Wedding Date Rescue

By Sonya Weiss

"Delightfully charming!! Sharp, witty banter and the sweet, slow burn of friends becoming more...this is everything I love about romance!!" - Rachel Harris, NY Times Bestselling Author

As a Firefighter, Kent Wakefield has been burned before, and not just by fire. So when Casey Bradford, his best friend's off-limits, gorgeous little sister, asks him to be her fake boyfriend, he flat out refuses. He doesn't do relationships, real or otherwise. But when his well-meaning, marriage-pushing mother corners him about his cousin's wedding, he panics and tells her he has a date.

After being left at the altar, Casey is out of options. She needs a boyfriend ASAP or she can kiss her dreams good-bye. Who better than her brother's emotionally-unavailable best friend, Kent. She may have nursed a childhood crush, but this arrangement will be purely platonic...that is until he kisses her and suddenly it gets a lot harder to remember it's all pretend.

Each book in the Fire and Sparks series is STANDALONE.
* Wedding Date Rescue
* The Firefighter's Perfect Plan

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Feb 27, 2017
• ISBN: 9781633758872

Book preview

Table of Contents

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

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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.

Copyright © 2017 by Sonya Weiss. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road

Suite 109

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Bliss is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC. For more information on our titles, visit http://www.entangledpublishing.com/category/bliss

Edited by Alycia Tornetta

Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill

Cover art from Shutterstock

ISBN 978-1-63375-887-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition February 2017

Once again, for the minions and for Ski-the original climber.

Chapter One

Getting dumped at the altar five minutes before her wedding had set tongues wagging. Most of the town had witnessed her humiliation as Dominic had run out of the church’s side exit without so much as a sorry. Here it was four months later, and Casey Bradford was pacing back and forth in the empty reception area of Finding Mr. Right, the matchmaking service she owned.

The fallout from her failed wedding had caused a shift in how people viewed her company. If she didn’t do something soon to restore the public’s belief in her, she was going to be up panic creek without a paddle. She’d lose everything, including not being able to continue helping her maternal grandmother financially. Her grandmother was embarrassed over the situation and had made her promise she wouldn’t mention to the rest of the family how bad things were.

Casey stopped pacing and stared out the window. The business overlooked Main Street, and from where she stood, she could see the water tower in the distance. The streets were lined on both sides with a variety of locally owned businesses. No big franchises here. Just a slow-paced, fried chicken on Sunday, sweet tea on the front porch kind of living.

She loved every inch of Morganville and considered herself a Georgia girl through and through. Growing up riding four-wheelers with her brothers, fishing in the lake with them and all their friends, she’d always thought she’d had a great childhood. Every summer, dressed in faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, she’d run around with the boys from the time the sun rose until it set.

Though she hadn’t outgrown her childhood friends, she now spent the majority of her days wearing cute little dresses and killer heels. The changes had made some of her guy friends act weird around her. Her brother’s best friend, Kent Wakefield, had acted like she’d sprouted alien antennae the way he’d stared the first time he’d seen her in a dress.

Casey traced the black lettering on the window with her index finger. It didn’t matter what Kent or any of them thought. She didn’t care if they didn’t like the changes. She was happy with her life. Check that—except for this latest upheaval, she was happy.

Casey bit the side of her thumbnail, then stopped. It was a nervous habit she was trying to break. At least a dozen butterflies danced in her stomach and had been there since she’d received an ominous email from one of her investors saying they needed to discuss the company in light of recent events.

The front door swung open, and Brandon Jones walked in carrying a laptop. He greeted her with a curt hello. She’d attended school with Brandon from elementary school on up. He was the son of a wealthy man and had been cut off from the family fortunes the minute he’d married a woman the family deemed unworthy. He’d chosen love over money, worked hard, and was now part of a group of successful businessmen who invested in start-up companies like hers.

Would you like a cup of coffee? Casey indicated the machine and the stack of cups beside it.

No. Let’s get this over with.

