Katherine Garbera: The Reluctant Bride

The Reluctant Bride was one of those stories that just sort of came to me all wrapped up.  I have never been impulsive at all so when I was kicking around ideas for the Great Wedding Giveaway, I thought what about someone who just said yes and got married.  But there’s not much conflict in that and for good fiction there has to be conflict. 

So I thought what if she said yes, got cold feet and ran.  Just that inkling was enough to make me start creating the characters.  Risa loves weddings and brides.  She’s a florist who’s been working in Vegas at a very posh wedding center. 

Monty is the kind of guy who never gives up so it doesn’t matter that Risa isn’t where he left her, he’ll find her and reclaim her. 

From there I had the fun of being in Marietta, MT again.  I just love the stories that have been set there and am always happy as a reader to go back there.  As a writer it’s like coming home.

Here’s a little except:

Stupid.

            She wasn’t sure about herself, but Monty; God knew she wished she had his confidence.  There was a marked difference in their reactions to tragedy.  He wanted to cram in as much life as he could…she wanted to hide and protect those she cared about.  His mouth moved over hers with the confidence and surety that she’d ever only experienced with him, and she knew that she wasn’t going to pull back and walk away.  Instead she slid her hand up his chest and curled her fingers around his warm neck,  burrowing between the warm downy collar and the man. 

            He was here because he wanted to be her man.

            Right now, it felt like he was, as his mouth moved over hers and sent shivers of desire coursing through her body.  It had been a long seven months apart.  She parted her lips and his tongue slipped inside her mouth and she sighed.

            He tasted just like she remembered.  It was silly when she tried to define Monty, but there was something spicy in his kisses and yet, at the same time, something that soothed the restlessness inside of her.  When he wrapped his arms around her, she felt like she’d found the home she’d always wanted.

            A safe place to land. But she wasn’t sure she believed in home any more.

            She’d always been a rambler.  And even this kiss wasn’t going to be enough to help her put all of her doubts and fears aside.  His tongue rubbed over hers, as his hands slipped lower to cup her buttocks and she stopped thinking.

            Stopped trying to analyze this and have it all make sense.

            Kisses weren’t supposed make sense, were they?  They were supposed to transport lovers to someplace magical and distant.

            And for her, his kisses did.

            His hands anchored her to the real world, and his mouth tempted and teased her to follow him.  To leave behind her worries on this dark deserted highway and focus on the one thing that was real: Monty.

            He plunged his tongue deeper into her mouth, and she felt the first stirrings of desire shivering through her nerves and pooling in the center of her body.  She tunneled her fingers through the silky hair at the back of his neck, twisting them to make him move his head the way she wanted.

            He did.  Increasing the pressure on her and deepening the kiss until she was aware only of Monty and his mouth, his arm around her hips which held her to him, and his hand which roamed up and down her back.  His touch was warm, even through the thickness of her coat. 

            She pulled her head back and, from her angle, could look down on his half-closed eyes.  This was the face she’d missed.  The expression that had haunted her dreams.  He was the man she thought she wanted to marry.  The man who she’d taken a leap of faith with  and said yes to.

            But then he opened his eyes and slowly let her slide down his body, before he stepped back, spreading his arms out to his sides.  He rubbed one hand over his jaw and his mouth and turned his back to her.

            She had no idea what he was thinking, but could venture a guess that it wasn’t very nice.

            Why should it be?

            She was playing a game in his eyes.  And she had no way of really making him see that her being lost and confused was just as disheartening from her point of view. 

            “Um…”

            “What?”  He glanced back over his shoulder.

            Yeah, what?  Time to take a break.  Run again…

            “Thanks for changing my tire.”

What about you?   Have you ever been impulsive and said yes and then thought better of it?  I’m the kind of gal who is stubborn so I wouldn’t run, I’d stand my ground and pretend that it was working out just the way I wanted it too!

I’m giving away a copy of all four previous Great Wedding Giveaway titles today as well to one lucky commenter.  


*** Katherine's winner is Janine! Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing info.***