Rayanna Jamison is sharing a fun excerpt from her book The Bishop’s First Bride. It is the third in her polygamy series, and was my first polygamy story.
I really enjoyed it. It was fresh and sweet, and romantic. And it really opened my eyes to the polygamy community. (But if I were Rosa, I would have done the same thing. You’ll see. 🙂 Read the excerpt!)
*****
Carolyn stopped short in front of them, and immediately began to fawn over Luke, and ignore
the fact that Rosa was even there.
“Lucas Miller! Is that you? Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! It’s been what, two years?”
Carolyn drawled, grabbing Luke to her chest in a forced hug. Luke sent Rosa a deer caught in
headlights look, and carefully disentangled himself from the force that was Carolyn.
Rosa breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, Luke had it under control. He had always known just
how to handle Carolyn.
“Carolyn.” Luke’s greeting was short but kind. He was never unkind-he would make a wonderful
bishop, Rosa knew.
“Luke” Carolyn drawled, running a finger across his chest suggestively. “Is that any way to greet
an old friend?” Carolyn puffed out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout and Rosa couldn’t stop
herself from rolling her eyes.
Luke was too nice. He actually fell for Carolyn’s pouting, and apologized for his short greeting.
Rosa couldn’t believe it. She had always thought Luke too smart for Carolyn’s wiles, and now
with a pout and an eyelash flutter he was eating out of her hand?
“I’m sorry Carolyn- that was rude of me. It’s nice to see you. You look well. Surely, you
remember Rosa Collins?”
Carolyn smiled at Rosa for a half of a second before turning her attention back to Luke. “Are you
just in town for the day Lucas? I’ve just finished my last class of the day, and I was heading over
to this little café over yonder to get a snack. Why don’t you say goodbye to your friend and meet
me over there in a few minutes?”
Rosa saw red. She didn’t even wait to see how Lucas would respond as all rational thought had
left her brain at that point.
She sidestepped in front of Lucas, so that she was effectively wedged between Lucas and
Carolyn, and putting both hands in front of her gave Carolyn a mighty shove- causing her to fall
backwards into the street, right in a mud puddle. “I’m not his friend- I’m his fiancée!”
Carolyn just sat sputtering in the middle of the mud puddle- big crocodile tears forming in her
eyes. “Well- I never!”
“Yeah? Well maybe you should never just a little more often! Why don’t you learn to act like a
lady, and keep your hands off of my man! That’s right Carolyn- he’s mine, and we’re getting
married in three weeks. Forgive me if your invitation gets lost in the mail!” Rosa was screaming
and beginning to create quite a scene, before Luke jumped into action.
Rosa was still screaming choice words at Carolyn, when Luke stepped forward and graciously
helped her out of the puddle- which only served to make Rosa angrier.
Her brain completely left her then, and when Luke reached down and offered Carolyn his hand,
Rosa pushed him over too! Carolyn saw it coming, and scooted out of the way, and Luke fell in
the puddle beside her with a splash, spraying more mud to cover her face and the front of her
dress.
That’s when Rosa finally realized she had gone too far. She watched horrified, as a scowling,
unamused Lucas rose from the puddle. His eyes were dark as he sent her a warning glance
before turning and helping Carolyn out of the puddle.
Walking up to her, he leaned in close. “Do.not.move” he told her, his voice hard between gritted teeth.
*****
Blurb:
Rosa Collins was only sixteen when she received a vision telling her of her future husband.
Knowing that her husband would be Lucas, the Bishop’s son, and future Bishop of Green
Valley, both thrilled and terrified her. They were a match made in heaven, she knew, perfect for
each other.
But becoming the Bishop’s Wife is harder than Rosa anticipated. She struggles to transform
herself into the perfect Bishop’s Wife that her husband needs.
Lucas misses the real Rosa. Somewhere between getting married, and becoming the future
Bishop’s wife, his beloved wife has lost part of herself. Lucas knows that a good, old fashioned
spanking is exactly what Rosa needs to help her find balance in her unrealistic expectations of
what the perfect wife should be. But, try as he might, that balance doesn’t come easily for Rosa,
and it certainly didn’t help that her high school nemesis kept popping up and making trouble.
Will Lucas help her realize that all he wants is for his wife to be happy? Can Rosa pull herself
together enough to become the Bishop’s First Wife?
Rayanna’s Blog:
Thank you Katherine!