Then Lu’s younger sister, Claire, goes off and gets engaged to a prince from Malquar, bringing the dreaded spotlight back to shine on their family once again. Lu wants to go to the engagement party about as much as she wants to yodel the Star Spangled Banner at the Grand Ole Opry with her crazy relatives. Alas, not going, doesn’t appear to be an option.
Alistair George Henry Bere Hale is not the heir, but the spare. Without the weight of the Crown in his future, he’s managed to live the carefree life of a man about town. That is until his younger brother gets engaged before him and their mother starts pressuring him to settle down.
Alistair represents everything that Lutéce has come to despise–he’s a rich, playboy, partier, who’s always in the spotlight… But Alistair doesn’t feel the same about Lu. In fact, he’s quite drawn to his brother’s future sister-in-law, prickles and all.
When Lu and Alistair’s mothers witness the sparks between their children, they start to make plans of their own. Will Lu relax her prejudices long enough to get to know Alistair?
Find out in the fabulously funny fourth book in the Seven Bride’s for Seven Mothers Series.
After the pilot comes over the
intercom to welcome us to Malquar, we all stand to deplane. Mixed emotions
flood my thoughts as the strains of music from a live band start to fill the
atmosphere around us.
“They’re playing the Malquarian
anthem,” Geoffrey explains. “I didn’t come home for my thirtieth birthday, as
per my parents’ plan, so I can only assume there might be a bit of a circus out
there.”
Stepping back into the cabin, I bend
down to look out the window. Yup, there it is, the circus. There must be a
fifty-piece band playing on one side of a red carpet. The other side is full of
reporters and photographers.
The image of an old ringmaster,
full-on with a red coat, tails, and black top hat, pops into my head. He’s
holding a bullhorn to his mouth, and I can practically hear him shout, “Will
everyone please turn their attention to the center ring. Our prince has
returned home with his bride and her illustrious family of yodelers!”
Tooty and Mom love to yodel as a means of decompressing. It’s enough to make
your ears bleed if you’re not a fan of the genre.
And sometimes, even if you are a
fan.
I return to our little exit line and
watch while Geoffrey and Claire disembark. They stop and wave as the crowd
cheers wildly. Crap, I should have brought some better clothes to change into.
The jogging suit I’m currently wearing was chosen for comfort, not to meet the
press.
As if reading my mind, my mom turns
around and looks me up and down before saying, “Oh dear, maybe you should stay
on the plane until the crowd disbands.” Ouch.
Ignoring her, I run my fingers
through my auburn hair and pinch my cheeks to bring some color to them. By the
time it’s my turn to get off, most of the press is on the tarmac, crowding
around my sister and her intended. The rest seem to be vying for Tooty’s
attention.
I scan the masses, feeling oddly
separated from my body. It’s like I’m watching a scene in a movie. I’m about to
step down onto the stairs when my gaze locks with a pair of dark chocolate
brown eyes, penetrating eyes that cause me to stop dead in my tracks and gasp
audibly.
“Settle down, Lu,” I chastise myself
silently for such an absurd reaction to Geoffrey’s brother. Alistair was
nothing but a flirtatious annoyance at his sister’s wedding, and I’m not
looking forward to more of the same. Yet, even as I try to convince myself of
this, my heart beats in double time and perspiration starts to form on my
palms.
Great. Not only am I dressed like a
college kid returning home for break, but I’m nervously sweating. Which is
super fun, as what I’m guessing is the entire national press corps is out there
ready to film the scene for posterity.
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