Then, right this way. Casey led the way to her office. Each step she took, her heels sank into the carpet along with her hopes. The expression on Brandon’s face didn’t quite have that let’s save this business look. She’d guess he had more of a pull the plug one. And good grief, could her heart beat any harder, any faster, and she not keel over?

As soon as they were seated, he cleared his throat and drummed his fingers on her desk. I am truly sorry about you getting left at the altar, he said, his voice holding a touch of sympathy. But unfortunately, the gossip and publicity surrounding your failed wedding are bad for business, which in turn impacts the ability to recoup my investment.

Casey’s heart squeezed, and she pressed her hand to her chest. It’s a small town and people talk. As soon as something more interesting happens, I’ll be yesterday’s news. She knew how quickly the tides could turn when something new hit the tell-a-friend chain.

His expression softened. Believe me, having been there, I understand that.

But?

He hesitated, then placed the laptop on the desk. He typed a few keys, then turned it around to face her. These are today’s comments.

Casey leaned forward to see what he was talking about. He’d pulled up her company’s social media site. It was littered with comments. She read one of them out loud. ‘Can’t keep a man herself. How can she help me find one? I’d never recommend this matchmaking service.’ She brushed off the sting from the hurtful words. You know you can’t trust everything you read online.

Brandon stared at her. Did you catch the common theme in the majority of the comments? If you, the face of the company, get dumped, how can they believe you can create successful matches for them? He shook his head. You’re why women choose this company. You’re part of the branding.

Find your happily ever after. Casey quoted a line from one of the Finding Mr. Right commercials she’d starred in.

Exactly. Only your happily ever after—

She waved her hand to stop him. There was no point in rubbing salt in the humiliation. There’d been plenty of that already. Seemed everyone in town had given her advice on how to get over a broken heart. I understand.

I don’t think you do.

This will blow over. Casey was sure of that. Well…not really sure. More like keeping all her fingers crossed and hoping like mad it would, because the alternative wasn’t something she wanted to think about.

Eventually, maybe. But it’s hurting business in the meantime. I’m the one who convinced my business associates to invest in your company, so you can imagine the phone calls I’ve been fielding. They’re not happy. He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. I just don’t see how you can keep operating when you aren’t making enough right now to even pay the rent.

Profits were like her once-upon-a-groom—nowhere to be found. For the last month, Casey had dipped into her savings to cover rent as well as the utilities. But she still believed in the company with the same ferocity that she believed in love. If she could just hang on…

One of the other investors is coming to town to look things over, and I suggest you go ahead and start closing the place down.

Close down? Casey’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. She gripped the arms of the chair, needing to feel the support beneath her.

You can’t keep the doors open. Brandon paused to take a breath, as if he hadn’t noticed the world had stopped turning. Unless…

Yes, she was a fan of the unless. Unless meant possibility. It meant keeping the dream alive. It meant being able to afford to move her grandmother out of Florida and back to Morganville like they both wanted.

She leaned forward, eager to hear the unless that might offer a way to fix her situation.

Unless you fake a new relationship, he said, steepling his fingers and not meeting her eyes.

"Fake a relationship? Leaping to her feet, she put her hands on her hips and glared down at him. My business is supposed to be about honesty."

He rose as well. "Helping someone find love is honest."

But you want me to lie.

Brandon shook his head. No, I’m suggesting you pretend. It’s called acting, the same thing you see on television and in movies.

Since I’m not an actress, it’s called lying, and I am not going to jump into a relationship so soon after what happened.

It wouldn’t be real. Besides, you’re tougher than this. You always have been. Think about all the people who benefit from your business. There’s the wedding dress store, the flower shop, the photographers, the catering company…

Casey groaned. She hadn’t thought about how losing her business would cause a financial ripple in the town.

You can do this. You’ve done amazingly well since…everything.

