Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in this prequel to USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s The Wedding Belles series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding–but their own. Up-and-coming wedding photographer Leah McHale’s career is on the rise-thanks in no small part to the Wedding Belles, the elite New York wedding planning agency that always throws … planning agency that always throws top-tier business Leah’s way. So when one of the Belles asks Leah to fill in at the former First Daughter’s wedding, Leah is overjoyed to say yes-until she finds out who she’ll be working with.
Jason Rhodes is the one man who was able to capture Leah’s heart and, once he had it, promptly stepped all over it and left her broken. Now he’s working side-by-side with her at the biggest wedding of the season and Leah is determined to give him the cold shoulder. Despite his persistence, she is not going to fall for his charming, impish ways again. Not even if he still has that killer, irresistible smile…more
Favorite Quotes:
These roots aren’t my own, either. Prematurely gray even though I’m thirty-three. Tell anyone, I cut you.
But by the time she’s made it back to her room after drinking her white wine too quickly, suddenly, she was feeling a whole lot less ‘modern career woman’ and a lot more ‘lust-addled moron.’
And then I called and called, needing to hear your voice and explain, but when you didn’t pick up – when you decided I wasn’t worth picking up for – you broke me a little.
Let’s start over. Start fresh, except this time we can cut straight to the good stuff.
My Review:
This broken pair had unresolved issues from their prior short-lived relationship, which stubbornly simmered in their psyches. Despite hard feelings, their mutual attraction remained just far enough under their skins to cause an itch that couldn’t be scratched, relieved, or otherwise treated. Their chemistry was undeniable but their communication skills were greatly lacking. Their sensual sizzle always seems close at hand to lure and tease, yet remains tantalizingly just out of reach while they circle, avoid, and taunt each other. This amusing little novella was a quick and entertaining read with a satisfying conclusion and provided a lovely introduction to the Wedding Belles series, which I am eagerly diving into next.
This short, but oh so sweet, story introduces readers to the Wedding Belles, three high powered women from New York who plan the most exquisite weddings… but they haven’t been fortunate enough to find their own happily ever afters…until now!
Leah McHale’s career is starting to flourish and her status as up-and-coming wedding photographer is steadily growing thanks to the Wedding Belle’s. They have recently hired her to cover one of their most prestigious weddings and she couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity… that is until she learns that her ex-boyfriend will also be there snapping photos of the happy couple on their special day! Seeing him again will be hard on her heart, but passing up the opportunity just isn’t an option for her so she’ll just have to figure out how to make it work… nothing a little cold shoulder can’t fix!!
The moment Jason Rhodes learns that he will be working alongside his ex-girlfriend taking photos at the former First Daughter’s wedding he knows it’s best chance he is going to have to make amends with her, and possibly win her back. Losing her broke his heart and he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about her since she walked out of his life, and he would love nothing more than a second chance at love with her. Now he just has to figure out how to get her to let him in again…
From the moment I started this story I was hooked, Jason and Leah drew me into their world and had me devouring the pages as fast as I could turn them! If ever there were two people who deserved a second chance at love it was these two, their story warmed my heart and steamed up my Kindle screen!! I also enjoyed having the opportunity to get a glimpse at the Wedding Belles’s, I am excited to revisit the series and get a more in-depth look at each one of them!! Well done Ms. Layne!!