Blog Tour: Broken Wide Open by Susan Griscom
Title: Broken Wide Open
Author: Susan Griscom
Genre: Contemporary Romanic Suspense
Editor: Chelle Olson from Literally Addicted to Detail
Hosted by: Lady Amber's PR
When your heart is broken, sometimes
all you need is a gentle smile.
Grace Davidson didn’t have the
smoothest childhood, but now, years later, she’s ready to start her
new life with her amazing new husband—until she discovers his
infidelity…with her best friend. Hurt and betrayed, Grace takes off
alone for the exotic resort where she should be spending her
honeymoon, only to realize it’s as lonely as it sounds. Until her
hunky next-door neighbor says hello.
Leo was just a man Grace met while
enjoying her un-honeymoon. They became friends, but that’s it. Yet
even after she returns home, she can’t get him out of her head. Too
bad she’ll never see him again.
Starting over in a new town after
finding her dream job, Grace suddenly runs in to Leo in the last
place she expects. But is he the man she believes him to be? Or is
her heart in danger of being broken wide open?
Interesting read! I love Grace and Leo! I so freaking love Leo!!! **sigh**
Both characters are easy to like and love. On the first part of the book, I was pissed...pissed at Craig. I so want to kick his nuts and slap the hell out of her 'best friend'. Grrr... Anyway, as the story goes, I love how things went. The romance and drama..wow! The drama is killing me!!! I want to cry for Leo!!!! My heart breaks for him. T_T
Overall, the story is amazing! I love how I was easily pulled in and the unexpected revelation is a shocker! Loved it!
Susan Griscom writes paranormal and
contemporary romance. She's hooked on sexy romances and is a huge fan
of superheroes and bad boys confronted with extraordinary forces of
nature, powers, and abilities beyond the norm mixed with steamy
romance, of course.
She loves those days when she gets to
sit around in her sweat pants, doing nothing but writing emotionally
charged stories about love and violence.
She lives in Northern California in
wine country and one of her favorite weekend excursions is wine
tasting with the love of her life. Together, she and her romantic
husband have five great superhero kids and eight mini-superhero grand
kids, so far.
Website: http://susangriscom.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusanGriscom
Facebook Author
Page: http://www.facebook.com/SMGriscom
Amazon Author
Page: http://amzn.to/2efYV8l
Facebook
personal: https://www.facebook.com/SMGriscom
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/SusanGriscom
How many times can a heart be broken?
I wasn’t sure, but my mother, Sofie
Davidson—formally Sofie Santini—always said that the death of a
spouse was easier than going through a divorce. She ought to know,
she’d been through both. Her divorce from my stepfather two years
ago had been devastating for my mother. But their divorce didn’t
break my heart. Oliver Davidson had raised me as if I were his own
daughter from the time I was six, and to my mother’s dismay, Oliver
was still in my life, still playing the role of doting father. He’d
even walked me down the aisle today when I got married, with my
mother flanking my other side.
My biological father, Patrick Santini,
died when I was four. Some freak accident that my mother never wanted
to talk about. That had been a dark day. My mother had stood at the
front door, crying while two policemen politely tipped their hats,
saying how sorry they were for her loss. The rest of the conversation
remained jumbled in my head. All I remembered understanding at the
time was that my daddy wasn’t coming home. My heart broke wide open
that day—like a seed. There was no telling what would take root or
what would whither after that devastating moment. Something I didn’t
fully understand until much later in life.
I squeezed my eyes shut as I thought
back to that day, wishing my dad could be here with me now. But in
truth, I couldn’t have asked for a better father than Oliver.
Everything with my dad was in the past. Today was my future. I took a
deep, cleansing breath to embrace the new life I was about to embark
on. The ceremony had turned out perfectly. Sprinkles of red rose
petals had flanked each side of the white-papered aisle as we
approached the archway where Craig had stood with his entourage of
best friends. Along with his best man, Joel, there were five
groomsmen standing by, which meant I’d had to come up with five
bridesmaids in addition to my maid of honor, Lissa. I didn’t really
have that many friends. Two would have been my choice: Kristen and
Lissa. But Craig had insisted that we have his six good buddies in
the wedding. I’d asked a couple of the girls from the restaurant I
managed along with Craig’s two younger sisters. It had turned out
to be just right. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect
ceremony. Craig had looked gorgeous in his dark tux with the white
rose on his lapel; his light brown hair combed back away from his
face instead of hanging down over his forehead like it normally did,
partially shielding his beautiful blue eyes. Earlier, those eyes had
sparkled with love. Or maybe it was lust. I had to admit, I’d felt
a little lusty myself when I saw him standing there as I walked down
the aisle. Then, the way he’d grinned during the ceremony…I had
to hope he was thinking of what we’d be doing later.
