The Calendar Brides

THE CALENDAR BRIDES

Ginny Baird

THE CALENDAR BRIDES

By

Ginny Baird

Published by

Winter Wedding Press

Copyright © 2015

Ginny Baird

Digital Edition

ISBN 978-1-942058-02-1

All Rights Reserved

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient, unless this book is a participant in a qualified lending program. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to export portions of the text, please contact the author at
[email protected]
.

Characters in this book are fictional and figments of the author’s imagination.

About the Author

From the time that she could talk, romance author Ginny Baird was making up stories, much to the delight—and consternation—of her family and friends. By grade school, she’d turned that inclination into a talent, whereby her teacher allowed her to write and produce plays rather than write boring book reports. Ginny continued writing throughout college, where she contributed articles to her literary campus weekly, then later pursued a career managing international projects with the U.S. State Department.

Ginny has held an assortment of jobs, including school teacher, freelance fashion model, and greeting card writer, and has published more than twenty works of fiction and optioned ten screenplays. She has additionally published short stories, nonfiction, and poetry, and admits to being a true romantic at heart.

Ginny is a
New York Times
and
USA Today
Bestselling Author of several books, including novellas in her Holiday Brides Series. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), the RWA Published Authors Network (PAN), and Virginia Romance Writers (VRW).

When she’s not writing, Ginny enjoys cooking, biking, and spending time with her family in Tidewater, Virginia. She loves hearing from her readers and welcomes visitors to her website at
http://www.ginnybairdromance.com
.

Books by Ginny Baird

Holiday Brides Series

The Christmas Catch

The Holiday Bride

Mistletoe in Maine

Beach Blanket Santa

Baby, Be Mine

Summer Grooms Series

Must-Have Husband

My Lucky Groom

The Wedding Wish

The Getaway Groom

A Haunted Holidays Special Edition

The Ghost Next Door

Other Titles

Real Romance

The Sometime Bride

Santa Fe Fortune

How to Marry a Matador

Counterfeit Cowboy

The Calendar Brides

Bundles

The Holiday Brides Collection

(Books 1–4)

A Summer Grooms Selection

(Books 1–3)

Real Romance and The Sometime Bride

(Gemini Edition)

Santa Fe Fortune and How to Marry a Matador

(Gemini Edition)

Wedding Bells Bundle

Short Stories

The Right Medicine

(Short Story and Novel Sampler)

Special Delivery

(A Valentine’s Short Story)

Ginny Baird’s

THE CALENDAR BRIDES

January: Emma

February: Claire

March: Angie

April: Haley

May: Bev

June: Jane

July: Tiny

August: Zoe

September: Lena

October: Trish

November: Susan

December: Rachel

Chapter One

The D’Amato Women

Nona leaned forward over the photo album, pointing out another grainy picture. “And that one was Elbert, the one that got away.”

Claire fanned her hand over her heart and sighed sympathetically. Her hair was feathered about her face in a feminine style, and she always wore it long. “What happened to him?”

Nona flipped her wrist. “Married a Spanish girl. Not that it matters. Men are like buses, you know.”

Her granddaughters laughed, then sang in a chorus:
“When one leaves, another one comes along.”
The older woman looked around the room at their cheery faces. Well, most of them were cheery. Jane still wore that perpetual scowl, and Trish set her chin. Why were those girls so serious?

“I think you’re right, Nona,” Rachel sweetly chimed in. “Certainly happened to me.” She extended her left hand, exposing a glistening solitaire, and her cousins squealed with delight.

Nona smiled. “Congratulations! Who’s the lucky groom?”

Rachel ran a hand through her curls, then proudly proclaimed, “Tom Delaney.”

Across the room, Bev sucked in a gasp. She still wore that scarf she’d bought in Paris. Not that it really went with her blouse, although it did complement her angled bob and art deco earrings. “No way!”

“Way,” Jane quipped from the sofa. Susan sat beside her, furiously knitting something. It looked oddly like a baby’s cap, but Susan wasn’t married. Susan spoke softly without looking up. “Time heals all wounds.”

