This mistaken identity romance may be my favorite read of the new year!
*****
Running Away with the Bride
by Sophia Singh Sasson
Price: $5.25
ON-sale date: 01/01/2021
ISBN: 9781335232670
Blurb:
Stop the wedding! Steal the bride! And fall for a perfect stranger?
Billionaire Ethan Connors vows to stop his exโs wedding so they can be together. But crashing the wrong nuptials and spiriting away the wrong wife-to-be is more than he bargained for! Divya Singh is beautiful, talented, passionateโฆand from a traditional Indian family who wonโt accept him as a match for their daughter. Can Divya and Ethanโs unexpected relationship stay the course or will one of them run again?
Harlequin: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335232670_running-away-with-the-bride.htmlย
Booksamillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781335232670?AID=10747236&PID=7651142&cjevent=7236db11185311eb805f00700a24060bย
Indie bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335232670
*****
Excerpt:
โStop this wedding!โ
Ethan Connors searched the stage on the back lawn of the Mahal Hotel where a mandap had been set up. The couple was seated on floor-level settees under a pergola-like structure in front of a small fire. A priest dressed in loose orange clothing chanted and threw things into the fire, making it crackle and smoke.
Ethan wished heโd paid more attention to the wedding sequence the one time heโd been to an Indian wedding with Pooja. He had no idea if heโd made it in time to stop hers.
At his outcry, the bride, groom and the dozen or so people surrounding them looked at him with surprise. The priest froze and the chatter of the crowd behind Ethan died. He could feel the stares of hundreds of guests on him. He tried to catch Poojaโs eyes but the heavy bridal veil covered her head and fell halfway across her face. The smoke from the fire swirled around her. He looked at the older Indian couple seated next to her. Were they Poojaโs parents? If the glare they were shooting him was any indication, they were.
A knot twisted in his stomach. After six months of dating, including three months of living together, sheโd never introduced him to her parents, and he couldnโt pick them out based on the pictures heโd seen on her bookshelf.
A younger man seated next to the bride stood and made his way to Ethan. โI donโt know who you are but youโre interrupting my sisterโs wedding. You best leave quietly before I call security.โ The manโs voice was low and icy.
But Ethan was determined he wasnโt going to lose her again. He may have come to his senses in the eleventh hour, but he was going to save himself, and Pooja. Sheโd known the guy sitting next to her for three months. How could she marry him? I want to know my husband and be sure that weโre compatible, sheโd said to Ethan. He and Pooja were compatible. Why hadnโt he seen that sooner? When sheโd first brought up marriageโand how her family wouldnโt approve of her relationship with a white Midwesterner unless he put a ring on her fingerโheโd thought he needed more time to figure things out. But what was left to think about? He was pushing forty. His brother was ten years younger and had been married for nine years and had two kids. Pooja was the only woman who had deemed him worthy enough to even discuss marriage. He wasnโt going to let her get away a second time.
Pooja was now standing, but Ethan still couldnโt get a clear line of sight through the crowd that was gathering around him. He hadnโt spoken to her since she walked out three months ago, but sheโd sent him an email telling him she was getting married today. Why would she do that if she didnโt want him to make a grand gesture? It wouldโve been helpful if sheโd sent him some details other than that her groom was planning โa grand baarat down the Vegas strip.โ Heโd spent the entire morning driving up and down the strip, looking for a groom on a horse surrounded by a bunch of people dancing. The traditional Indian baarat, the arrival of the groomโs party, would be hard to miss, or so he thought. Heโd been on the other side of the strip when heโd heard on the radio that traffic was snarled because of an Indian wedding, and heโd driven like a madman to get there.
He had charged in ready to take on the world, or at least a bunch of angry relatives, but now doubt snaked its way through him. Did Pooja really want him to rescue her? And how the hell was he going to get out of the hotel without hundreds of guests and hotel security guards stopping him?
Take off your veil and look at me, Pooja. He wanted to tell her that she didnโt have to succumb to her parentsโ pressure and marry whichever Tom, Dick or Hari they had found for her. He was ready to step up and make a commitment.ย
Another man who bore a family resemblance to the one whoโd identified himself as Poojaโs brother broke through the crowd and strode toward him. Who knew how many family members there were, and Ethan had zero backup. When will you stop being so impulsive? His motherโs familiar recrimination blared in his head.
He focused on Pooja, who was clearly looking in his direction, despite the veil on her face. โIโm sorry I was such an ass and didnโt realize how much you meant to me. I want to marry you. Run away with me.โ Brother One whispered something into a phone, no doubt calling security. โWe must go now!โ
โYo dude, this isnโt some Hollywood film. What do you think youโre doing?โ Brother Number Two was now within punching distance and didnโt seem quite as reserved as Brother One. โMy sister doesnโt know who you are. Get out before Iโฆโ He pulled his arm back, clearly preparing to punch Ethan in the face.
โWait!โ Poojaโs voice sounded strange.
*****
Author Info:
Sophia puts her childhood habit of daydreaming to good use by writing stories that will give you hope, make you laugh, cry and possibly snort tea from your nose. She was born in Mumbai, India, and has lived in the Canary Islands, Spain and Toronto, Canada. Currently she calls the madness of Washington, DC, home. She loves to read, travel to exotic locations, bake, scuba dive and watch Bollywood movies. Contact her through http://SophiaSasson.com.
Website: http://SophiaSasson.comย
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*****
Romantic Reads and Such 