The Wedding Party: FINALLY A BRIDE

Harlequin® American Romance® 1230
October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-373-75234-2

Friend. Lover. Groom?

Running out on her own wedding is the only way Molly McClintock can stop herself from making the biggest mistake of her life. But running to her childhood friend Eric South could land her in even more trouble. Ever since the second grade, Eric's always been there for her. Now the wounded war hero is back in her life… and igniting enough sparks to turn friends into lovers.

How could Eric forget the girl who accepted his boyhood marriage proposal? Now, twenty years later, he's getting a second chance. With Molly back in his arms where she belongs, will Eric finally get his lifelong wish and meet the woman he loves at the altar?

Reviews

"...fans will root for [Molly] to marry for love not for just becoming FINALLY A BRIDE." -- Harriet Klausner, Genre-Go-Round Reviews

"Having read several of the “Wedding Party” series, I was most interested in reading about the runaway bride.  This series has followed the members of the wedding party of the marriage of Molly McClintock and Josh Towers. There were her best friends Brenna, Abby and Colleen and the men included her brother, the best man and the groom. The stories are take place simultaneously and Finally a Bride is one of the better entries I read.  ...it is a fun, engaging and at times, heartbreaking look at love with someone who you think you know as well as you know yourself.  Finally A Bride is a good ending for the series – but read the other books too for total enjoyment." -- Shirley Lyons, The Romance Reader

Finally a Bride (4.5) is the last in Lisa Childs' "wedding that wasn't" series. Eric South has loved his best friend, Molly McClintock, since second grade, and everyone knows it. So it's no surprise when he decides not to attend her wedding to another man. Yet no one is more surprised than he is when she turns up on his doorstep after skipping out on her perfect wedding. Over the next week Eric and Molly create new memories as they work through old miscommunications. In the end, they must decide if they're brave enough to take a chance on love. Jam-packed with lovable characters, this book has all the qualities of the perfect Harlequin American. As this couple takes a chance on true love, readers are reminded that it takes guts but the payoff is worth it! -- Whitney Kate Sullivan, RT BookClub

"Finally a Bride is a very bittersweet romance about friends becoming lover and discover love was right there in front of them all along. Easy fast pace reading.  The dialogue was well written. The characters too sweet and charming, you will love them. Read it, you will love it...I know I did! :)  Grade: A" -- Julia's Book Corner

Excerpt 

Chapter One

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Nick Jameson asked his best friend.

"I was going to ask you that," Josh Towers said as he peered into the mirror on the wall of the groom's dressing room, straightening a bow tie that was already perfectly straight. But then, nearly everything about Josh was perfect – apart from his taste in women.

Nick sighed. "What do I need to know? I'm not getting married." Not ever.

"You missed the rehearsal, you know."

"Hey, I was on call last night." Nick shrugged, testing the seams of the tuxedo jacket. Tuxedos were called monkey suits for a reason, he thought. They were damned near as comfortable as straitjackets.

Not that he'd ever been in a straitjacket but if for some reason he considered doing what Josh was--getting married--he'd put himself in one.

"And what's so hard about what I have to do?" Nick asked his friend. He had stood up with Josh at his other wedding--first one. He was such a hypocrite. How could he stand up for something in which he put no faith? "I just walk down the aisle with some girl on my arm."

"You're the best man," Josh reminded him. "You're in charge of the rings, too." He dug the gold bands out of his pocket and handed them over.

The metal, although warm from Josh's pocket, chilled Nick's skin as the rings lay in his palm. The anxiety built in his throat, nearly choking him. He didn't even like to touch the things.

"Daddy," one of Josh's twin four-year-old boys said, "we're the ring bears."

"Funny, you don't look like bears," Nick teased, chucking the boy under the chin. Must have been Buzz since his black hair had been kept buzzed short for the past two years after he'd gotten a hold of Josh's electric razor. TJ's hair was a little longer and moussed into half-inch spikes. Both twins had deep blue eyes and now they stared up at him as if he were trying to make off with one of their Tonka trucks.