Now, the reception hall exploded with
joy: music, food, and laughter. Twenty round tables, each with ten
chairs and graced with a white rose bouquet centerpiece, circled the
dance floor where Craig and I had just finished all the customary
dances. I’d danced with Oliver, while Craig had danced with his
mother. Shortly after that, Craig had excused himself, kissed me on
the cheek, and took off toward a group of his college buddies. I’d
watched him walk away, his cool swagger igniting a heat within my
core. He was gorgeous. He was mine. All six feet two inches of taut
muscle and smooth flesh. All mine. Lust stirred as I thought about
what the evening had in store for us. When he’d reached the guys,
he took the shot glass one of them held out for him—something
golden in color that I assumed was Jack Daniels.
A fast tune blared from the speakers as
the DJ stood behind a large, black console pushing buttons on his
equipment. Couples danced, mostly women bopping to the beat with each
other as their husbands, boyfriends, or dates stood around drinking
beer or cocktails, solving all the problems of the world.
“Grace! Come on. You can’t miss
this. It’s your wedding.” Kristen grabbed my arm and tugged me
into the line dance that had quickly formed in the middle of the
room. Her soft green gown flowed across the floor along with her, and
I giggled, trying my best to step to the left then to the right
without looking like a dork. Line dancing wasn’t exactly my strong
suit. I managed a restaurant and bar. Or I had until last week.
I’d always been the one standing
back, watching all the fun from the other side of the bar. Until the
night Craig had walked across the room. His eyes had caught mine.
He’d smirked then proceeded to ignore me for an hour. I only knew
he was ignoring me because I couldn’t stop glancing over at the
table where he sat with his back to me while he laughed and joked
with his friends. It was almost an hour to the minute before he came
up to the bar and asked what time I got off work. I’d been
completely taken by surprise. Here was this gorgeous man who could
probably have any woman in the place—of which there were at least
half a dozen beautiful ladies milling about—and he was asking me
what time I finished my shift. At first, I’d taken a step back,
unsure he was even speaking to me. To this day, I still wondered what
it was about me that had appealed to him that night. I hadn’t
exactly dressed with the intention of attracting a man, especially
someone like Craig. I’d had very little makeup on, and my hair
hadn’t been washed for three days. In fact, I’d had to pull it
back into a ponytail just to make it through another day before
shampooing again. My hair was waist-long and took forever to dry and
style, so I only washed it every third day, sometimes I could let it
go for four if it wasn’t sticking to my head yet.
When I didn’t answer Craig right
away, he’d asked again. I’d stammered a bit, but then found my
voice and told him seven thirty. He then informed me that he’d be
waiting for me at the front door because he was taking me to dinner.
I’d thought for sure he was kidding, but right at seven thirty, he
stood waiting at the door as I approached. I wasn’t in the habit of
dating customers, but there was something about Craig that I couldn’t
resist.
Kristen grabbed my hand, pulling me out
of my reverie. She gave me a, what’s-wrong-with-you look, and I
realized I’d been so engrossed in my thoughts of Craig that I’d
been standing beside her still as a statue.
“Sorry.” I smiled and began to copy
what the other dancers were doing, but as hard as I tried to follow
the gal’s steps in front of me, I still messed up. Just as I was
beginning to get the turns down, the confusing and exhausting line
dance ended. I wrapped my arms around Kristen as we laughed and
hugged each other.
“That was nuts,” I proclaimed,
holding my hand over my chest, trying desperately to catch my breath.
“It would have been easier if you’d
moved your feet more in the beginning, you would have caught on
faster.” She laughed. “You must have been daydreaming about
Craig. I know I would have been. Grace, you just married the most
eligible and richest bachelor in this county. You must be ecstatic!”
Not to mention maybe a little
overwhelmed, I thought to myself as I smiled at her. Then I ran my
fingertips down the delicate white lace and pearl gown I wore. I’d
found it online. At first, my mother had squawked at the idea of
purchasing a wedding dress off the internet. She couldn’t imagine
not being able to try it on first, and she was a little disappointed
that she couldn’t go out shopping for it with me. She’d always
told me that was something she’d been looking forward to since the
day I was born. And as for not being able to try it on first, I had
assured her that no matter what, it could always be altered. When it
had arrived, all her doubts fled as soon as I lifted it out of the
package. It was the most gorgeous gown we’d ever set eyes on. It
was sleeveless with a scalloped bodice that dipped low in the back
followed by a line of tiny pearl buttons. The delicate material
hugged my rear end, then draped to the floor, fanning out behind me.
