Two’s Company and Three’s a Crowd
You’ve heard the old axiom, “Two’s company and three’s a crowd,” haven’t you?
Well, imagine you’ve made a deal with your mother to find a husband—a deal you don’t really want to keep. A deal you hope will keep her going to clinics to find a cure for her cancer. A deal that will force you to have a date for every test she takes. A deal that lands you a bunch of disastrous dates. And here’s the kicker, your ex-boyfriend is arranging and tagging along on those dates, at your request.
Yep. Two’s company and three is definitely a crowd for Allison Walters and her ex beau Jack Somerset as they travel across the county to find a cure and A Groom for Mama.
A Groom for Mama
By Catherine Castle
Beverly Walters is dying, and before she goes she has one wish—to find a groom for her daughter. To get the deed done, Mama enlists the dating service of Jack Somerset, Allison’s former boyfriend.
The last thing corporate-climbing Allison wants is a husband. Furious with Mama’s meddling, and a bit more interested in Jack than she wants to admit, Allison agrees to the scheme as long as Mama promises to search for a cure for her terminal illness.
A cross-country trip from Nevada to Ohio ensues, with a string of disastrous dates along the way, as the trio hunts for treatment and A Groom For Mama.
Excerpt:
Allison snapped her suitcase shut and shoved it under the bed. “I don’t want to talk about the one who got away, or any other man, Mama. They grab your heart and break it—just like Daddy did to you . . . to us.”
“Not all men are like your daddy,” Mama said. “There are good ones out there, too.”
“Not in my experience.” Allison gave her mother a hug. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay?”
Mama’s silence told her she hadn’t heard the last of this subject. Her mother’s stomach growled, easing the way to a subject change.
Laughing, she asked, “Are you hungry, because I’m starving. Come on, I’ll fix you some lunch. How does your favorite—tuna salad—sound?”
“Lunch,” Mama echoed. “Oh, I forgot to tell you—Jack’s bringing something over.” The doorbell rang and Mama smiled sweetly. “You’d better run and answer the door, dear. I’m not taking the stairs too good, what with my arthritis and—”
Allison cut her off. “Please don’t say it, Mama.”
With a nod, Mama said, “Hurry then, before whoever it is thinks we’re not coming.”
“Do you need me to return and help you downstairs?”
“No thank you, dear. I can manage.”
Allison didn’t doubt that for a minute. Her already-stubborn mother grew more stubborn every day, if that was possible.
It’s just the situation. I won’t lose my temper when we’re both so stressed, she promised herself. Time is too precious to waste on arguing.
Bounding down the stairwell as the bell rang, she shouted, “I’m coming! I’m coming. Keep your pants on!” She threw the deadbolt off and jerked open the door.
Jack Somerset stood in front of her, his chin perched on top of a stack of Chinese take-out cartons. Shoving down her tingling gut reaction, she commanded her heart to stop jumping like an overexcited puppy.
Except for a few more laugh wrinkles around his eyes, Jack hadn’t changed a bit since college. His brown hair still dipped over his forehead in a shaggy mane. A lopsided smile spread across his face when he saw her. He winked at her, his green eyes twinkling.
“Well, if it isn’t the bride-to-be. Nice to see you again, Allison.” He jiggled the cartons balanced in his arms. “I brought Chinese. I remember it was your favorite. Moo shu pork, right?” He pushed past her and headed toward the kitchen, apparently as well acquainted with her childhood home as she.
Grabbing her head between her hands, she squeezed her temples.
Chinese. Of all the things he could have brought, he brought Chinese.
She’d broken it off with him in a Chinese restaurant . . . over moo shu pork. Very loudly and very violently. The pork and the pot of hot tea had landed in Jack’s lap when he tried to keep her from leaving the table. Did his choice of entrees mean Jack hadn’t forgotten the incident? She hadn’t, and she’d been unable to eat that particular Chinese dish since.
Trailing behind him into the kitchen, she said, “You can put the boxes on the table.”
He obliged then started taking plates out of the cabinets.
A frisson of annoyance crept up her spine at the familiarity he showed in her mother’s kitchen. “Why don’t you just make yourself at home?”
“I will.” He shot a boyish grin at her. “Been doing it for some time now.” He set three plates on the table then turned and dug into the silverware drawer.
Stunned, she watched as he laid the silverware out on the table just the way Mama liked them—the knife, fork, and spoon lined up on the right-hand side of the plate. He hadn’t been joking when he said he been making himself at home.
What in heaven’s name had her old flame been doing in her absence? Courting Mama?
Buy links for A Groom for Mama
About the Author
Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle has been writing all her life. Before beginning her career as a romance writer she worked part-time as a freelance writer. She has over 600 articles and photographs to her credit, under her real name, in the Christian and secular market. Besides writing, Catherine loves traveling with her husband, singing, and attending theatre. In the winter she loves to quilt and has a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) in her sewing case. In the summer her favorite place to be is in her garden. She’s passionate about gardening and even won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club.
Her debut inspiration romantic suspense, The Nun and the Narc, from Soul Mate Publishing was an ACFW Genesis Finalist, a 2014 EPIC finalist, and the winner of the 2014 Beverly Hills Book Award and the 2014 RONE Award. Her most recent release, A Groom for Mama, is a sweet romantic comedy from Soul Mate Publishing. Both books are available on Amazon.
Links for Catherine
Buy links for A Groom for Mama
Buy links for The Nun and the Narc
Print version:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-nun-and-the-narc-catherine-castle/1116942061?ean=9781619352964
Social Media links:
Catherine’s website: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com
Catherine’s blog: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/
Catherine’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/catherinecastle
Catherine’s Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7085414.Catherine_Castle
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorCCastle @AuthorCCastle
Facebook: http://facebook.com/catherinecastleauthor
Stitches Thru Time: http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/
SMP authors blog site: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/
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Leigh Goff 