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$20 #Giveaway Bride and Tested Blitz by Brenda St. John Brown @bstjohnbrown Ends 5.5

April 26, 2022 By Mary



Bride and Tested
Brenda St. John Brown
Publication date: April 27th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Exes working together in a wedding business? What could go wrong?

EVIE
Having inappropriate dreams about my ex-husband is problematic. The fact that he’s applied to be the business partner in my wedding business – and is an infuriatingly savvy businessman – is even more so.

Our marriage ended because we were both more married to our jobs than each other, but now I can barely look at Lincoln without imagining him naked. How the hell am I supposed to work with him?

LINCOLN
My ex-wife, Evie – aka Evil (thank you, random autocorrect) – runs the most successful bridal shop in the whole of the Finger Lakes region and she needs a business partner. Happy coincidence because I need a steady income. ASAP.

I also need to stop noticing Evie’s curves. And her smile. And everything about her that makes me want a second chance.

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—

EXCERPT:

“I propose a toast.” Mika raises her lipstick-rimmed glass. “To finding an outstanding partner and crushing this year’s wedding season.”

“I’ll always drink to the success of my business.” I raise my glass too and clink it gently against hers.

“The right person is going to come through. I can tell.”

“Is this like the time you could tell Lincoln was going to propose? Because, although you were right, I’m hoping for a better outcome this time.” Preferably one which doesn’t involve getting my heart broken.

“Hey, Lincoln wasn’t all bad. You ended up in Enita Springs, you met me and you got his last name out of the deal for Bennett’s Bridal. The power of good alliteration cannot be underestimated.”

“True enough.” I laugh.

“Are we talking about him yet?” Mika asks, her voice softening. “Specifically, are we talking about what happened this morning because I think we should.”

I give a sharp shake of my head. “Definitely not.”

Mika studies me for a long minute then nods, too. “Okay. I figured, but you know I’m here when you want to process things.”

“I’m probably never going to want to process this.” I’d rather talk about a silent investor than what happened this morning with Lincoln. My face feels ten degrees hotter just thinking about it.

“Okay, fine.” Mika nods again and then says, “I’m just going to point out you’re bound to run into him again. Enita Springs isn’t big. Do you have a plan for when you do?”

Besides turn and run the other way? No.

To Mika I say, “I don’t need a plan. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Because you’ve dealt with all the feelings seeing him brought up or because you’re still avoiding said feelings?”

“What’s there to deal with? I was embarrassed, which is understandable.” And the time before I was so nervous I thought my chest was going to explode, but being nervous is perfectly normal. “Besides, it’s stupid. We’ve been divorced longer than we were married.”

“Just because time has passed doesn’t mean you’ve dealt with your feelings about the end of your marriage.”

“Feelings, schmeelings. I’m avoiding them, and it’s working for me so far.” I take a sip of my wine. “Just like I plan to avoid Lincoln.”

“You two were the happiest couple I knew,” Mika says softly.

My heart feels like someone’s squeezing it and I’d wonder if I was having a sudden heart attack if I didn’t recognize it for what it is – nostalgia. “We were really happy, as much as it pains me to admit it.”

“Why does it pain you to admit it? Being happy is a good thing.”

“Not when you squander it like we did.” I take a deep breath, hoping it will help my chest expand again.

“You never saw him after you guys filed for divorce. It might be good for you to actually, you know, have a conversation with him about what happened.” Mika raises her glass to her lips and looks at me over the rim. “For closure.”

“I have the signed divorce papers, which is enough closure for me. Besides, I’m avoiding him, remember?”

“Hmmm.” Mika takes a sip of her wine but doesn’t say anything else.

She doesn’t need to. I know what she’s thinking, just like I know she’s wrong. I have zero intention of seeing Lincoln again if I can help it. If I do, I can always go with my unofficial plan to turn and run the other way and pray he doesn’t see me.

Because if he does, it’s not going to take him long to realize I still have feelings for him. Deep and complicated feelings I have no business having. Especially for my ex-husband. Add in the real reason I didn’t fight for us and, well…avoiding him is my only choice.

Author Bio:

Brenda is a USA Today bestselling author living in the English countryside. Originally from New York, she’s lived in the UK long enough to gain dual citizenship, but still doesn’t understand Celsius. However, she has learned the appropriate use of the word “pants”. And how to order a proper bacon bap/barm/buttie. Because, well, bacon.

