The synopsis: “When seventeen-year-old Olivia Davies receives a phone call from her estranged father in the middle of the night, she’s in for a huge shock. Her father is getting married – again – and he wants her to be at the wedding. So over summer break, Olivia packs her bags and makes the trip back to England to meet her future stepmother. But instead of the middle-aged woman she expected, Olivia finds herself introduced to Emmy Balfour, a stunning blonde young enough to be her sister. And if that wasn’t enough, she also finds herself dealing with the disapproval of Emmy’s older brother, Ian, a man for whom “polite” and “respect” seem to be four-letter words.
With only three weeks until the wedding, Olivia struggles to stay afloat while navigating the treacherous waters of wedding planners, aristocracy, and bridesmaid’s dresses – not to mention the bridesmaids in the dresses. But just when she thinks everything is finally settling down, a few well-timed lies threaten to destroy her father’s chance at happiness. As a last resort, Olivia must work with Ian in an attempt to set things right, a partnership that forces her to decide if keeping him at a distance or disregarding her first impressions of him will cause her to step up and make a few changes in her own life.”
“I shake my head. The anxiety ripples off of him in waves, so much that I almost want to laugh. He’s like a teenager, introducing his new girlfriend to his parents for the first time. I’m about to tell him not to worry, that he can’t have possibly made a bad choice, when a young, blond woman walks up to his side.
My mouth is hanging open. I can feel the slackness in my jaw, and I can’t seem to send the necessary commands from my brain to close it up again. “Uh…”
Who on earth is this?
The woman – Can I even call her a woman? Really, she can’t be more than nineteen – smiles as my dad’s hand snakes around her slim waist.
Oh, no.
Seconds pass, and I realize I’ve stopped breathing.
Please, don’t let this be Emmy.
Please, God. Don’t let this be Emmy.
She’s…
She…
She’s stunning, actually. I look at her shining curtain of pale blond hair, her tanned skin, and her large blue eyes that simply shine out at me from an absolutely flawless face. And her teeth… She smiles as soon as she sees me, glossy lips parting to reveal two rows of teeth so white, I suspect I could read by the light reflected off of them.
My mouth snaps shut. Dad is looking at me, and I know that he’s waiting for me. But I can’t think of anything to say. At least, nothing that I want to say out loud.
“Hi!” Emmy says, and takes a step towards me. “You must be Olivia!”
She announces this in such a way that I’m almost fooled into believing that being Olivia is the greatest achievement known to mankind.
“Uh-h…” If only my mind would stop buzzing, and my ears… Did my ears always ring so loud?
“Bill has told me so much about you. I just… I just couldn’t wait to meet you!”
Bill? Did she just call my dad Bill?
“His name is William,” I want to point out, but I’ve suddenly found myself incapable of making any noise beyond the grinding of my own teeth.
“I couldn’t sleep at all last night, knowing you were on your way, and… Well, just ask your dad. I must have kept him up half the night!”
I close my eyes, squeezing them until I’m almost light-headed.
“Are you alright?”
When I look up again, she’s right in front of me.
“Er… Mmm, yeah. I’m…” My hands are waving about, filling up the gaps in my speech. “The plane… um… tired…”
“Yeah, I know how that can be!” She laughs then, some tinkling giggle that nearly causes me to choke. And now I cannot stop picturing her with pig-tails as she twirls her hair around her finger.
But while my imagination has gone haywire, Emmy decides to take advantage of my weakness. Before I have a chance to protest, she steps up to me, her arms open wide, her intentions clear.
She wants to hug me.
There’s nothing I can do. My brain has turned to slush, and my mouth… my mouth won’t help me. And then arms are wrapping around me, tanned arms that smell like some kind of expensive body cream. I’m not sure what the exact ingredient is that makes something smell expensive, but whatever it is, I’ve never smelled it in anything that I own.
And now what? Should I hug her back? My arms are pinned to my sides, but with a bit of squirming, I manage to work my left hand free so that I can give her a pat on the back.
“This is so weird,” she says quietly, her arms still wringing the life out of me. “I mean, isn’t it? I’m going to be your new stepmum!”
Author Bio: “Quenby Olson lives in Central Pennsylvania where she spends most of her time writing, glaring at baskets of unfolded laundry, and chasing the cat off the kitchen counters. She lives with her husband and two daughters, who do nothing to dampen her love of classical ballet, geeky crochet, and staying up late to watch old episodes of Doctor Who.”
I am a mom to two pretty amazing kids, four pretty cute fluffy children and a wife to one adorable husband. I am a gamer, reader and a graphic designer with 20 years experience. I recently started my own business "Limabean Designs" to help other bloggers, authors and anyone else create amazing things that they would be proud to show off. I have been reading since forever and started blogging because I love sharing all the awesome books this world has to offer. I am also the co-host for the COYER Challenge, Reading Assignment Challenge and the Bookish Resolutions Challenge. I try to create a warm welcoming environment on my blog where authors, readers, and bloggers will have a great time. Let’s chat books, games, blogging, recipes, design, or family over a cup of coffee and a glass of wine!
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