Jacqueline Andrews hopes her boyfriend Brad’s surprise is an engagement ring for her twenty-sixth birthday. Her best friend, Tyler Jordan, wants Jacqueline to be happy but not with Brad. Tyler regrets blowing off Jacqueline’s confession of love for him before he left for college. When he returns to their small town as a physician’s assistant, he falls in love with her. He needs to win her love back. Will his hot kisses sway her? Or is she going to marry Brad?
Excerpt
He walked to the stall, grinning. "You always look beautiful, but you're so small next to Gypsy that it made me laugh. He's such a big horse. It always amazes me when I see you ride him."
"I wish you'd buy a horse so we can go riding together."
He nodded. "I'd like to go riding with you. I just haven't had time to fit shopping for a horse into my schedule. Hey, is that why you asked Gypsy about sharing the barn?"
"I was just thinking how I'll need to board Gypsy in Chicago if Brad doesn't want to move here after we're married." She put a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail behind her ear.
Tyler caught her hand, holding it tightly while he looked into her eyes. "Brad's a lucky man."
"Why's that?" She knew he was probably going to say how wonderful she was, but it'd still be nice to hear compliments coming out of Tyler's mouth.
"You're beautiful—"
"Remember you just said that. You have to do better than that. As my mom always said, 'a good heart is better than superficial beauty' so why else is Brad lucky?"
"You definitely have a caring heart and I love your loyalty to Alex. And you're sexy." Swiftly he pulled her palm to his mouth and kissed it.
She felt the passion in him, but didn't understand why it was there. They'd been best friends for years. Their mothers had met at the library when both women took their three-year-olds to story time. He couldn't want her. Could he? And why did she want him to kiss her on the lips? She loved Brad.
Maybe she better say something so Tyler wouldn't be embarrassed that he kissed her hand. She pulled her hand out of his. "Wow, you're taking this role of man of honor seriously."
"Jacqueline, I wasn't kidding earlier. I think you should marry me." He kissed her cheek. "I don't want to be your man of honor, but your groom."
She didn't like that his simple kiss gave her a shiver of delight. A jumble of puzzled thoughts and feelings overwhelmed her. "Oh, Tyler, you're confusing me. When I wanted to be more than friends, you rejected me. I know you said that your feelings have changed, but it's hard for me to believe. You never mentioned that you wanted to marry me until I talked about marrying Brad."
Professional Reviews
Engaging Read
This charming tale of second chances holds few surprises, but don't let that put you off. Ms. Craver packs plenty of anticipation and emotional swings and round-a-bouts into this sweet romance that would give credit to a full length novel.
Discovering you've made a bad judgement that has your dreams crashing and burning is not an easy discovery to handle; but with the help and support of her long-time friend, and once hoped for future, Tyler Jordan, Jacqueline Andrews has some hard decisions to make and a lot of soul searching to work through.
This is not a simple story of friends to lovers to happy ever after; there is a need to forgive, understand past actions and come to terms with their consequences. Ms. Craver does not offer her readers a perfect heroine. Indeed, Jacqueline is a heroine most women can relate to. So full of future dreams she misses plenty of signals out there for her to spot is she only removed her rose coloured spectacles.
When Brad, the man she hopes to marry, fails to fulfill Jacqueline's hopes and dreams she discovers his agenda is so far off beam from hers, her faith in her own judgement is once again sorely tested. Tyler, her friend let her down many years ago and now she's back to square one, or is she...?
The hero, Tyler, has a mammoth task ahead of him if he's going to persuade Jacqueline to believe in his feelings for her now. It is the way the author takes all her characters through the multi-faceted emotions in this story that make it such a charming read, and yes, I will use the word `cute' to describe The Proposal.
The characters are believable, the plot may appear simple but is not, and the conclusion, though not unexpected, still creates a sigh of satisfaction at the end.
By LASR REVIEWER
A Holiday Heartwarming Read!
Craver's story is deliciously honest and goes to show that what you wish for just might not be best thing for you. Sometimes the best thing for us is right in front of us and we just have to open our eyes to see it. Watching Brad, Jackie, and Tyler be honest with themselves and each other was refreshing.
The Proposal shows the magic of Christmas is in our hearts. I highly recommend "The Proposal."
~~Sally Pink Reviews
CTR Review
“I enjoyed this short read mainly because I liked that the characters were quite open about their hopes and expectations. I found it refreshing to read a short romance without the usual coy flirtatiousness and manipulative scheming that is so inherent in most.” ~~Laurie for Coffee Time Romance
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