"Yeah," said TJ as he tugged on Nick's pant leg. The twins' tuxedos matched his, black with white pleated shirts, black bow ties and red cummerbunds. "We're supposed to carry the rings."

Nick would gladly have handed over the gold bands, but he doubted Josh would trust them to the devilish duo. The boys had a well-known penchant for "flushing" things, including their dad's pager and cell phone.  

"Hey, buddy," he said to his best friend, "I'll let you handle this one." With a grin, he ducked out of the groom's room, leaving Josh alone with his unruly twin sons.

No wonder the guy had decided to marry a woman he barely knew. The boys had him outnumbered and he needed help fast--he needed a mother for his sons. Although Nick understood Josh's reasons, he didn't agree with his friend's decision. After the boys' mom had taken off when the twins were just babies, why would Josh ever trust another woman?

Nick would never make that mistake, not that he didn't think some women were worthy of trust. His dad swore his mother had been a paragon of virtue. Nick, himself, had never known her. He'd been younger than the twins when she died. It wasn't that he mistrusted all women, so much as that he really didn't trust himself. If a guy as smart as Josh hadn't had the sense to fall for the right woman, a guy like Nick didn't stand a chance.

Hearing the outraged howl that signaled a major temper tantrum inside the groom's room, Nick walked farther away from the door. Sure, he could have gone inside and tried to help out--he was the best man, after all. But Nick was going to have the boys all to himself during Josh's honeymoon. If he hadn't already sworn off marriage and fatherhood, he was damned sure he would after two weeks with the twins.

Another door opened farther down the hall and a bunch of women spilled out. A young girl dressed like a miniature bride, a blonde, a redhead and a brunette dressed in shiny red, strapless gowns. Which one of them was he supposed to walk down the aisle?

Maybe he should have come to the rehearsal, but Cloverville, Michigan was more than an hour from where he worked in Grand Rapids. He sighed. Now he wouldn't be working only in Grand Rapids; he and Josh would have a practice in Cloverville as soon as their new offices were finished. Personally, he hoped the contractors took their damn sweet time. If Josh wasn't his best friend, he wouldn't have let the other man talk him into opening their office here. He had no interest in Cloverville.

Then the brunette turned, her rich brown hair moving like a silk curtain around her bare shoulders. His fingers itched with the need to touch it, to see if her hair could possibly be as soft as the chocolate-colored strands appeared. Her gaze met his, her eyes as deep a brown as her hair.

His chest clenched and his breath caught, as if he'd slammed on the brakes and his seat belt had pulled too tight. Heat flushed his face and dampened his palms. So that he wouldn't lose the rings before the ceremony, he wrapped his fingers around them and shoved them deep into his pocket. Even his hand shook. What the hell had just happened to him?

# # #

DR. NICK JAMESON. Colleen McClintock had known, of course, that he would be at the wedding. He was, after all, the best man. Did he recognize her? Colleen doubted it. How could he recognize someone he had never noticed before?

And yet he saw her now, staring at her so intently that goose bumps rose on the bare skin of her shoulders and arms. She regretted talking Brenna out of matching wraps--the maid of honor had been right. Colleen should have risked fumbling the flowers or tripping on the shawl for a little more cover-up.

But between her bad luck and her innate clumsiness, she hadn't wanted to risk embarrassing herself or her sister. That was probably why Molly had chosen her longtime friend Brenna Kelly as maid of honor instead of Colleen. She'd worried that her little sister would mess up her important day. Or maybe she'd never considered Colleen at all. Kind of like Dr. Nick Jameson hadn't until today.

Was it the red dress Brenna had chosen? The strapless sheath of satin had somehow produced curves Colleen hadn't been aware she possessed. And the color was so vibrant -- for the first time in a long while, she didn't feel invisible. 

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