page, I fell in love. There’s just something about a big, bad, sexy guy whom you know nothing about that fires the imagination. But I have to be honest: When he made a cameo in Head Over Heels (literally a walk-on role only; in fact I believe he only gets a mention or two), I knew nothing about him. Nothing. I never intended to, either. He was just one of life’s little (okay, big, bad, and sexy) mysteries.
Then my editor called me. Said the first three Lucky Harbor books had done so well that they’d like three more, please. And maybe one of the heroes could be Mysterious Cute Guy.
It was fun coming up with a story to go with this enigmatic figure, not to mention a name: Ty Garrison. More fun still to give this ex-Navy SEAL a rough, tortured, bad-boy past and a sweet, giving, good-girl heroine (Mallory Quinn, ER nurse). Oh, the fun I had with these two: a bad boy trying to go good, and a good girl looking for a walk on the wild side. Hope you have as much fun reading their story, LUCKY IN LOVE.
And then, stick around. Because Mallory’s two
Chocoholics-in-crime partners, Amy and Grace, get their own love stories in July and August with At Last and then Forever and a Day.
Happy Reading!
http://www.jillshalvis.com
http://www.facebook.com/jillshalvis
From the desk of Lori Wilde
Dear Reader,
Ah ,June! Love is in the air, and it’s the time for weddings and romance. With KISS THE BRIDE, you get two romantic books in one, There Goes the Bride and Once Smitten, Twice Shy. Both stories are filled with brides, bouquets, and those devastatingly handsome grooms. But best friends Delaney and Tish go through a lot of ups and downs on their path to happily ever after.
For those of you hoping for a June wedding of your own, how do you tell if your guy is ready for commitment? He might be ready to pop the question if…
Instead of saying “I” when making future plans, he starts saying “we.”
He gives you his ATM pass code.
He takes you on vacation with his family.
Out of the blue, your best friend asks your ring size.
He sells his sports car/motorcycle and says he’s outgrown that juvenile phase of his life.
He opens a gold card to get a higher spending limit—say, to pay for a honeymoon.
When you get a wedding invitation in the mail, he doesn’t groan but instead asks where the bride and groom got the invitations printed.
He starts remembering to leave the toilet seat down.
When poker night with the guys rolls around, he says he’d rather stay home and watch The Wedding Planner with you.
He becomes your dad’s best golfing buddy
I hope you enjoy KISS THE BRIDE.
Happy reading,
loriwilde.com
Facebook http://facebook.com/lori.wilde
Twitter @LoriWilde
From the desk of Laurel McKee
Dear Reader,
When I was about eight years old, someone gave me a picture book called Life in Victorian England. I lost the book in a move years ago, but I still remember the gorgeous watercolor illustrations. Ladies in brightly colored hoopskirts and men in frock coats and top hats doing things like walking in the park, ice-skating at Christmas, and dancing in ballrooms. I was completely hooked on this magical world called “the Victorian Age” and couldn’t get enough of it! I read stuff like Jane Eyre, Little Women, and Bleak House, watched every movie where there was the potential for bonnets, and drove my parents crazy by saying all the time, “Well, in the Victorian age it was like this…”
As I got older and started to study history in a more serious way, I found that beneath this pretty and proper facade was something far darker. Darker—and a lot more interesting. There was a flourishing underworld in Victorian England, all the more intense for being well hidden and suppressed. Prostitution, theft, and the drug trade expanded, and London was bursting at the seams thanks to changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The theater and the visual arts were taking on a new life. Even Queen Victoria was not exactly the prissy sourpuss everyone thinks she was. (She and Albert had nine children, after all—and enjoyed making them!)
