Runaway Christmas Bride

by Cindi Madsen

Genres: Holiday books; Small Town & Rural; Clean & Wholesome Romance; Contemporary Romance; Holiday Romance

Synopsis

A feel good festive novella from USA Today bestselling author Cindi Madsen. ' A runaway bride, a grumpy sheriff, lots of witty banter, laughs and chemistry make this a very enjoyable story' ***** Regina never dreamt that when she got to the end of the aisle, her fiancé would say he didn't want to marry her. Heartbroken and embarrassed, and still in her wedding dress, she jumps in her car and just drives. When she ends up in the small town of Friendship, she has no idea what will come next but after a few drinks too many, she is welcomed to town by a grumpy, yet handsome, sheriff. Emmett is used to carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders, but meeting Regina is like a breath of fresh air and soon sparks start to fly. Will these two lonely souls be able to heal each other and find the love they deserve? Take one jilted bride, one serious (-ly handsome) sheriff, add a bunch of matchmaking townsfolk and some laugh out loud banter and you've got the perfect festive read. * Originally published in the Christmas With You anthology Why readers love Runaway Christmas Bride : 'A beautifully written festive read' 'Oh man... this story had a soft smile on my face the whole time and when I finished, I cried happy tears just like you would at any wedding. Super sweet story!' 'A cute read about a grumpy sheriff and the runaway bride who captured his attention' 'Love this. . . I truly enjoyed their story and didn't want it to end'

Release date: November 14, 2019

Publisher: Piatkus

Print pages: 73

Sample

This was the day she’d dreamed about for so long, of having a winter wedding and being a Christmas bride. Then all her plans, her future—everything she’d been so sure about—had been ripped away the instant her groom had looked at her and said, “I’m sorry, Regina. I just can’t. I can’t marry you.”

Naturally he’d chosen to say it while they were standing at the front of the chapel, their family and friends all witnesses as she was dumped at the altar. Her bridesmaids had tried to stop her from fleeing the scene, but she’d needed out of there so she’d hopped in her car—decorated with streamers and cans, and don’t even get her started on the “Just married!!!” written in white shoe polish on the back window. The stupid, overly cheery phrase taunted her every time she glanced in the rearview mirror.

Tears had streamed down her face as she’d driven north. She wasn’t even sure how long she’d been on the road or where she was—she was almost sure there’d been a sign about entering Massachusetts—but the tears had finally mostly dried up. The gas tank was about to go dry too, which meant she needed to stop soon.

I should’ve seen this coming. Steve had always told her she didn’t know how to relax and have fun. They’d had fights about having fun—talk about the opposite of a good time. He thought she was too structured, and she thought he needed more organization and responsibility in his life. Silly her, she’d thought that was why they would make a good pair. Their weaknesses were each other’s strengths, and wasn’t there something poetic in that? She thought love would smooth out the times they grew irritated at their differences.

Perhaps, over the past few crazy months, she’d been a little too fixated on plans and the future instead of the groom. Still, he could’ve pulled her aside a dozen times to tell her he wanted to call off the wedding. It would’ve stung, sure, but there was stinging and then there was feeling naked and exposed in front of your family and friends.

We were supposed to be spending Christmas on the beach, and now I’ll spend it all alone.

A figure on the side of the road caught her eye. She’d never been able to walk by someone in need without handing over any spare change she had, and while her parents had made her promise to stop picking up hitchhikers unless she at least had company, she couldn’t leave the guy standing there with his thumb up. Not with the brewing snowstorm, and not when she’d experienced enough desperation today to have empathy for someone else who might be in a dire situation.

Regina slowed the car and pulled onto the side of the road. An icy gust of air whooshed inside as she unrolled the window, and she shivered, her bare shoulders breaking out in goose bumps. She’d worked so hard to get extra definition in her arms, and while she had a fluffy white wrap to go over her dress, she’d abandoned it like the rest of her wedding.

“Need a ride?” she asked, which she supposed was unnecessary considering most people didn’t hail cars if they didn’t need a ride.

A scruffy guy, wearing a dirty, worn beanie with holes and a coat that had seen better days, stuck his head inside. His bloodshot eyes widened as he took in her wedding dress. She could only imagine how crazy she looked, driving a car in poofy layers of white tulle, her veil batted back over pinned curls she felt coming undone, her professionally applied makeup a smeared mess by now, no doubt. “I’d love a ride,” he said. “Just down the way.”

“Hopefully, not too far down the way. I’m running low on gas.”

“It’s about fifteen miles, give or take. Friendship is a pretty small town, but you can refill your car and stop and have some dinner. Like its name suggests, there are a lot of friendly people there. It’s sort of my makeshift home for now,” he said with a chuckle. “House or not.”

Regina assumed that meant he didn’t have a house, and a pang of sympathy went through her. Here she was feeling sorry for herself because she’d wasted money on an extravagant wedding that had fallen through, and this guy didn’t have a place to live. “I’ll gladly take you there.”

He grabbed a worn bag and eyed the backseat, probably thinking she’d rather have him there. She wasn’t sure what proper etiquette in this situation was, possibly because there wasn’t any.

“Feel free to sit up front,” she said. “I don’t bite. I might cry, though, so I hope that doesn’t scare you.”

“I think I can handle a few tears.” He settled into the passenger seat, and she cranked up the heater as he reached out to warm his hands. He smelled like it’d been a while since his last bath. “Anything I can do to help?”

She shrugged. “I could use a new groom,” she said with a mostly sarcastic laugh. Apparently it wasn’t quite funny yet. “Or maybe what I need is the desire to never have one.” All her life she’d pictured her future self with a loving husband and a couple of children, an idyllic little family who often laughed together.

“You’ll find somebody. Somebody who deserves you and will love you for you.” The confidence in his voice assured her, despite the fact that he had no way of knowing something like that.

“Thank you.” She extended her hand. “I’m Regina, by the way.”

He shook her hand, one firm shake that convinced her he was of good, solid character. Sometimes you could just tell. “Gabe.”

After carefully checking over her shoulder for oncoming traffic, she pulled onto the freeway. Or was it a highway? Come to think of it, there hadn’t been another car in forever, and the road looked too dinky to be an interstate.

Well, that’s mildly disconcerting. Then again, on a scale of one to sucky, it couldn’t compare to the rest of her day. But if she thought about that too much, she’d start crying again, so she made small talk with Gabe.

He wasn’t a man of many words, answering most of her questions with a simple yes or no, but it helped pass the time. Then he pointed out the turnoff into Friendship,. . .