By Nora Roberts
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 27, 2010
I have finally—finally—read my first Nora Roberts books. I know, I know . . . I consider myself an avid romance reader and never read La Nora. Well, I have remedied that and I’m so glad I did. I was a bit hesitant because Savor the Moment is the third book in a series, but thank goodness for friends! A friend (and die hard Nora and J.D. Robb fan) loaned me the first two books in the Bride Quartet series to read before this one. Suffice it to say, I adore this series!Laurel McBane and her three best friends own and run one of the premier wedding planning companies in Connecticut called Vows. The girls have been friends since childhood and played “Wedding Day” every chance they got while growing up. They turned their passions of weddings into a very successful business with Mackensie as the photographer, Emma as the florist, Parker as the coordinator, and Laurel as the baker/pastry chef. In the first two books, Mac and Emma found “the one” (in Vision in White and Bed of Roses, respectively) and became engaged, though Laurel holds no such expectations for herself. After all, she been in love with Parker’s older brother Delaney, an Ivy League lawyer, for as long as she can remember and he considers his sister’s friends as his sisters, too. Plus, she believes that Del is too far out of her league.
Del asks Laurel if she can make a cake to welcome back one of his paralegals from maternity leave and of course, she says yes. But Del makes the mistake of trying to pay for the cake when he picks it up, which insults Laurel. For her, it’s the last straw and in the heat of the moment, she kisses Del.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you can either tell me or take it out on somebody else.”
“You want to know what’s gotten into me?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I’ll show you.”
Maybe it was the champagne. Maybe it was just the mad. Or maybe it was the look of baffled annoyance on his face. But she went with the impulse that had been bubbling inside her for years.
She grabbed him by the perfect knot of his elegant tie, jerked him down even as she gripped a handful of his hair, and yanked him forward. And she fixed her mouth to his in a hot, sizzling, frustrated kiss, one that gave her heart a jolt even as her mind purred: I knew it!
She threw him off balance—she meant to—so his hands came to her hips, and his fingers dug in for one gloriously heady moment.
She threw herself into that moment, to exploit, to savor, to absorb. Tastes and textures, heat and hunger, all there for the taking. She took exactly what she wanted, then shoved him away.
“There.” She tossed her hair back while he stared at her. “The sky did not fall, the world did not end, neither of us was struck by lightning or beamed straight to hell. I’m not your damn sister, Delaney. That ought to make it clear.”
She strode out of the kitchen without a backward glance.
Aroused, astonished, and still considerably annoyed, he stood exactly where he was. “What was that? What the hell was that?”
Since they’ve known each other since they were kids, Del and Laurel agree to date (sans sex—at first) to see where that kiss might lead. Naturally, it eventually leads to sex (including a sexy, hot workout scene!) and they soon discover that even though they know a lot about each other, there’s always more to learn.
And there’d been something about the way she’d touched his face—just that simple, understanding gesture, that had something inside him shifting. He wasn’t sure what it was, what it meant, or what it meant that every time he looked at her now he saw something new, something else.
How could you know someone all your life, and still discover something new?
As much as Laurel wants to be with Del, she still has her doubts that she’s good enough for him. Can Del prove to her that she is everything he wants and needs?
Savor the Moment is a great addition to the Bride Quartet series. Of course, it stands completely on its own, but I relished the little things that you pick up from having read the other books in the series first. I will say this about Nora Roberts—she writes the relationship between friends, whether it’s guys or gals, extremely well. She doesn’t just tell you that they’re friends, she shows you through the characters’ interactions, dialogue, and gestures. She allows the reader to feel as if they are a part of the group and I love that. Just as with the first two books’ heroes and heroines, Laurel and Del were perfectly matched. Readers also get a pretty good idea of who Parker will be paired with and I will say that I cannot wait for that book! Thankfully, Ms. Roberts writes fast and we won’t have long to wait. In the meantime, enjoy Savor the Moment!
~Andrea
