"It's a unique and hotly sexual weekend of exploration for these four couples."
Reviewed by Kay Quintin
Posted May 13, 2010
Romance Series | Romance Contemporary
Linguist Bianca Brighton and her fiancé of 10 years,
software designer Coop Rush, have continually postponed
their wedding day to explore exotic places worldwide. There
just isn't enough time to arrange the type of wedding their
parents have their hearts set on. Soon they will be back in
Florida after a trip to the Costa Rican rain forest and
they are looking forward to being with family and friends. Endeavoring to assist Bianca and Coop to sneak in their
wedding, friends and family are arranging for a "surprise"
wedding upon their return. Three couples consisting of
friends and siblings of the affianced couple are paired
with specific assignments in arranging the surprise.
Assignments consist of traveling to NY to buy the wedding
dress, prepare a home on an island that is dear to their
hearts and convince a hot rock star to perform their
favorite song at the wedding. Succeeding with their
assignments, each couple secretly enters their task with
anticipation and seduction on their minds. A steamy hot
surprise wedding aphrodisiac is a real bonus this weekend
for each couple and changes their lives forever. Be prepared for some really hot, erotic sexuality with each
couple on their weekend of exploration. I found the story
to be unique, as was each individual couple portrayed in
the story. Be amused throughout with the various seduction
schemes. 3 SEDUCTIONS AND A WEDDING is fast-paced, easy
reading and full of very amusing characters and events. I
enjoyed this very cute and funny story.
SUMMARY
Why wait for the wedding
night?
Tying the Knot
Jessie
might not forgive Leo for his long-ago betrayal, but after
one scorching kiss, she can't fight the chemistry anymore.
But a girl can't base her future on great sex. Or can
she?
Take This Man
Can hunky Drew
convince his longtime crush Annie that he's the man for her?
All he has to do is sweep her off her feet…then make her
forget that he's a much younger
man….
Bedded Bliss
When playboy
billionaire Ajay is ready for real commitment, he thinks
sexy, sensible Mallory is his woman. Too bad her only desire
is to experience his reputed prowess in bed!
Excerpt"You've lost your mind."Jessie Martinez set down her fork, a juicy olive speared on
the tines, and glanced at the people around her. Annie had
nearly sputtered out her beer, Drew had choked on a piece of
pepperoni pizza and Ajay, who prided himself on impeccable
manners, was coughing into his red-checkered paper napkin.
Only Mallory continued to calmly chew her food, though when
she swallowed, her gulp was audible in the sudden silence.
Leo Sharpe's ridiculous proposal to throw a lavish surprise
wedding for their mutual best friends in less than a week
had struck all of them dumb. Except her. She'd questioned his sanity out loud. Leo's smile only deepened. Her ex's eyes darkened from
dreamy turquoise to rich royal-blue, and his grin quirked so
that the dimple on his left cheek gave her a rebellious
wink. Suddenly, it was hard to remember that there were four
other people squeezed into a booth in their favorite
pizzeria. Or that less than two minutes ago, she'd scarfed
down enough garlic salad dressing to stop a rampaging vampire. "People have been telling me I was crazy for years,"
he replied, tossing an irreverent glance at Annie, who, as
the potential groom's sister, knew Leo best. Well, except for Jessie. To Coop's sister, who was six years
older than her sibling, Leo was nothing more than a
surrogate little brother. To Jessie, he was the man who'd
broken her heart. "And despite that," Jessie said after taking a sip
of her soda, "you continue to construct harebrained
schemes that accomplish nothing but inconveniencing large
and diverse groups of people." "Can you think of a better way to finally get Bianca and
Coop married?" Leo asked, giving a cursory glance at the
others before focusing on her. "After all these years?" Jessie opened her mouth, but no answer came out. Though both
convoluted and crazy, Leo's plan to construct and execute a
wedding—complete with bridesmaids, groomsmen, clergy,
guests, reception and cake—was their best bet in
ensuring that Bianca and Cooper were good and wed by the
weekend, the last time they'd be in the country for at least
another six months to a year. As Bianca's best friend, Jessie was ashamed that she hadn't
come up with the idea. She'd witnessed the
romance-novel-worthy relationship from the get-go. Bianca
and Coop had somehow turned a one-night stand in college
into a bond that had lasted more than a decade. They wanted to get married. She wore the engagement ring
Coop had bought from a pawn shop on the day they'd graduated
from college and they renewed their application for a
marriage license every time they returned to Florida to
visit family and friends. But they'd never gotten around to
actually walking down the aisle, always preferring to go
spelunking in Turkey or climbing Mount Kilimanjaro instead. "I think your idea is brilliant," said Ajay Singh,
Cooper's boss, whose lilting accent gave Jessie a little
tingle. She'd dated him once—and only once. They'd had
an okay time, but while the Oxford-educated multimillionaire
had treated her like a queen, they hadn't clicked. Shame,
really. With his fat bank account and jade eyes, he was a
hell of a great catch. Unlike the man she had clicked with. Clicked like the
detonator of a bomb. She frowned at Ajay's enthusiasm, but couldn't maintain her
negative outlook when Drew, Bianca's brother, and Annie both
piped in with their support. "A surprise wedding is perfect," Drew said.
