Late for the Wedding

By Barbara Edwards

Heather Green will do anything to make her twin’s wedding perfect. Despite an impending nor’easter, she sets out with the wedding dress, cake, favors and cake topper in her car. As the snow piles up, her car is wrecked and she barely misses injury in a major accident. Nicholas Burnes would rather be ensconced with his latest cuddle than drive a tow truck, but his brother needs his help. He reluctantly agrees to help Heather find a way to the wedding locale, but when the storm closes the roads, he ends up offering her shelter in his penthouse. Warm and rested at last, Nick and Heather explore their powerful attraction to each other, only to part when he delivers her, on time, to her sister’s wedding. But weddings breed weddings…

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Nov 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781628306149

Book preview

Inc.

She finally got the seatbelt lock to release,

forced her door open, and stood. Her knees shook, and she had to hang onto the sagging door for support. She stared around. Headlights glittered like monster eyes. Her vehicle was at the edge of a horrendous multi-car pile-up.

Sirens wailed like lost children. Blinding red and blue lights flashed everywhere as emergency personnel rushed by. Her hands shook as she dragged on her cashmere coat. Time squeezed and expanded like an accordion being played. A fireman asked if she was okay and ran on at her nod.

She brushed moisture from her face and realized she was crying. She pillowed her head on her arm, the roof supporting her as she wept.

Hey, lady, you okay? A gentle hand gripped her shoulder.

This time the questioner stopped to listen.

She looked up into scorching blue eyes so bright they could have been a propane flame. Her skin warmed, and her pulse leaped as if it recognized the message in them. They promised heat and comfort and strength like the hand on her shoulder. He’d pulled his knit hat down over his forehead, and his lower face was covered with dark stubble that matched his thick black eyelashes. His hands were splotched with grease, and he smelled like oil and fuel fumes. His quilted jacket was stained and patched, his boots wet and cracked, but he exuded strength and caring.

She swallowed. Her mouth was suddenly dry. Another fixer-upper, like her ex, she briefly thought, although with those gorgeous eyes he might be worth the trouble.

Praise for Barbara Edwards’

JOURNEY OF THE MAGI

With a deft touch of her brush, word artist Barbara Edwards paints an endearing story that showcases the true meanings of Christmas—love, sacrifice and the wide-eyed hopes of children. Five stars

~Vonnie Davis, author

~*~

Barbara Edwards has crafted a wonderfully touching holiday short story that is sweetly uplifting and sure to melt the hearts of readers looking for a needed respite from the demands of the season. Five stars

~Angie Just Read, TheRomanceReviews

Late

for the

Wedding

by

Barbara Edwards

Twelve Brides of Christmas Series

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Late for the Wedding

COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Barbara Edwards

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Diana Carlile

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Sweetheart Rose Edition, 2014

Digital ISBN 978-1-62830-614-9

Twelve Brides of Christmas Series

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

For Tori, Nicole, Gillian and Brianna

Chapter One

Heather Green twirled slowly on the low pedestal. The wedding gown’s full lace overskirt swished over the satin petticoat with a happy sound. Soft violin music played, and the air smelled of roses. She smiled as the seamstress removed the last pin from the hem. The ivory dress was ready in time for the Christmas Eve wedding. She adjusted the pearl-studded, fitted bodice over her breasts. It did look stunning. Too bad it wasn’t hers.

Take a picture. She held out her cell phone. My twin sister is on pins and needles and driving me crazy. It will be a relief to tell her it’s ready.

Tell her I do apologize for the misunderstanding, the seamstress burbled. And I’m so happy she’ll be having that Christmas Eve wedding after all. I really expected her to cancel when her Marine unit was deployed.

Me, too. But she’s like a force of nature. She has a way of getting what she wants. Heather posed for two more photos, and then sent them to her sister’s phone.

The text reply was a line of gibberish, perfectly expressing Rosemary’s excitement.

Heather laughed and tucked the phone in her purse before holding still to be unzipped.

It will take me a few minutes to wrap the dress. We don’t want it to get soiled at the last minute, the seamstress said.

Not if we want to survive the wedding, Heather muttered under her breath.

She could allow herself to sweat now. After she loaded the bride’s gown and her maid of honor dress into her car, she’d be ready to leave.

The wedding cake layers were packed for travel, favor bags of homemade cookies filled an emerald-green ribbon-decorated basket, and the tiny marzipan cake topper of two turtledoves sat in its tissue wrapper. She’d spent the last five days, between tapings of her fledgling cooking show, preparing this surprise.

She hugged herself. It was nice to be the one to spring a surprise on the family. Rosemary