Life on the Porcelain Edge by C.E. Hilbert

Author:C.E. Hilbert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: christian Fiction
ISBN: 9781611169379
Publisher: Pelican Book Group
Published: 2017-09-17T04:00:00+00:00

22

New Orleans fed Tessa’s soul.

The city’s sorrowful melody trailed every street; her spicy aroma lingering. Despite the three weeks of anticipation still separating the city from her annual “carnival”, NOLA was alive with preparatory Mardi Gras celebrations floating between cafés, clubs, and corner street bands. The revelry was a mere shadow of Lily Mae’s elaborate wedding event strategically scheduled to overshadow New Orleans’ most famous of parties.

Waiting in the famous French Quarter café for the bride-to-be Thursday morning, she sipped her chicory coffee, well diluted with fresh cream, and contemplated soothing her wounded pride with the warm sugary goodness wrapped in a traditional beignet. Her breakfast meeting with the co-founders of Evanston and Evanston, Jim and Cheryl, yielded disappointing results.

They would be delighted to have her return, provided she could bring one or two “juicy” clients with her. Somehow her gossip-fed former leaders discovered she went to high school with Joe and Ryland. The prospect of signing either a current baseball player with a well-documented party-at-all-costs-lifestyle, or a retired NFL linebacker whose wife’s death was less than straightforward made the two salivate.

When Tessa refused to offer any details around either man, Jim and Cheryl cut the breakfast short. The offer was clear—sign a book deal with either athlete or don’t return to E&E.

She hoped her meeting the next day with John’s friend reaped better results.

Gingerly sipping her coffee, the tension of the last forty-eight hours began to settle. Was it just two days ago she’d asked Joey to attend Lily’s wedding as her guest? Just hours after being plastered against Ryland’s very naked and sweaty chest. What was she doing inviting Joey to the wedding? They’d only been dating for a few weeks. One didn’t invite a newbie to a wedding. Too much pressure. Too many expectations. Too many slow dances. Too many bridal bouquets and garters. She knew why she’d invited him.

Ryland.

If Ryland hadn’t stirred up every female hormone in her body with one shirtless embrace. Or if he hadn’t acted as if she was a pariah for the last three weeks. Or if he hadn’t smelled like fresh wood and clean air every time she’d passed him in the hallway at school. Or if her heart hadn’t cracked a little each time Emma excitedly shared her daddy’s near super powers, ranging from killing a spider to reading the same book five times before locking said book with its strange googly eyes in a drawer for the night. If he wasn’t so…the opposite of everything she thought was Ryland Jessup, she would never have invited Joey to a wedding—let alone a wedding one thousand miles from home where he would be a virtual stranger to everyone in attendance. She lowered her forehead to her arms crossed on the rough-hewn table. She was an idiot.

“Well this is a picture. You’ll never make it through to Sunday brunch if you’re pooped Thursday morning, cher.” Lily Mae chuckled.

Tessa rested her chin on her crossed arms. Her heart warmed at the sight of her two best friends—Lily and Ella, her sisters from other misters.

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