I’ve always wanted to set a story in these Victorian years, with the juxtaposition of what’s seen on the surface and what is really going on underneath. But I never came up with just the right characters for this complex setting. The inspiration came (as it so often does for me, don’t laugh) from clothes. I was watching my DVD of Young Victoria for about the fifth time, and when the coronation ball scene came on, I thought, “I really want a heroine who could wear a gown just like that…”
And Lily St. Claire popped into my head and brought along her whole family of Victorian underworld rakes. I had to run and get out my notebook to write down everything Lily had to tell me. I loved her from that first minute—a woman who created a glamorous life for herself from a childhood on the streets of the London slums. A tough, independent woman (with gorgeous clothes, of course) who thinks she doesn’t need anyone—until she meets this absolutely yummy son a duke. Too bad his family is the St. Claire family’s old enemy…
I hope you enjoy the adventures of Lily and Aidan as much as I have. It was so much fun to spend some time in Victorian London. Look for more St. Claire trouble to come.
In the meantime, visit my website at http://laurelmckee.net for more info on the characters and the history behind the book.
ALSO BY LORI WILDE
License to Thrill
Charmed and Dangerous
Mission: Irresistible
You Only Love Twice
There Goes the Bride
Once Smitten, Twice Shy
Addicted to Love
All of Me
Praise for
LORI WILDE’S NOVELS
ALL OF ME
“[The characters’] physical attraction heats up the pages, but their personal development forms the heart and soul of the novel, a delicately revealing in-depth character study. Wilde’s clever combination of humor, sorrow and love brings a deeply appealing sense of realism.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A warm serene character study. Jillian is a fully developed person, but the relationship drama is owned by Tuck as Lori Wilde goes deep inside his soul. Fans who appreciate a sometimes amusing but always pathos second chance at life (and love) will enjoy this profound contemporary.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Light and charming, this is a pure romance, which is a nice change… a satisfying read with excellent characterizations and real-life issues.”
—RT Book Reviews
ADDICTED TO LOVE
“Entertaining and humorous… There’s a seriousness to it also, as the heroine learns to recognize real love and caring. Wilde again includes secondary romances that are intriguing, entertaining, and hot.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Wilde brings romance fans a feel-good, laugh-out-loud read… one of the best romantic comedies I’ve read in a long time.”
—NightsandWeekends.com
“Charming… lighthearted fun…
strong secondary romances enhance an engaging Valentine tale.”
—Midwest Book Review
ONCE SMITTEN, TWICE SHY
“Lori Wilde at her best… The magic and romance that Ms. Wilde began in her first book in the series, There Goes the Bride, continues in this novel… I really loved this story. The writing is wonderful and the plot grabbed my attention from the first page. I fell in love with the characters and couldn’t wait to see how they worked everything out.”
—ContemporaryRomanceWriters.com
“A definite crowd pleaser… Lori Wilde can write very engaging and quirky romances and Once Smitten, Twice Shy is one of them… [A] good read with some suspense to boot.”
—FreshFiction.com
“A wild ride on an emotional roller coaster.”
—FallenAngelReviews.com
“Amusing… an entertaining contemporary romance.”
—Midwest Book Review
THERE GOES THE BRIDE
“A wild ride.”
—Booklist
“I adored this book! I even kept it in my purse in the hopes that I would have a few minutes in which to squeeze a paragraph or two… I can’t wait to read the next in this wonderful new series… Superb!”
—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“There Goes the Bride is a [Lori] Wilde madcap contemporary romance.”
—Midwest Book Review
“FOUR HEARTS! Ms. Wilde conquers a whole new part of the romance genre… lots of funny elements and a great cast of characters.”
—LovesRomanceandMore.com
“A dynamite novel that readers will treasure for years to come.”
—RT Book Reviews
Contents
Welcome
There Goes the Bride
Dedication
Acknowledgment
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Once Smitten, Twice Shy
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
A Preview of Addicted to Love
The Dish
Also by Lori Wilde
Praise for Lori Wilde’s Novels
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Compilation copyright © 2012 by Laurie Vanzura
There Goes the Bride copyright © 2007 by Laurie Vanzura
Once Smitten, Twice Shy copyright © 2008 by Laurie Vanzura
Excerpt from Addicted to Love copyright © 2008 by Laurie Vanzura
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Forever
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First e-book edition: June 2012
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ISBN 978-1-4555-1266-9