Brenda writes contemporary romance to make you giggle and swoon. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking, running and reading. In theory, she also enjoys cooking, but it’s more that she enjoys eating and, try as she might, she can’t live on Doritos alone.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

 

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Comments

  1. Bea LaRocca says

    April 26, 2022 at 9:07 pm

    I like the cover, synopsis and excerpt, this sounds like a good read. Thank you for sharing the author’s bio and book details

  2. Thomas Gibson says

    April 27, 2022 at 2:25 am

    Excellent work!

  3. Kim Kern says

    April 27, 2022 at 4:43 am

    Evidently, Evie and Lincoln still have feelings for one another. Sounds like an interesting story.

  4. Marcy Meyer says

    April 27, 2022 at 5:11 am

    This story sounds like a really good second chance romance. I like that the couple is divorced and already has a history established.

  5. Audrey Stewart says

    April 27, 2022 at 5:59 am

    Brenda St. John Brown is fairly new to me as an author. I have read a couple of her books and really enjoyed them. I will certainly read this one.

  6. Barbara Montag says

    April 27, 2022 at 6:13 am

    I so enjoyed reading the excerpt!
    Thank you for sharing this.

  7. Nancy says

    April 27, 2022 at 7:24 am

    Bride and Tested by Brenda St. John Brown sounds like a fun and enjoyable read!

  8. Linda Romer says

    April 27, 2022 at 7:39 am

    Looking forward to reading Bride and Tested. Thank you

  9. Shelly Peterson says

    April 27, 2022 at 8:47 am

    Cute cover. Love the colors.

  10. Antoinette M says

    April 27, 2022 at 9:44 am

    Sounds like a fun read. Love the cover!

  11. Marisela Zuniga says

    April 27, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    The cover looks cute, this sounds great

  12. heather says

    April 27, 2022 at 12:31 pm

    I would love to read this one this summer it sounds like a real page turner and the cover is great.

  13. JoyE I says

    April 27, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    I like the title of this one

  14. Victoria Alexander says

    April 27, 2022 at 3:26 pm

    Sounds like something I’ll enjoy reading, thanks for sharing!

  15. wendy hutton says

    April 27, 2022 at 4:43 pm

    this sounds like a wonderful book, love the cover

  16. Latifa Morrisette says

    April 27, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    Sounds like a good read.

  17. Bonnie says

    April 27, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    What an amusing book! Great excerpt. I’d love to read more.

  18. Deb Pelletier says

    April 27, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    The book sounds interesting, thank you.

  19. Laurie Nykaza says

    April 27, 2022 at 11:29 pm

    Looking forward to reading it sounds like a book I would enjoy.

  20. David Hollingsworth says

    April 27, 2022 at 11:57 pm

    I like the premise of this book

  21. Maria Malaveci says

    April 28, 2022 at 4:44 am

    Sounds like an amazing read!

  22. Margaret Smith says

    April 28, 2022 at 6:59 am

    Congratulations on the book release. Sounds like an enjoyable story.

  23. Julie Bickham says

    April 28, 2022 at 7:31 am

    I’m adding this to my summer reading list.

  24. Cynthia C says

    April 28, 2022 at 10:24 am

    The excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.

  25. Debbi Wellenstein says

    April 28, 2022 at 11:22 am

    I like the excerpt. Thank you for the giveaway!

  26. sherry fundin says

    April 28, 2022 at 11:27 am

    sounds like a fun one
    sherry @ fundinmental

  27. Abigail Gibson says

    April 28, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    Looks like a great book

  28. Ann Fantom says

    April 28, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

  29. Cindy Merrill says

    May 1, 2022 at 7:23 am

    My goodness what a complicated plot. I like the cover very much.

  30. Jen L says

    May 1, 2022 at 11:06 am

    Book sounds fantastic

  31. Maryann says

    May 1, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    Love the excerpt and the cover!

  32. Jolanda says

    May 1, 2022 at 10:07 pm

    Sounds like a great read.

  33. Kathy Persons says

    May 2, 2022 at 3:01 am

    Fun Everyone needs a little laughter~

  34. Judy Gregory says

    May 2, 2022 at 11:48 pm

    Sounds inviting.

  35. Lauren Winston says

    May 3, 2022 at 7:15 pm

    Love the title!💜

  36. Amy Green says

    May 3, 2022 at 7:22 pm

    I loved the frenemies component of the storyline! Building up excitement, leading to a happy ending!

  37. sheila ressel says

    May 4, 2022 at 8:16 am

    Sounds like a great read.

  38. Rajee Pandi says

    May 4, 2022 at 5:58 pm

    Love the interesting book

  39. Dreadrake says

    May 4, 2022 at 6:36 pm

    Love the sound of this & the cover is awesome!

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