The small town of
Hobart in Tasmania has witnessed many beginnings in recent years. At yet one
more beginning, the wedding of a friend, Jared Fraser decides it’s time for
some fresh beginnings to come his way… And he sets out for a holiday to the US
to travel along the Route 66 in a motorhome.
Ivy Bennett thought
leaving her boyfriend would be the hard part. It doesn’t take long to figure
out how wrong she was. As she struggles with making a new start in her life,
the last person she expects to lead her to happiness is a laid-back Australian
on holiday.
Then the arrival of
family friend Mia Levesque and her boyfriend, Josh, turns Jared’s holidays
upside-down when he’s forced to play arbitrator between the two teenagers.
Author:
Iris Blobel was born
and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s.
Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living
in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she actually met her
husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only recently emerged,
but now her laptop is a constant companion. Iris resides west of Melbourne with
her husband and her beautiful two daughters as well as her dog. Next to her job
at a private school she also presents a German Program at the local Community
Radio.
Excerpt:
The location of the
story is based on our holiday in the USA in 2013 and is a thanks to all the
wonderful people we met during our travel.
It wouldn’t have been
as fabulous if it hadn’t been for you.
Chapter One
Jared's gaze wandered
around as he took in the people attending the wedding. The small chapel was
packed to the very last seat. Surprising, he thought, as he'd been told it'd be
a small ceremony, with only close friends attending. More surprising was that
he had received an invite as well.
Zach and Natasha
weren't even on his phone speed dial and there were ten speed dial buttons. Or
even twelve? He wasn't really sure.
Natasha had come to
see him a few months earlier and asked him whether he would be able to help out
with the floral arrangements. He'd told her he was a landscaper and not a
florist, but in the end gave up when she ignored the explanation of the
difference and simply said yes.
Jared stretched his
neck and hooked his finger inside his shirt collar, trying to get more
comfortable. He'd never liked wearing a suit so he'd never owned one. Sophie
had helped him choose a nice outfit for the day from a local shop. He'd laughed
when she said the suit needed to be right. It needed to go along with his brown
eyes and dark blonde hair, but it also needed to emphasise his physique.
Nonsense! When she'd insisted he get a haircut as well, he plain refused. He
couldn't believe the amount of time and effort he had spent on buying a suit
for one day.
Smoothing the lapels
of his jacket, he took in the flowers in the chapel. He felt a touch of pride
at how well it'd come up after all. Natasha had been so determined to use
roses, but the way he'd arranged the November Lilies, including the bouquet, it
looked stunning yet humble. Exactly what she'd wanted.
"You did well
with the flowers," Mia whispered into his ear.
"Thanks. I
thought so, too," he replied. "Had to dig deep to remember how to do
all of it."
"Isn't that your
job?" Josh asked.
Josh was Mia's
boyfriend. They'd been going out for the last three years and were still going
strong, considering their teenage years.
Jared was tempted to
explain the difference between florist and landscaping to Josh as well, but
decided to leave it be.
He didn't have to,
after all.
"He's a
landscaper," Sophie added to the conversation. "There's a big
difference."
Jared cocked an eyebrow
towards Sophie, who was desperately trying to get her three-year-old daughter,
Hope, to drink her milk before her afternoon nap. He knew very well she never
understood the difference either.
Josh chuckled.
"Yeah, mate, but green is green, and plants are plants. Right?"
Mia let out a loud
laugh, which earned her a glare from Mark, who stood at the front next to Zach.
It had surprised everyone that Zach had asked him to be his best man. Although
what could one expect from a family which was pulled together in so many odd
circumstances. Mark O'Connor was Sophie's husband, Mia Levesque's
brother-in-law, and little Hope's dad. Oh yes, and Jared's good buddy.
"For what it's
worth, there's a huge difference," Jared said, but he was instantly
shushed by Mark's parents who sat one row behind them.
He rolled his eyes and
went back to admiring his floral arrangements.
"The bride is
late," he heard someone say behind him. He had a guess it was Olivia,
Mia's best friend. She was always straightforward.
No comments:
Post a Comment