BOOK INFORMATION
The
Wedding Gift
Save The Date #3.5
Save The Date #3.5
By: Cara Connelly
Releasing May 5, 2015
Avon
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BOOK SUMMARY
What's the New-Jan-Plan? Discover the answer
in Cara Connelly's newest Save The Date Novella, and see how mousey Jan Marone
gives herself the gift of living, laughing, and finally loving … all under the
hot Key West sun.
She'd come
to Key West for a wedding, only to discover the hotel had messed up her
reservation. So although Jan Marone has to share a tiny room with sexy Mick
McKenna, it shouldn't really be a problem. Mick's her best friend, and he
doesn't think of her "that way" … or does he?
Mick
McKenna loves hard and plays hard. His thick black hair, chiseled jaw, and
hard, muscled body make him irresistible. But when once-innocent Jan walks into
his hotel room, Mick can't believe his eyes. Now she's wearing a sexy bikini
and telling him it's time for her to "get lucky," making him
protective and tantalized at the same time.
Worried
she might be in over her head, he decides never to leave her side … and
suddenly their hotel room seems smaller—and hotter—than ever. Mick's always
been hands-off with Jan—but has the right woman been under his nose the whole
time?
TBR/BUY LINKS
EXCERPT
“I’m sorry, ma’am, there’s nothing
I can do.”
Jan Marone wrung her hands. “But I
have a reservation.”
“I know, I’m looking at it right
here.” The pretty blond at the desk tapped her screen sympathetically. “I’ll
refund your deposit immediately.”
“I don’t want my deposit. I want a
room. My cousin’s getting married tomorrow, and I’m in the wedding.”
The girl spread her hands. “The
problem is, when one of the upstairs tubs overflowed this morning, the ceiling
collapsed on your room. It’s out of service for the weekend, and we’re booked
solid.”
“I understand,” Jan said,
struggling to remain polite. Hearing the same excuse three times didn’t make it
easier to swallow. “How about a sister hotel?”
“We’re independently owned.
Paradise Inn is the oldest hotel on the island—”
Jan held up a hand. She knew the
spiel. The large, rambling guesthouse was unique, and very Old Key West. Which
was exactly why she’d booked it.
“Can you at least help me find a
room somewhere else?”
“It’s spring break. I’ll make some
calls, but …” A discouraging shrug and a gesture toward the coffeepot.
The girl didn’t seem very
concerned, but Jan smiled at her anyway. “Thanks, I appreciate you trying.”
Parking her suitcase beside the
coffee table, she surveyed the lobby wistfully. The windows and doors stood
open, the wicker furniture and abundant potted plants blurring the line between
indoors and out. The warm, humid breeze drifted through the airy space. Her
parched Boston skin soaked it up like a sponge.
To a woman who’d never left New England
before, it spelled tropical vacation. And it was slipping through her fingers
like sand.
Growing ever gloomier, she wandered
out through a side door and into a lush tropical garden—palm trees, hibiscus, a
babbling waterfall.
Paradise.
And at its heart, a glittering
pool, where six gorgeous feet of lean muscle and tanned skin drifted lazily on
a float.
Ignoring everything else, Jan
studied the man. Thick black hair, chiseled jaw, half smile curving full lips.
And arms, perfect arms, draped over the sides, fingers trailing in the water.
He seemed utterly relaxed, the
image of sensual decadence. Put him in an ad for Paradise Inn, and women would
flock. Gay men would swarm.
As if sensing her attention, the
hunk lifted his head and broke into a smile. “Hey Jan, getcha ass in the
water!”
Mick McKenna. Her best and oldest
friend.
He rolled off the float and jacked
himself out of the pool. Water streamed from gray board shorts as he crossed
the flagstones.
Stopping in front of her, he shook
his hair like a Labrador.
“Geez! Don’t you ever get tired of
that?” She brushed droplets off her white cotton blouse.
He laughed his big happy laugh.
“Never have, never will. Get your suit on. The water’s a perfect eighty-six
degrees.”
“I can’t. They don’t have a room
for me.”
The grin fell off his face. “What
the hell?”
“Water damage.” She shrugged like it
wasn’t tragic. Like she hadn’t been anticipating this weekend for months.
“They must have another room.” Mick
started to go around her, no doubt to raise hell at the desk, McKenna-style.
She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I
tried everything. They’re digging up a room for me somewhere else on the
island.”
He tunneled long fingers through
his hair. “Take my room,” he said. “You found this place, and it’s great. You
should stay here.”
“Forget it. I’m not taking your
room.” She wasn’t that pathetic. Mick would give her the shirt off his back,
which he’d literally done more than once since they were kids, but she wasn’t
taking his room out from under him.
He knew better than to argue with
her. Disappointment slumped his shoulders, but he buttoned his lips, looking
down at her from troubled eyes bluer than the pool gleaming behind him.
She mustered a smile. “Can I use
your bathroom?”
“Sure.”
She followed him inside, down a
short hallway, and into a room that was eighty percent bed.
“Yikes. The reviews said the rooms were
tiny, but sheesh.”
Mick shrugged. “Who comes to Key
West to sit in their room?”
That was Mick. Mr. Brightside.
CAT'S REVIEW
What a fun read this was! Jan and Mick are in Key West for Jan's cousin's wedding. They are and have been best friends forever, Jan, being somewhat of a shy spinster has decided to change. Mick, a real ladies man and playboy, isn't sure about the new Jan. It was so much fun to see his reactions and watch as he recognizes what they all mean. Jan and Mick make me smile, although at times I wanted to smack them both upside the head!! :o) Ms. Connelly had me smiling and chuckling quite often - her writing style is terrific. I enjoyed the inner thoughts spoken by the characters - definitely entertaining! A romance wouldn't be a true romance if it didn't have at least a little bit of angst. I felt so bad for both characters at one point. However, it's not overwhelming and doesn't drag on and on as it does in some books. I so enjoyed this novella that I plan to read the other books in the series - yes, this can be read as a stand alone. This one is perfect for a lunch break or lounging on the beach while working on your tan! (received copy from Edelweiss for honest review)
★★★★
AUTHOR INFO
CARA CONNELLY is an
award-winning author of contemporary romances. Her smart and sexy stories have
won high praise, earning Cara several awards including the Romance Writers of
America’s Golden Heart, the Valley Forge Romance Writers’ Sheila, and the Music
City Romance Writers’ Melody of Love. Cara, who lives in rural upstate New
York, works as appellate court attorney when she’s not crafting steamy novels
of love and romance.
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