That was the problem with life in a small town. You could smile through the pain and everyone thought you were fine. She’d even started putting on a brave face whenever anyone gave her that pursed-lip, concerned look that preceded all the oh, you poor dear and the bless your heart that she’d received. She’d pulled on her big-girl panties and said she was moving on. Said her pride was more wounded than her heart. Truth be told, that race wasn’t even close. How many nights had she put on her faded pajamas, crawled onto the sofa with a pint of ice cream and her favorite movies, and bawled her eyes out? Rejection sucked, and even more so when it was rejection from someone who was supposed to be your forever guy.

Look, I’m not trying to throw what happened in your face.

Casey gave Brandon a thumbs-up. Good job with that.

I didn’t mean it was your fault, he tried to soothe, but Casey wasn’t hearing him.

The truth was, she did feel like it was her fault. Had she not been so wrapped up in the magic of preparing for a wedding and all the hope that went with it, she might have realized Dominic was having second thoughts.

I know this is a shock, but I need to do what I can to protect my investment, and my associates feel the same.

I can’t do what you’re suggesting. Casey lifted her chin. She wouldn’t fake a relationship. She had morals.

Brandon interrupted her thoughts. What are you going to do if your business flops? There aren’t many jobs here in town. I hate to be hard-nosed about it, but you have to restore the investors’ confidence and start producing a profit, or they’re all going to demand their investment returned. He raised his eyebrows. Do you have that kind of money?

She did not, and having their investment returned in the event of failure was in the contract, but this was a temporary blip, not a permanent one. You think I can restore their belief in the company if I start showing a profit again?

Yes, and the way to do that is to fake a relationship, fast. People believe in love. They’ll believe in you again if you show you’ve found love again. It’s a chance to sway public opinion back in your favor.

Casey ran through a quick list of pros versus cons. Pro, if she held on to her business she’d keep the dream alive, hold on to her home, and save her grandmother financially. All pros there. Con, she’d have to be in a fake relationship. She didn’t like fake. Another con—she wasn’t a good actress. She bit her lip.

As if he sensed her internal war, Brandon said, Recouping the investment would mean a lot to Peyton, too. She’s been so worried.

At the mention of his pregnant wife, Casey groaned again.

Then you’ll do it?

How could she let the business go belly up and cause Brandon and the other investors to suffer since she didn’t have the funds to pay them back? She couldn’t. She had a responsibility to them just as much as she had to herself and the town. If you can give me a month, I can turn things around.

You have forty-eight hours. That investor I mentioned will be flying in from Atlanta on Monday. Everything has to be business as usual by then.

Casey put her hand over her heart and stared at Brandon. Scrounge up a boyfriend in forty-eight hours? Morganville wasn’t exactly overrun with eligible bachelors. Pickings became even slimmer if she eliminated the guys she’d trounced in all the games at the fair last summer who now avoided her. Then take out the ones that were too handsy, too weird, lazy, or had issues, and that didn’t leave her many to choose from. Casey barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes.

Well? Brandon prompted.

Nothing to it, she said with a smile she’d definitely label as acting.

Thank you. His relief was obvious.

Uh-huh. She left the office when Brandon did, hurrying away from him before she could say something she couldn’t take back. Like that she was so bad at faking it, maybe it would be better to shut down. She heaved a sigh. Even if she said that in the midst of her gigantic ball

Reviews for Wedding Date Rescue

[pam50627 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Casey was dumped at the alter by her fiancée, Kent was there to shield her from as much pain & humiliation as he could. Just like he had been there all her life. They grew up together & were friends. When Kent's girlfriend walked out on him after he was injured on the job, Casey was there telling him any woman would be lucky to have, scars & all. Now, Casey needed his help with her business & Kent needed her help with a wedding his ex would be at. Who knew their feelings were so intense!I loved this story! The characters are well developed & realistic. They seem like the kids growing up down the block. Now all grown up, they see each other in a different light. They both are afraid to show their feelings because they won't be reciprocated. The chemistry between them was apparent in the writing. The supporting cast supports the plot & provides additional color. I loved Casey's brothers & her best friend Josie! If you love friends to lovers & clean romance, you have to give this book a chance! I can't wait for the next one!