“Hmm, maybe,” Tiny judged from nearby. She stood just over five feet and had a short, sassy haircut to match her small frame. She was also the sole granddaughter close to Nona in size, although she ate like a horse. Nona secretly feared that might catch up with her some day, but had never been rude enough to say so. She was eating now, in fact. Munching on something she kept hidden in a paper bag that looked suspiciously like fast food.

“That’s awesome, Rachel!” Haley leaned into her tennis racket and grinned. Then she dipped low, flexing her knees and leg muscles. Nona had never seen a girl so fit. It was a blessing she’d found Peter, someone who could keep up with her. Haley squatted a few more times, then broke into a lunge, using her racket for leverage. “When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t decided,” Rachel answered.

“Might be good to take your time,” Trish advised. Trish had red hair and freckles, which made her stand out among her more darkly complected cousins. Nona knew this was on account of her father marrying an Irish woman. “You’ll want to build your career first.”

“My job’s going fine!” Rachel spouted defensively.

“I thought you watered people’s plants?” Trish replied. Trish was very self-assured as an accountant, but seemed bent on summing other people up.

“Be nice,” Susan warned from behind her knitting and purling.

Lena spoke gently from the corner, wispy tresses lightly framing her face. She’d had it highlighted lately with what looked like streaks of blonde. She’d said it was to
let the sunshine in,
whatever that meant. Nona had no idea. “She does have a point,” she said referencing Trish. “There’s nothing wrong with taking your time, Rachel. Getting settled first.”

Rachel’s cheeks tinged red. “I
am
settled. That’s what I’m trying to tell you! Business is going great. I picked up five new clients this week!”

Trish held up her hands and shook her head.

“Leave her alone,” Zoe said from the floor. She lay on her back doing some kind of yoga. Whoa! Now she was arching up skyward, stomach first. Nona wondered what it took to be that limber, and whether she was too old to achieve it. “It’s not like she’s seventeen anymore.”

A hush fell over the room at Zoe mentioning what should have gone unspoken. Zoe collapsed to the rug, then righted herself, arms wrapped around her knees. She addressed Rachel, red-faced, straight dark hair grazing her chin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Angie, who’d stood by silently this whole time, strode toward Rachel, her ponytail bouncing. She was Haley’s twin, and the main difference between them was that Angie wore bangs. Since she’d had her first baby, Nona had never seen her in anything other than workout clothes, even though she never actually exercised. She had three kids now, each born within a year of the other. Nona supposed Angie stayed trim simply chasing after them. Angie wrapped her arm around Rachel and pulled her into a hug. “The truth is, we’re
all
happy for you.” She combatively eyed her cousins. “Aren’t we, girls?”

“Of course… Yes… Uh-huh!” all agreed, their words overlapping.

“I’m glad to see everyone’s getting along.” Nona flipped shut her photo album. “Because there’s more good news.
I
have something to tell you.”

“Knock, knock! Where’s the party?” Emma peered into the room with a happy grin. She cradled a pudgy puppy in her arms that lapped at her face with a big, wet tongue.
 

“I thought we were missing someone,” Nona chirped.

“Emma! He’s adorable,” Rachel said. “Where did you get him?”

“Well, first of all he’s a
she
.” Emma set down the little yellow lab, who bounded toward her grandmother in happy leaps.

Nona chuckled warmly as the dog wiggled to and fro before her, wagging its whole body with its tail. She stroked the pup’s head with one hand while holding her champagne flute high in the other. “Very cute, Emma! Did you buy her for Bobby?” Bobby was Emma’s nephew on her husband Donny’s side.

“No,” Emma said with apparent surprise at the thought. “Donny bought her for me!” She adjusted a barrette in her short brown hair, then shared a glowing smile. “Anniversary gift. Can you believe?” Her eyes darted around the room, then settled on the champagne bucket on the table. Although, rather than champagne, it held a bottle of prosecco, a D’Amato family favorite. “How come nobody invited me?” she asked with a play pout.

“We
did
invite you,” Claire assured.

“You know you’re always invited,” Jane deadpanned before Susan elbowed her.

Zoe sat on the floor with her legs in a pretzel knot. She managed to drink in that position just the same. “You’ve missed some big news,” she said, sipping from her bubbly.