Wedding planner Taylor Vaughn specializes in magical moments. So when her best friend asks her to plan his wedding, the task should have come as simply to her as all the others. There’s only one problem……she is desperately in love with the groom.
Caleb has always been Taylor’s best friend as well as her deepest and most secret desire. Her hopes that he will someday come to love her back are dashed on the day he brings his new fiancé into their lives. While the misery of losing the man she loves to another woman looms over her, she doesn’t expect to find her head turned by the most unlikely of strangers.
Ethan Young, cake decorator, is everything a woman could want in a man: handsome, charismatic, and has a way with icing! When she finds herself feeling more than simple attraction for the sexy baker, her heart is torn in two between the man she’s always loved and the man who’s slowly stealing her heart.
Excerpt
“So, you and Caleb must be really close.”
I instantly felt my defenses coming up at the mention of Caleb’s name. Most of the guys I’d dated knew that Caleb came as part of the package. Some were fine with it, but others not so much. Those guys had been dumped promptly.
“He’s my best friend,” I snapped, turning to watch the night sky as it flew by through the window.
“He’s obviously very protective of you,” he continued. “If I hadn’t seen him with Kimberly tonight, I might have thought you two were a couple.”
I sighed, turning back to face him again. “Look, why don’t you just ask what you want to ask! If you want to know so badly, don’t beat around the bush.”
Ethan’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. Instead of the frown I’d been expecting, a smile spread across his face just before he laughed.
“All right,” he chuckled. “I can see you’re a no-nonsense kind of girl Taylor. I just wanted to make sure you’re really available before I make my next move.”
He steered the truck toward our exit ramp, his eyes now focused on the road as he crossed lanes to turn onto the street where we both lived. I gave him a few directions before sitting back against the leather seat and falling silent.
Before I make my next move.
As he pulled into a parking space in the lot in front of my apartment complex, I unbuckled my seatbelt.
“Caleb and I grew up together,” I said. “He was my foster brother at a group home and he looked out for me. He’s been taking care of me ever since.”
Ethan nodded his understanding and reached across the truck’s front seat to touch my shoulder. “I can’t say I blame him,” he murmured. “If I had a treasure like you in my life I’d want to guard it too.”
My eyes widened and my knees took on a state of weakness that might just become permanent if he continued to say things like that to me. Thankfully I was still sitting. My hand was resting somewhere on the door handle, but I couldn’t make a move beyond that point, not with his melted-chocolate eyes fixed on mine or his arm resting over the back of my seat. I faintly felt his fingers toying with my hair.
“Why…” I swallowed, trying to catch my breath and slow my racing heart. “Why would you say something like that?”
He smiled again and my insides melted as he leaned across the center console toward me. His masculine scent mingled with spicy cologne combined with the smell of leather to create an intoxicating haze of maleness. I leaned toward him as if drawn in by forces beyond my control.
“Because it’s true,” he whispered as those thick fingers came up to my jaw line.
My breath hitched in my throat and lodged itself there, choking me with the anticipation of his lips on mine as he closed the distance between us.
“Ethan,” I whispered just before his lips touched mine, “I think—“
“Don’t,” he murmured, his open mouth caressing mine with aching tenderness. “Don’t think.”
Review
Cake, by Elise Marion, is a novella-style romantic comedy that begins on a somber note. However, it quickly picks up speed in the form of charms and laughs, causing the reader to forget about all that bothersome business in the beginning.
The story centers around Taylor Vaughn, a wedding planner, who has loved her childhood friend since forever. Stop me if you know where this is going. Yes, of course her childhood friend is about to be wed and would like nothing more than for Taylor to arrange the nuptials. However, just when the reader is convinced that Taylor is in for a life of misery, in walks love in the most unlikely of places. And right on time, I might add.
Cake is an excellent read, with enough laughs to satisfy it's promise as a sweetly-styled comedy. In addition, the characters are well developed and nonetheless likeable, even if Taylor's love interest can grow irksome. Marion's polished style of writing is as sophisticated as it is approachable, making Cake a great romantic read.
Elise Marion
...is a lover books and has a special place in her heart for sweet and sensual romance. Writing about love across all walks of life is her passion, as is reaching people through the written word. The Army wife and stay-at-home mother of two spends most of her time taking care of her children. Her second job includes writing stories about characters that people can fall in love with. When the Texas native isn’t caring for her family or writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, singing loudly, or cooking up something new in the kitchen.
Two lucky commenters on the Cake Virtual Book Tour will win a prize package including a paperback copy of Cake, a beaded bookmark w/ cupcake charm, and 1/2 dozen vanilla cake pops courtesy of Austin Avenue Cakes.) The more you comment on the tour, the more you're entered!
Hi Shewanda!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for hosting me today at your blog. I appreciated all the nice things you had to say about my book.
Have a great day!
Thank you for hosting Elise today.
ReplyDeleteGreat book. Glad to do it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice review. Sounds like a fun book.
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