Book 7: Every Little Kiss
The Summer Kisses Series
Not any fake date will do…
Maggie Summer needs a date to her sister’s wedding, preferably someone who’ll pretend to be madly in love with her, ideally a prince. Why royalty? Because her sister is marrying Maggie’s former fiance. And wonder of wonders…Maggie manages to land a blind date with a prince. If they hit it off, maybe he’ll be her Plus One for Kitty’s wedding this Christmas.
But true royalty is hard to find…
Fitzhugh Wittelsbach is the royal secretary to Prince Abernathy of Naarsland. When the prince decides to stand Maggie up on a blind date, Fitz shows up in his place. Before he realizes what’s happening, Maggie has him charmed and her grandmother Dotty has him on the invite list for an exclusive Christmas wedding. Too bad they think he’s a prince.
If you enjoy romcom movies like The Prince and Me, you’ll enjoy this full-length, sweet romantic comedy with an HEA and no cliffhangers.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
Dr. Maggie Summer stood in a dark corner of a Boston pub on a Friday night before Christmas. She clung to a wilting red rose as tightly as she’d held onto hope for the past hour.
And for that, she deserved some kind of reward.
The pub was typical for watering holes near Harvard—dim lighting, tacky beer branded décor, bad music (Elvis was currently singing about his Blue Christmas). Maggie had been standing because she’d read somewhere that one did not receive royalty sitting down.
She stomped her black, lug-soled boot on the floor.
How long does one wait for a royal blind date to show?
In Maggie’s case, it was approaching an hour. Her sister Violet’s engagement party was going to start in fifteen minutes. Most other women would have bailed by now. But that was the thing about Maggie, as the youngest of five sisters, she was used to waiting her turn and being last.
Last one to get braces, a bra, and a boyfriend. Last one to earn a driver’s license and complete college. Last one to don a tiara as a New York debutante. Although, unlike her four older sisters, she’d worn lug-soled army boots beneath her Cinderella gown. Very un-debutante-like.
And that was the crux of Maggie’s life. She was a New York debutante and heiress but she didn’t fit the mold. She was a large animal vet, comfortable treating her patients in less than pristine circumstances. She wasn’t delicate or dainty. She wasn’t elegant or hoity-toity. In fact, when she attended social events, which was rarely, Maggie was the Summer sister who received a slight frown, a disapproving head shake, and the words, “Are you still in that phase?” from society mavens.
That phase? It wasn’t a phase. It was Maggie, all day, every day, month after month, year after year.
Her hair was black and frizzed at a hint of humidity. Hello, Boston. Her wardrobe consisted of mostly black items, like the plain cocktail dress she’d chosen tonight. She hated heels and currently wore a black pair of lug-soled ankle boots. It didn’t take Maggie’s father or New York society to point out what Maggie knew. She stood out. And in their eyes, she stood out for all the wrong reasons.
And yet…a part of her longed to blend in, to be part of the crowd, to be the least talked about Summer sister on the planet. Overlooked. Also attending. A footnote, not a headline.
And the easiest way to be invisible at the string of upcoming family events— sister Violet’s engagement party to Coop tonight, sister Kitty’s dress rehearsal tomorrow, Kitty’s wedding to Beck on Sunday, and the family Christmas on Monday—was to have a Plus One, especially when each of her four sisters had a significant other.
For months, Maggie had clung to the notion that it would be easier to hold her head high during this long weekend if she had someone fabulous by her side. A prince among men. Preferably an actual prince because Maggie was a realist. She’d never blend in completely. And if she couldn’t, it was better to stand out in a good way. A regal way. A royal way.
Yeah, it was a teenage girl type of dream.
But it was a dream Maggie had clung to.
And just when Maggie was ready to admit defeat, sister Violet had taken pity on Maggie and enlisted the help of a colleague at Harvard to fix Maggie up with a special graduate student—a prince from a foreign land!
But the prince was late, Violet’s engagement party was about to begin, and tomorrow launched Kitty’s wedding weekend. Maggie was out of miracles.
A prince? What prince went on blind dates?
Admitting defeat, Maggie tossed the red rose on the nearby corner table just as a man entered the pub.
His gaze swept the room, stopped on the rose, and then lifted to Maggie’s face.
She caught her breath.
He was gorgeous. Clean cut, blond hair. Intense green eyes. Chiseled cheekbones and regal bearing. He wore a dark suit and tie, a thick black wool jacket, and had an air of detachment that indicated he remained calm among commoners, no matter their reaction to him.
My prince!
He was everything a girl in need of a fake, royal boyfriend was looking for to get through a week of wedding events and family gatherings. Even if Vi had only arranged a date for just one night, there was a slight possibility that he was going to be alone over the Christmas weekend and might want to spend more time together.
The Story Behind the Story
Maggie’s story really began in Book 1 in this series. Hers was the wedding that Kitty stopped. And since then, Maggie has been struggling with the label of a bride jilted at the altar. I’m so fond of Maggie and how far she’s come.
But also, Grandma Dotty has a royal fascination. And if Maggie finds a royal to bring to Kitty’s wedding to Maggie’s former fiance… Well, Grandma Dotty is going to have the time of her life!
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