“What an amazing book … I couldn’t put it down. Such a moving story from page to page.” – Bethany from One Book at a Time ★★★★★“I could NOT put it down after reading the first chapter. I’m fair and honest in saying this book is crazy good!” – Charissa from Joy in the Moments ★★★★★Can their friendship endure a marriage of convenience?Jaime Seger has no delusions that her best friend, … convenience?
Jaime Seger has no delusions that her best friend, Christopher McKay, the man who has owned her heart and soul for the past twenty years, will ever see her as anything more than his faithful sidekick. After all, he married another woman. But when his wife dies unexpectedly, Jaime finds herself helping Christopher raise his young daughter, and on the end of an unlikely proposal. A proposal that promises everything she ever thought she wanted. Or does it?
As the best friends navigate married life, they find themselves torn apart by miscommunication and unrealized expectations. Jaime begins to doubt that Christopher will ever love her the way she loves him. Then near tragedy strikes and Jaime is allowed access into his private thoughts through the journal he’s kept since they were in high school together. In its pages she discovers she’s the main character, and it is her that he has always loved best. But after everything they’ve been through, is it too late? Can the best friends remain lovers too?
more
4.5 Stars
Jaime and Chris met for the first time in the 6th grade. Even though they were complete opposites, they instantly became the best of friends. Throughout the years Jaime fell in love with Chris and dreamed of a happily ever after with him.
However, life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to. Chris ends up marrying someone else, they have an adorable little girl named Allie and then, in an instant, Chris becomes a widower. He is desperate and reaches out to Jaime for help.
Being the best friend that she is, Jaime drops everything and is by his side in a heartbeat. Maybe now Chris will finally open his eyes and see what has been right in front of him all along. But Jaime ultimately realizes that she will never get her happily ever after with Chris and makes the hardest decision of her life. She’s moving and taking a job 4 hours away.
Chris is in shock. He can’t believe that Jaime is leaving him and Allie. He needs her and is desperate to keep her. But there is only way he can make this happen. He proposes marriage and makes promises he doesn’t know if he can keep. Jaime says yes and can’t wait to spend her life with her best friend, her soul mate, her other half.
But again, life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to. Fast forward 2 years and Jaime is filing for divorce. She can’t keep living the way she has been. She deserves better, Allie deserves better. But how can she move forward without Chris? He has been a part of her life for so long and moving on without him feels extremely wrong. What happened to her best friend? Their life wasn’t supposed to be filled with broken promises. It was supposed to be filled with love, laughter and happily ever after!
But when tragedy strikes again it will have everyone rethinking their life’s choices and they will have to decide, once and for all, which path to choose. Will they choose the path that will lead them to where they were meant to be all along? Or will pianos and broken promises keep them apart forever?
I really enjoyed Pianos and Promises! It’s a great start to a new, fun series! But I have to say Jennifer has completely spoiled me! I found myself wanting just a little bit more! I know that this is a novella and that we will see more of Chris and Jaime in Beck’s book but I want more right now dang it! Lol. All in all it’s a perfect afternoon read. If you are a Jennifer Peel fan then you will definitely enjoy this one!
I borrowed it, returned it and bought it!!!!!!!
I absolutely love best friend to being in love stories! I love marriage of convenience stories! I got the best of both worlds in this book.
I adored this book so much.
Christopher and Jaime ( sighing with happiness) have been best friends for a long long time and they really can’t live without each other, they dont tell each other that they love one another because they are not willing to risk their friendship for something beyond that. Chris marries someone he shouldn’t and they have a baby, then his wife dies and Jaime helps take care of the baby. She puts her life on hold but thinks Chris is never going to love her so makes plans to move and take a job hours away. Jaime knows is she keeps pining for Chris that she will miss out on her chance of finding someone and having kids of her own. Chris knows he has blown it so he spontaneously asks her to marry him but she turns him down but the next day he shows up to ask again and she accepts!
I can’t tell you the rest but just know this is a wonderful clean story and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Oh one more thing….you’ll love Christopher’s best friend Beck!
Jaime had loved Chris since 6th grade. They became best friends even though they were opposites and, as young girls do, Jaime was sure they would get married. They stayed best friends throughout their lives, staying in touch even when they went away to college.
Jaime was devastated when Chris married someone else. Especially when she didn’t like the woman. When Chris’ wife died suddenly, he needed help caring for his daughter, Allie, so he called Jaime.
She didn’t hesitate to go to him. Jaime still hoped Chris would realize that she was the one he wanted, so this was her chance to make her dreams come true. But she eventually saw that the life she dreamed about was not going to happen so she decided to leave, taking a job 4 hours away.
Chris could not believe she was actually going to leave him and Allie. The only way he could think of getting her to stay was to marry her. Jaime was thrilled and said ‘yes’ but wondered if he could keep his promises.
It doesn’t work out the way Jaime expected. She knew she deserved more than she was getting in the relationship, so 2 years later, Jaime filed for divorce. She wanted a better life for Allie as well as herself and she thought this was the way to get it. But how was she going to live without Chris?
It was nice to read a book that was true to life with relationship problems and not all happy times. There were times that I wanted to shake Jaime and Chris. Jaime spent years in love with a man, who had no idea she loved him and Chris spent years not seeing the good thing he had right in front of him.
I am recommending this bitter-sweet romance and I am looking forward to reading more by Jennifer Peel.