Hi readers! For Teaser Tuesday this week, I am sharing an excerpt from my new Champion Brothers Series book, At The Right Time. The book will be released this Friday, March 29, 2024! It is not available for pre-order. It will just be released. I will also reveal the cover on that date as well. I know you will enjoy Florence's story! (Also, please note that this excerpt could be changed/altered/edited before release day!)
At The Right Time - Excerpt
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
And kiss her he did!
In fact, he kissed her so much, that it prolonged the applause from their family and friends who watched on with unbridled excitement. It was as if the cheers had encouraged him to kiss her harder, but no, it had nothing to do with that. They could’ve been out here alone and he still would’ve been giving her the business. That’s because it was her and their love had grown exponentially in the months after the crazy way they’d met.
Who would’ve ever thought Amira would’ve met her husband because of a traffic stop? She sure didn’t, but that’s how love happens most times – when you least expect it.
Florence smiled, deeply satisfied. As a single mother of four intelligent, beautiful children, she was beyond happy and fulfilled at sixty-two years of age. Her children were a huge part of that happiness and today, seeing Amira and Dominick tie the knot meant that now, all of her children were happily married and living their best lives.
Amazing.
She shook her head as she thought about their unconventional journey. They were already married before this ceremony, but Dominick loved Amira so much, he wanted to make it official and lay it out before everyone that she was his woman and that was that. He wanted Amira to have her day to wear a beautiful gown and dance the night away with her family and friends. They needed to share the first dance, the kisses and feeding each other cake. He wanted the world to know Amira was his wife.
And so on this beautiful fall day in September, they tied the knot at the Riverwalk Landing at the Cape Fear River. It was a special venue for them. He’d walked this strip with her the same moment he knew he was falling in love and now they were back here remembering those moments.
Florence pinched tears from her eyes and felt an overwhelming sense of pride as she saw the happiness in her daughter’s eyes. Then she looked at Jemisha and Mordecai, Savannah and Harding with their son, Harley, and Zoya and Tennyson. It made her feel good as a mother to raise four children practically on her own and watch them grow up, marry and start families of their own.
They were fortunate to have found love and people, good mates, to share their lives with. Lord knows it hadn’t been that way for her. She’d met and fell in love with their father, Nolan Champion, decades ago. He was handsome, charming, caring and thoughtful – he was everything she wanted in a man. Too bad he came with a whole wife! If only she’d known that before she fell for his charm – she’d ended it then and there, but once she was in love, she was in love. There was no ring. No wedding. No reception. No cake. No happily ever after. How could there be when he was married to another woman? His happily ever after was with his wife, for what little it was worth to have a cheating man, and all Florence had was a man who popped in now and again to see his kids and slide into her bed.
It was sad to think about but those memories ran through her mind as she watched Dominick and Amira dance under a plethora of string lights in the precious hour before dusk. Pushing her own turmoil and unhappiness aside, she could envision their entire lives just by watching them. They’d have a couple of gorgeous kids, a dog – a good healthy overall life. Florence could see Dominick working his highway patrol job while Amira finally settled on a career and fully contributed to the success of the household. And the icing on the cake – they were relocating to Wilmington from Asheville after the sale of his house went through.
Love was indeed a beautiful thing.
“Look at you sitting over here looking like a ray of sunshine,” Mordecai said as she threw his arm around his mother.
“I’m just taking it all in, son. I always wanted this for my children—love and happiness—and you all have found it. All four of you. It’s definitely something to be proud of.”
“It is.” Mordecai gently squeezed his mother’s shoulder.
“I raised y’all right.”
“You were the best mother any of us could ever ask for,” he told her. “My question to you is, when is it your turn?”
Florence’s brows bunched together. “My turn for what, Mordecai?”
“You know—to finally find your happily ever after,” he said while looking over at Dominick and Amira briefly before concentrating his attention on her again.
Florence chuckled. Her kids and their wishful thinking…
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If you haven't indulged in The Champion Brothers Series, be sure to check it out.
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