Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride

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Authors: Sandra D. Bricker

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Always the
Wedding Planner,
Never the Bride

The book will make you want to check into The Tanglewood Inn for a nice long stay!
Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride
is filled with friendship and romance and Sandra D. Bricker's trademark wit and warmth. I want to hang out with these women! Bricker's novels are like a fun visit with your best friend!

—Judy Christie, Author of the Hurry Less, Worry Less series and fiction, including
The Glory of Green,
Book #3 in the Green series

I didn't think Sandra D. Bricker could write another story in this series to outdo
Always the Baker, Never the Bride.
I was wrong. With her gift for natural, sparkling dialogue and her ability to throw believable, tension-causing conflicts into the path of our heroine, Sherilyn, Bricker has written another winner in
Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride.
While it was wonderful revisiting characters from the first book, new lovebirds Sherilyn and Andy stole my heart and awakened my empathy as soon as I met them. Before you start reading the book, you might need to check your own planner—it's hard to set it down once you dive in!

—Trish Perry, Author of the Tea Shop series, including
Perfect Blend
and
Tea for Two

Other Abingdon Press Books by Sandra D. Bricker

Always the Baker, Never the Bride

The Big 5-OH!

And coming soon . . .

Always the Designer, Never the Bride

Always the Baker, Finally the Bride

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride

ISBN-13: 978-1-4267-3160-0

Published by Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, Nashville, TN 37202

www.abingdonpress.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form,

stored in any retrieval system, posted on any website, or

transmitted in any form or by any means—digital,

electronic, scanning, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without

written permission from the publisher, except for brief

quotations in printed reviews and articles.

The persons and events portrayed in this work of fiction

are the creations of the author, and any resemblance

to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Published in association with WordServe Literary Group, Ltd.,

10152 S. Knoll Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130

Cover design by Anderson Design Group, Nashville, TN

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bricker, Sandra D., 1958-

Always the wedding planner, never the bride / Sandra D. Bricker.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4267-3160-0 (book - pbk./trade pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Weddings—Fiction. 2.

Atlanta (Ga.)—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3602.R53A56 2011

813'.6—dc22

2011024609

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the
Holy Bible,
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 / 16 15 14 13 12 11

In memory of my mom,
Jess Bricker,

the original redhead who expressed affection through

her kitchen, and who left a legacy of love . . .
and three

boxes of recipes
. . . to the daughter who couldn't boil

water without burning it.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Team Sandie:

Jemelle and Marian, for always reading it;

Ramona and Barbara, for always appreciating it;

Maegan, for always cheering for it;

and especially Rachelle, for always picking it up,

dusting it off, and mopping up the spill.

Prologue

I
hate you."

"You do not hate me."

"Oh no, you're wrong. I do."

"Not possible. And besides, Emma,
hate?
That's such a powerful, terrible word. You really shouldn't—"

"Okay, know-it-all. I
strongly dislike
you right now."

"Nope. You don't dislike me at all."

Sherilyn grinned at Emma, which just seemed to infuriate her friend even more. After a long moment of
Stare-down/ Smack-down,
a little technique the two college roommates had perfected over their year and three months of sharing an apartment, Emma blinked first. With a growl, she tossed back the last of her coffee, plunked the cup down on the counter, spun around, and stalked away.

Sherilyn glanced down at her plate. Three warm pancakes seemed to smile up at her, burgeoning with plump chocolate chips, swimming in maple syrup, and punctuated with a huge dollop of whipped cream. She sliced a triangular bite with the side of her fork, swooning as she placed it on her waiting tongue.

"Ohh," she purred.

"Shut. Up," Emma hurled at her before slamming the front door.

"Can I help it if I can eat anything I want?" Sherilyn called out toward the closed door.

On the other side of it, from the general proximity of the elevator, Emma shouted back, "Careful not to choke on it!"

"Have a nice day, Emma Rae," Sherilyn sang.

The only reply came in the form of a distant grunt. Truth told, Sherilyn couldn't even imagine what it must be like for her friend. Diabetes! What a horrible fate. Personally, Sherilyn had to have something sweet at every meal. She craved it; and the more sugary the treat, the better she liked it. In her view, a life without sweets took the hopeless, joyless shape of no life at all.

"One day your metabolism will betray you," Emma had once promised her. But if that day really hovered on the horizon, Sherilyn Caine wasn't planning for it. She ate whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted it, always maintaining a consistent weight between 120 and 125 pounds. And on her twenty-year-old, five-feet-five-and-a-half-inch frame, that landed her right into a perfect size six.

She knew it wasn't really about her metabolism or size six jeans for Emma anyway. It was about those luscious pancakes heaped on the end of Sherilyn's fork, titillating Emma's taste buds with the fragrance of chocolate melting into warm maple syrup. Her friend was studying to be a pastry chef, yet her condition prevented her from fully knowing the joy of one of her own creations!

I'd find another way to make a living!
Sherilyn had often declared. Why spend every day of your life facing down your biggest temptations?
But still—

Sherilyn had become Emma Rae's official "taster" in recent months, a role she absolutely relished. While Emma per fected pecan pastries, sour cream cupcakes, latté cookies, and fondant-draped cakes, her roommate had lucked into culinary nirvana. They were a perfect match, Sherilyn Caine and Emma Rae Travis! And really, how ridiculous could it be to find the ideal situation your first day out on RoommateScreeners.com?

Sherilyn glanced at the counter and noticed Emma's brown suede clutch; she'd left without it. She couldn't go all day at school without her glucose meter and supply of insulin.

Sherilyn plucked two packages of string cheese from the shelf inside the refrigerator and tucked them into the pouch before grabbing her purse and trotting out the front door. She'd have just enough time to drop it off to Emma at Le Cordon Bleu before rushing out to the Emory University campus for her own classes.