A sweet charade takes an unexpected turn!
Dearly beloved, we are (not) gathered together...
Maid of honor Zurie Tillbridge has been working secretly
with best man Mace Calderone to plan her cousin Tristan's wedding to a
well-known actress. To keep their wedding plans from leaking to the press,
Zurie and Mace must pretend they are the ones getting married. Cake tasting and
flower arranging seem like harmless fun...until wary workaholic Zurie realizes
she's feeling something real for her fake fiancé...
Good book. Zurie is one of Tillbridge Stables and
Guesthouse's co-owners, along with her sister, Rina, and her cousin, Tristan. For
Zurie, the business is her whole life; she has no hobbies and no social life to
speak of. Honestly, she is something of a control freak. When her health starts
to suffer, her doctor insists that she take some time off, but Zurie is
desperate for something to do within a couple of days.
Her cousin Tristan just got engaged to Chloe an actress
working on a film on the stables property. To avoid unwanted paparazzi
attention, he and Chloe plan to do a quickie wedding, even though it isn't what
they want. Zurie offers to be their wedding planner so that they can marry on
the property. She knows she can keep everything quiet until the big day. On the
way to a meeting with her sister and the bride and groom, Zurie crashes into
Mace. They've known each other since they were kids, but she can't help
noticing that he's grown into a sexy man.
Mace has been interested in Zurie for a long time. He had
a crush on her when she was his math tutor in high school, and it's only gotten
worse since he moved back to town. He works as a deputy and recently finished
law school and is in no hurry to take the bar exam. Mace is Tristan's best
friend and best man, so he offers to help Zurie with the arrangements. When a
local reporter gets too close to the truth, Mace and Zurie pretend that they
are the ones getting married.
I loved Mace. He is an all-around nice guy. Because of
his feelings for Zurie, he is attuned to her emotions and actions. I liked how
he wanted to help her learn to relax and see that there is more to life than
work. His demonstration of relaxation techniques while sitting on a park bench
was sweet.
Zurie was a bit of a tough nut to crack. She focuses on
the business so much that she genuinely believes it is impossible to have a
relationship at the same time. A previous relationship reinforced this belief, leaving
her occasionally feeling very alone.
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Mace and
Zurie develop. When they first acknowledged the attraction between them, both
agreed they weren't looking for a relationship. Mace knows he plans to leave
after he passes the bar exam, and Zurie doesn't do relationships. However, the
more time they spend together, the more real that fake engagement feels. I
ached for them both because each believed the other didn't share their
feelings. It takes a visit with his family and an uncomfortable conversation
with his brother for Mace to face the truth about what he wants. The question
is whether he can convince Zurie that what he wants is her. I loved the ending
and seeing him lay his heart on the line and still give her the space to make
her decision without pressure. I loved her comment about what he forgot and its
importance.
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