What Not to Say at a Wedding by Cindi Madsen

Crazy for the Competition by Cindi Madsen

Crazy for the Competition starts out in a chapel, at a wedding rehearsal. Quinn’s sister is getting married, so of course their ultra-conservative family is there, along with the groom’s side. Quinn’s nervous she’ll say the wrong thing, since she tends to do that a lot—and it doesn’t help that her mom and aunt are looking at her like she’s a ticking time bomb. Sure enough, when she spots the super hot, tattooed Heath Brantley, an appreciative swearword slips out…and echoes across the entire church, the preacher, and both families. Oops!

So I was thinking about things that probably shouldn’t be said at weddings, and it made me think of my own wedding—technically, my wedding reception—when a girl said something to my groom that I don’t think should ever be said at a wedding, especially when the vows have already been exchanged. You’re dying to know what she said now, right? Well, let me set the scene a bit first. I’d been married for all of a few hours, and I was standing in a wedding line with my new groom, my bridesmaids, his family and mine. The stone pathway we stood on led through the beautiful yard of my new in-laws. I’d always wanted an outside reception, and it was beautiful—just how I pictured it. People were coming through the line, offering well wishes and congratulations and such. Then this girl stops in front of my husband, shakes his hand, and while she’s still holding onto his hand, she looks at him, and says, “I always thought I’d be on the other side of this line.”

Yep. That was what she chose to say when I was right by his side, in my wedding dress, holding my bouquet of flowers. My new husband tensed and I stared, basically thinking what the hell? I knew her family had always imagined their daughter would marry him, even though they’d only been on one date, and her mom had even made comments to my now-husband leading up to the wedding about him changing his mind so he could marry her daughter instead.

So she stood there for a beat, and then sort of just moved on, not stopping in front of me—I’m not even sure if she finished going through the line because I was stuck in did-that-just-happen? mode. My bridesmaids and college roommates were incensed on my behalf, ready to go have a talk with the girl, but honestly it’d come out so sad and it’d clearly made my husband so uncomfortable, so I felt it was best to move on as if it hadn’t happened and simply enjoy the rest of the reception. But tip to all the girls lusting after the groom: Skip the wedding line if you don’t think you can keep those inside thoughts inside, or you might make your night even more awkward than it was in the first place, and end up being the OMG story at someone else’s wedding.

About the book:

The road to trouble is paved with sweet temptation…

Always the rebel in her ultra-conservative family, Quinn Sakata dreams of quitting her dad’s real-estate business and restoring the old Mountain Ridge Bed and Breakfast in her hometown of Hope Springs. Except that Quinn’s not the only person bidding on it. Worse still, her competitor is her high school crush, Heath Brantley, who is all kinds of ripped, tattooed hotness…

So much for her “nice, conservative boys” rule.

Heath has his own reasons for bidding on Mountain Ridge, and he won’t give in without a fight—even to the red-lipped hottie with a sailor’s mouth. But when their rivalry shifts into an unexpected zing of chemistry, Heath realizes he’s in deep trouble. Because it’s inevitable that emotions will get involved, and he needs to keep his eyes on the prize before they both get hurt.