"They'll never slow down otherwise." Annie took another long sip of her beer. "So what's
next? And how do we help?" Everyone leaned eagerly toward Leo—everyone except
Jessie and Mallory Tedesco, Bianca's boss, who had never
been loquacious or even social. Jessie was shocked she'd
come out tonight. Leo must have dug deep into his endless
supply of charm to convince her. Poor girl didn't stand a chance. The man was lethal. Leo pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it
and spread it out on the table. "I've got it all worked
out." Jessie couldn't help but glance over at his list, which was
filled not only with his even-spaced, block-style hand
lettering, but lines and shapes that reminded her of how he
used to doodle on everything from paper tablecloths to
cardboard coasters back when they were dating. Always the
same shapes—boats. Masts. Bows and anchors and any
paraphernalia associated with the sailing vessels he now
designed and raced with great success. He'd realized all his
dreams, and here he was trying to make sure his best friend,
Coop, achieved the same. He made it so hard to hate him. Jessie sat back against the red vinyl seat and listened
while her former lover outlined his plan, her gaze focused
on anything and anyone but Leo. It was hard enough to share
breathing space with him on the rare occasions when Bianca
and Coop came to town. To sit so close to him now that she
could sniff out hints of his cologne from the myriad scents
in the restaurant only reminded her that while she'd gotten
over his betrayal a long time ago, she had not quite gotten
over him. "There are three things that make up a successful
wedding," Leo said with such authority, Jessie couldn't
help but wonder when he'd become an expert on the topic.
He'd never been married, that much she knew. In fact, he'd
never seen anyone seriously—not, at least, since her. "We need a quick ceremony, a great reception and a
fabulous honeymoon. Your parents," Leo addressed Drew
and Annie, "have agreed to take care of the ceremony.
They couldn't get a church on short notice, so they opted
for the main ballroom at the Hotel del Mar." "That's a beautiful venue," Annie crooned. "It
overlooks the water. It's perfect!" Clearly, Annie was as much a romantic as Leo. Or she was
just thinking about the pictures, since Annie was a
photographer. "Now, it's just up to us to plan the reception and the
honeymoon." "Won't the hotel take care of the food?" Mallory asked. "Actually, Jessie's mom is a caterer," he said,
sparing her a glance. And only a glance. Why did it suddenly
matter that he'd spoken her name, but hadn't deemed her
significant enough to look at? "She and Mrs. Brighton
are already making arrangements. But the entertainment's not
locked down—and I saw in the paper yesterday that
Brock Arsenal is in town." "The rock star?" Jessie asked. "He's not exactly
a wedding singer." Leo, once again, was not deterred. "But he does sing
their song." His voice dropped low, and unexpectedly he hummed the
strains of that haunting tune in Jessie's ear. Full of
sexual yearning and erotic imagery, Arsenal's signature
ballad teased Jessie's consciousness, taunting her with
memories she should have banished from her mind a very long
time ago. Actually, she'd thought she had. Drew made room on the table for the waitress, who was
delivering a fresh pitcher of beer. "God, Binks played
that song over and over for weeks after she and Coop started
dating. I thought I'd never get it out of my head. Posters
of Arsenal are still up in her old bedroom." "It would be really cool if we could get him to
play," Annie agreed. "Impossible, but really cool." Ajay nodded. "With the right amount of money, nothing is
impossible." "That's what I like to hear," Leo said, clapping
Ajay on the shoulder. "I'll put you in charge of
entertainment, then, okay? You and Mallory." "Me?" the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman said with a
note of protest in her voice. "Bianca told me that you not only book all of her
interpreter work, but you also find people to work with
actors when they need to master an accent or learn another
language in a hurry. You have to have Hollywood contacts." Mallory remained silent, but gave a little nod. "Good," Leo said, and then turned to Annie. "You
and Bi-anca are about the same height and size, aren't you?" Annie's green eyes widened. "Don't tell me you need me
to pick out her wedding dress." Leo pulled another list out of his pocket and handed it to
her. "Unless you want her mother to do it?" Jessie nearly choked, but Drew actually laughed out loud.
Bianca and her mother were polar opposites when it came to
fashion sense. In unison, Annie and Jessie said, "No!" "I should pick out her wedding dress," Jessie said.
