When words don't come easily . . .

The town's florist and the local divorce attorney--could they be more at odds?
They were each other's first real crush and first kiss, but they've just been friends for years.
Should they give it another chance?

Cobble Creek’s divorce attorney, Isaac Murphy, is not interested in romance. Quite the opposite, in fact. Between his career and a sister raising a daughter with selective mutism alone, Isaac has seen enough disappointed hearts to know love takes more than a bouquet of roses or flowery phrases.

As the small-town florist, Brooke Holt is passionate about romance in everything from picnics to horseback riding. A closet musician, she pours her romantic dreams into writing country love songs—which she might even share someday, if she weren’t stricken with a severe case of stage fright.

When Brooke’s brother shows interest in Isaac’s sister, what starts as a friendly wager between Brooke and Isaac rekindles their old friendship. As feelings turn into something more, expressing those feelings seems like an awfully risky gamble.

Available in ebook, paperback, and hardback in various stores online.

Fun Fact:

The idea for the niece with selective mutism came from a friend who had a child suffering from this issue. Before meeting them, I had certain assumptions that turned out to be wrong. With her research help, I learned so much. We are all going through hard things, even if we respond differently--and that includes children.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't as much a "fun" fact as an important one. As for fun--this book kicks off something epic for Brooke. She gets mentioned in a lot of my books from here on out.

The Practically Romantic Groom Playlist

To get into Brooke’s mindset, I found myself listening to country music more than usual, and I ended up choosing a song for each chapter. While none of the songs fit perfectly, I had a reason behind choosing each.

I don’t typically have a playlist when I write books, but The Practically Romantic Groom called for one. If you’re a country music fan, this might interest you.

Enjoy!

• Chapter 1: “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes.

• Chapter 2: “I Don’t Dance” by Lee Brice. Also, the song referred to in the chapter is “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band.

• Chapter 3: “Homegrown” by Zac Brown Band. In the chapter is a mention of the musical The Music Man.

• Chapter 4: “I Do” by Paul Brandt. Another appropriate one would be “Check ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” by George Strait.

• Chapter 5: “For the First Time” by Darius Rucker. The chapter referenced Kenny Rogers’s “The Gambler” as well as Buddy Holly, and the composer John Williams with the soundtrack from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Also, Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# Minor.

• Chapter 6: “He Didn’t Have to Be” by Brad Paisley.

• Chapter 7: “When You Say Nothing at All” by either Keith Whitley or Alison Krauss. I thought it was interesting that not only did this song fit, but it was sung by both male and female vocalists. This is significant because this is the only chapter where it started off in Isaac’s point of view and then switched partway through to Brooke’s. Songs that might be appropriate for how Gemma feels would be “Words” by Train, “Words I Couldn’t Say” by Rascal Flatts, and “More than Words” by Extreme. Again, The Music Man was referenced.

• Chapter 8: “Love Story” by Taylor Swift.

• Chapter 9: “This Is Country Music” by Brad Paisley.

• Chapter 10: “It Goes Like This” by Thomas Rhett.

• Chapter 11: “Somebody Like You” by Keith Urban. The chapter mentions the Eagles.

• Chapter 12: “Me & You” by Kenny Chesney.

• Chapter 13: “A Little Bit Stronger” by Sara Evans.

• Chapter 14: “A Woman Like You” by Lee Brice.

• Chapter 15: “Right Girl, Wrong Time” by Jon Langston.

• Chapter 16: “Complicated” by Cardyn Dawn Johnson.

• Chapter 17: “I Can’t Love You Back” by Easton Corbin.

• Chapter 18: “Let’s Be Us Again” by Lonestar.

• Chapter 19: “History in the Making” by Darius Rucker.

• Chapter 20: “We Danced” by Brad Paisley.