“The wedding was beautiful. And you
make the most gorgeous bride, Grace. It was obvious Craig was utterly
enamored with you today,” Kristen said. “He couldn’t keep his
eyes off you during the ceremony.”
I hadn’t been able to tear mine away
from him either. This had been a fairy tale wedding day to be sure.
Kristen embraced me then bounced her way back onto the dance floor to
join a small group of ladies bopping to the tune of AC/DC’s, You
Shook Me All Night Long. The giddiness building up inside made me
want to shout with glee, and I couldn’t contain the smile on my
face as I went in search of my new husband. New as of about three
hours ago. I believed it was time to cut the cake.
Glancing around the large ballroom of
the Terra d’Oro Winery, elated about referring to Craig as my
husband, I didn’t spot him anywhere. I strolled across the wooden
dance floor and headed for the door to the outside patio, passing
decorated tables cluttered with empty and half-full glasses of
champagne, sidestepping guests with a polite, apologetic,
I’ll-be-right-back gesture with my finger, in search of the man I’d
be sleeping with every night for the rest of my life. The patio was
set up much like the inside and was strewn with partially filled
glasses of champagne and other mixed cocktails. Oliver hadn’t
skimped on the amenities, that was for certain. He hadn’t even made
a remark when my mother had announced that there had to be an open
bar at her only daughter’s wedding. I never had any doubts about
Oliver’s love for me. He’d adopted me as his own shortly after he
married my mom. When they’d divorced two years ago, he made it
quite clear that he would always be a part of my life. That I was,
for all intents and purposes, still his daughter and always would be.
So, of course, when it came to funding the wedding, he was all in. It
wasn’t necessary since Craig’s family was wealthy and had offered
to fund the event, but Oliver wouldn’t hear of it.
At least Craig’s parents were pleased
with the way the wedding had turned out. His parents lived on the
Tiburon Peninsula, a ritzy neighborhood in the hills across the bay
from San Francisco where the average-priced home ranged from
one-point-five million to fifteen million dollars—their home being
somewhere toward the upper tier of that range.
I searched around the small gatherings
of various guests for Craig but didn’t see him anywhere. Where was
he?
“Gracie,” Joel, Craig’s best man
singsonged my name as he sidled up close to me and draped his arm
around my shoulders.
I laughed. “Joel, are you drunk?”
“Nope. But I’m on my way. It’s
not every day one of the seven kemosabes gets hitched.” The
endearing term used by the seven grown men since the tenth grade—or
so I was told—came out a bit slurred but was most definitely
understood. “You’ve stolen him away with your beauty and charm.
Our little private club will never be the same.”
I laughed again. Joel was a charmer,
but I liked him. He always made me feel special and pretty, even
during those times when I wore raggedy old jeans and a T-shirt and my
hair was dirty. He always complimented me in some way or another.
“Trust me, I’ll do my best to make sure Craig always stays close
friends with all of you.”
“You’d better, or I’ll just have
to steal you away from him. You’re too good for him anyway.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, but…have
you seen Craig? I haven’t been able to find him.”
He pursed his lips, making tiny
wrinkles appear above his mouth as he peered over me, his eyes
narrowing as he searched the area. “He’s not out here. Last time
I saw him, he was at the bar with Clancy.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said and slipped
away before he had a chance to stop me. I went in search of Clancy,
aka Les Clancy, another member of said kemosabes. Clancy was right
where I thought he’d be: still standing at the bar where I’d seen
him last. But Craig was nowhere in sight. I sighed. I didn’t want
to talk to Les, I just wanted my husband.
“Grace!” Kristen caught my arm
again. “Come dance.”
“Later. I need to find Craig. Have
you seen him?”
She shook her head. “I’m sure he’s
around here somewhere. It’s his wedding.” She gave me that silly
grin she got whenever she’d been drinking and twirled back onto the
dance floor, ignoring me. God, was everyone drunk at this shindig
except me? I just hoped Oliver was still okay with having to pay for
all the booze that seemed to be slipping way too easily down
everyone’s throats. I walked out into the hallway. I might as well
take advantage of the time and visit the ladies’ room, which was
all the way down at the other end of the corridor. I passed a couple
of closed doors on my way and strolled by one left slightly ajar. I
stopped as I heard someone moaning. I took a small step back and
heard it again. Thinking someone was ill, I pushed the door all the
way open and stared at the two bodies entangled in a frenzied heat.
Comments
Post a Comment