"I know her style best." "True," Leo conceded. "But I have something
better planned for you." Before Jessie could read anything into his promise, he
tapped the list he'd handed to Annie. "Think you can get
all this?" "By the weekend?" Annie asked. "No way. The
boutique you want me to go to is in New York City." Drew tilted Annie's hand so he could see the paper. It was
hard to tell in the predominantly red lighting in the
pizzeria, but Jessie could have sworn Annie blushed. "That's the designer Bianca met last summer," he said. Leo grinned. "Exactly. She said she'd totally hook
Bianca up." "I can fly Annie there," Drew offered. "I could
have a plane ready by Thursday morning. We can be back by
Saturday with everything my sister will need. It's about
time she wore something other than faded cutoff jeans and
ratty hoodies." Jessie couldn't disagree, even if Annie did look
uncomfortable with her assignment. Maybe she didn't like the
idea of pick ing out Bianca's clothes—or maybe the
idea of jetting off with Bianca's gorgeous younger brother
had her a little jumpy. Annie had hardly dated since her
divorce, and Drew wasn't doing a very good job hiding his
obvious interest in her. He might be only twenty-six, but he
was a successful businessman and an excellent pilot. Annie
was in good hands. But suddenly, Jessie did the math. If Annie went off with
Drew and Mallory hooked up with Ajay, then that left… "Oh, no," Jessie said, but no one heard her
objection except Leo. He scooted closer, his breath skimming softly against her
ear. "That leaves you and me to plan the honeymoon." She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the way his voice
deepened so that the illicit possibilities in his suggestion
were impossible to push from her mind. Suddenly, she
imagined her body, naked and hot, pinned to the sand by
Leo's muscular form with a sultry summer sun on his back and
in her eyes, while his mouth did deliciously decadent things
to her lips, neck and breasts. "We can't do this," she said. There was too much history. Too much hurt. "It's been ten years, Jessie. Can't we let go of the
past long enough to give our friends the future we could
have had if I hadn't screwed up?" Ajay picked up the bill. Drew was on his cell phone with the
airport while Annie checked in with her young sons, who were
visiting their father's parents. Mallory stood a few feet
away, toying with her iPhone, a tiny grin curving her mouth.
Leo, however, simply stared at Jessie, his pupils wide and
locked on her as if she were a steak and he a starving man. Everyone seemed excited about the prospect of pulling off
the surprise wedding. Everyone except her. "What are you afraid of, Jessie?" Leo taunted. "I'm not afraid of you, if that's what you're
thinking," she snapped. Leo was right. What had happened between them had been a
long time ago. She'd had plenty of relationships since then.
She'd been engaged. Twice, though she'd never actually made
it to the planning stages of either wedding. Over the past decade, she'd endured seeing Leo whenever
Bianca and Coop came back to town. Their breakup had not
affected their individual friendships with the soon-to-be
bride and groom. Why couldn't she endure a weekend of travel
planning with him? It wasn't as if they were jetting off to
some romantic destination to check out the site for themselves. "Then go home and pack. I'll pick you up in an hour." "Pack? For what? If you think I'm staying at your place
while we figure out where to send Bianca and Coop, you have
another think—" "I've already figured out where we're sending them,"
he said, scooting out of the booth, which was now empty. Jessie didn't move. She watched Leo exchange cell phone
numbers with the others as they walked to the door. Only
after everyone had left did he turn around and crook his
finger in beckoning. She looked away, but she couldn't stay there all night. She
was Bianca's best friend. She loved her like a sister. She'd
been praying for Bianca and Coop to settle down for years,
or at least long enough to make their love affair legal. The
least Jessie could do was make sure that Leo didn't totally
mess the long-awaited honeymoon up by sending them to
kite-surf in Bora-Bora or scuba dive on the Great Barrier
Reef—both of which they'd already done. They needed something special. Something romantic. Something that reminded them that their relationship hadn't
always been about foreign travel, adventure and games. She joined Leo at the door. "Okay, Mr. Wedding Planner. Where exactly do you propose
we send the couple who has been everywhere?" Leo's grin was so full of self-satisfaction, she almost
slapped him. Or kissed him. With Leo, the line between the
two was always taut and ready to snap. "We're going back to where it all started," Leo told
her, opening the door so that the humid Florida air clashed
with the air-conditioned interior of the restaurant,
plunging her into just the kind of heat that normally got
her into a ton of trouble. Especially around Leo. After a split second, her brain processed what he'd said and
she stopped dead, her foot stumbling on the sidewalk so that
Leo had to grab her by the elbow to keep her upright. The
minute their skin made contact, Jessie lost her ability to
breathe. His fingers were strong, his palms warm, his
forearms tan and ripped with muscles. She swallowed thickly. "You can't mean Key West." "Oh, yes, I do mean Key West," he promised, pulling
her up so that their noses nearly touched. "In every way
possible." The start flag had raised and the horn had sounded. Leo had
calculated and planned with precision, but the operation to
win Jessie back—and marry off his best friends in the
process—was a risk nonetheless. Luckily for him, Leo's gambles usually paid off. He hadn't
made his way in the highly competitive world of yacht design
and racing by playing things safe. Throwing off the old
designs and traditions had made him a popular guy in a very
elite, exclusive club. He'd even managed to keep his
business afloat during tough economic times by selling his
custom-made wa-tercraft to foreign competitors who hadn't
yet felt the crunch of the tight market. To attain success,
he'd kept his eyes on the prize and thought outside the box. If he wanted Jessie back, he was going to have to pull out
all the stops—including those that were keeping her
from admitting that she still loved him.
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