Three Little Words
Bridesmaids Behaving Badly
By Jenny Holiday
ISBN: 9781455542468
Author’s Website: jennyholiday(.)com
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Note: Some spoilers re: storyline
Summary:
Gia Gallo is officially in bridesmaid hell. Stranded in New York with her best friend’s wedding dress, Gia has six days to make it to Florida in time for the ceremony. And oh-so-charming best man Bennett Buchanan has taken the last available rental car. Looks like she’s in for one long road trip with the sexiest – and most irritating – Southern gentleman she’s ever met…
Bennett’s pretty sure that if there was ever a woman to break his “no flings” rule, Gia would be it. Sure, she’s stubborn. She’s also funny, smart, and the attraction between them is getting hotter with every state line they cross. While Bennett doesn’t do casual, Gia doesn’t do “relationships.” But if they break the rules, this unlikely pair might discover that their impromptu road trip could turn out to be the best ride of their lives. (Goodreads)
Review:
Three Little Words, while the third in the Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series, it is actually the 5th because there is a .5 and a 2.5 novella in the series. With that out of the way… Three Little Words is the second book written by Jenny Holiday that I have read. I must say, I am very impressed with the writing of Jenny Holiday. Just the right amount of romance, “heat” and everyday sort of challenges – oh and did I say HEAT!
Gia Gallo is a bridesmaid for one of her bestie’s Wendy. While at the airport in New York, waiting to board the plane to Tampa, Gia gets the bad news that the flight was cancelled due to bad weather. Not good as Gia is on a mission:
“Listen to me,” the bad-tempered beauty said to the gate agent as she held up a garment bag. “This is a wedding dress. It needs to get to Florida now.”
“This is my friend Wendy’s wedding dress. Actually, it’s her dead mother’s wedding dress. And Wendy? She hasn’t had the easiest time of it. So I have made it my personal mission to make sure her wedding goes off without a hitch. This dress will make it to Florida if I have to walk it there myself.”
So Gia, the firecracker of bridesmaids meets Bennett (a groomsman for the wedding who is transporting the wedding rings down to Florida). What ensues is a journey…a multifaceted journey I might add. Being grounded until the next day, they hatch a plan to make it part way flying, but then get grounded again due to weather. So…forget flying… there new plan is to rent a car and drive since they have to get the wedding dress and rings to Florida as soon as possible.
Gia is a woman who does not do relationships. In fact, she has a “one-and-done, two-and-through rule. Bennett is a man who only does relationships. So right off the bat one can surmise the tension between the two.
I really enjoyed how during the journey they really did open up to each other and, be it kismet or whatever, they each knew instinctively what the other needed to overcome obstacles in their personal paths. As one can surmise, what is a road trip without some hot, steamy sex? Well there was that for sure…. which at first was surprising since Bennett values intimacy in a “relationship”, he is not into one or two night stands. But he broke down. And the justifications that Gia gave for going beyond her “two” times intimacy limit were hilarious, especially the morning scene where Gia is being the instigator:
“…What happened to the two-times rule?” he asked, helping her get free of the tangled sheets.
She plopped onto her back and turned her head to look at him. He was adorably disheveled. And stubbly. And delicious. “Well,” she said, casting about for a loophole, “I’m counting the first time as a half, because you didn’t come. You didn’t even take any clothes off, so…”
“So that means you don’t get to come if we go at it again?” He furrowed his brow. “I don’t think I can be down with that.”
Needless to say, there are lots of steamy scenes in the book. And sweet romantic scenes as well.
The storylines dealing with Gia’s baggage with respect to eating was very well done. It is tough being a model on the verge of aging out of her profession – lots of pressure to be perfect. So when Bennett watches Gia’s eating patterns – his solutions are very respectful.
Bennett is certainly not without baggage. He is estranged from his family. His restaurant is not the “pay-what-you-can” establishment that he wanted by this time in his life. Gia listens and provides subtle and small nudges to help Bennett realize he can have what he wants.
The evolution of these two characters during the road trip was very well done, with just the right amount of humor, sensitivity and good ole storytelling.
When the duo finally meets up with the remaining wedding party members in Florida, we see Gia retreating and Bennett floundering helplessly because Gia is retreating. What to do??? Some heart stopping moments, but you shall see when you read the book for yourself.
Three Little Words is an easy, enjoyable read. I entered this series at book 2.5 – Merrily Ever After and had no difficulty picking up the characters and how they fit in together. However, having enjoyed both book 2.5 and 3 – I am hoping to go back and read books 1 and 2 of Jenny Holiday’s Bridesmaids Behaving Badly series.
*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*
