Bridal Girl Read online

  Praise for Meredith Schorr

  “Schorr mixes and matches couples with charming aplomb in this sweet-natured romcom…The author manages to easily reel readers in from the start…Pieces of the puzzle are thoroughly and appealingly mixed up in this well-paced tale.”

  – Publisher’s Weekly

  “With a premise that rivals the best film rom-coms, The Boyfriend Swap is filled with romance, humor and heart—a delight from beginning to end. Meredith Schorr delivers chick lit gold!”

  – Jamie Brenner, USA Today Bestselling Author

  “Fast-paced and fun. I loved this charming story.”

  – Michele Gorman, USA Today Bestselling Author

  “What a fun book. The characters were incredibly well-written. I felt like I understood everyone’s personalities and quirks, almost as if I knew them personally myself. Meredith Schorr is a talented author and I’m glad she has other books out for me to read!”

  – Becky Monson, Bestselling Author of the Spinster Series

  “Friends swap shoes, purses and gossip. Why not boyfriends? Warm, witty and winning, The Boyfriend Swap is wonderful entertainment you’ll want to share with your best friend.”

  – Karin Gillespie, Author of Divinely Yours

  “Sassy, sexy, endlessly entertaining, and full of laughs (as well as some heart-wrenching moments), Blogger Girl is one of those books that keeps you up at night because you can’t wait to see what happens next.”

  – Tracie Banister, Author of Mixing It Up

  “America finally has its own version of Britain’s Bridget Jones!”

  – Books in the Burbs

  “Meredith Schorr is an author to watch.”

  – Tracy Kaler, Founder and Editor of Tracy’s New York Life

  “A strong and confident heroine, a sexy boyfriend you can crush on, supportive friends, and plenty of conflict leading to comical results, culminating in a very satisfying ending…Once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down.”

  – Erin Brady, Bestselling Author of The Shopping Swap

  “A perfect mix of romance, conflict, and humor, Novelista Girl solidifies Schorr’s place among best-sellers Sophie Kinsella and Emily Giffin.”

  – Carolyn Ridder Aspenson, Bestselling Author of Unbinding Love

  “Absolutely brilliant chick lit, I couldn’t put it down, and I highly, highly recommend.”

  – Chick Lit Plus

  “Meredith writes with wit, candor, humor and vulnerability that illuminates the struggles of dating and relationships.”

  — Nancy Slotnick, Author of Turn Your Cablight On

  “The perfect vacation read. The dialogue flows like beer at a beach party.”

  – K.C. Wilder, Author of Fifty Ways to Leave Your Husband

  “I laughed my way through this novel. A must-read.”

  – Chick Lit Plus

  “I am a huge fan of chick lit, but this book was so much more. It has become one of my favorite reads!”

  – The Little Black Book Blog

  “You won’t forget this delightful cast of characters or Schorr’s sharp, candid insights about the plight of the modern woman.”

  – Diana Spechler, Author of Who by Fire and Skinny

  Books by Meredith Schorr

  JUST FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS

  A STATE OF JANE

  HOW DO YOU KNOW?

  THE BOYFRIEND SWAP

  The Blogger Girl Series

  BLOGGER GIRL (#1)

  NOVELISTA GIRL (#2)

  BRIDAL GIRL (#3)

  Sign up for Henery Press updates

  and we’ll deliver the latest on new books, sale books, and pre-order books, plus all the happenings in the Hen House!

  CLICK TO SIGN UP

  (Note: we won’t share your email address and you can unsubscribe any time.)

  We’d love to hear what you thought about this book. No matter how brief or how long, reader reviews make a difference. Thank you!

  Copyright

  BRIDAL GIRL

  The Blogger Girl Series

  Part of the Henery Press Chick Lit Collection

  First Edition | April 2018

  Henery Press, LLC

  www.henerypress.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including internet usage, without written permission from Henery Press, LLC, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright © 2018 by Meredith Schorr

  Author photograph by Clin D’Oeil at Photography by Mayra Ferra

  This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Trade Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-330-3

  Digital epub ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-331-0

  Kindle ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-332-7

  Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-63511-333-4

  Printed in the United States of America

  To fabulous and dedicated book bloggers everywhere.

  Kim’s story would not exist without you.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to everyone at Henery Press—Art Molinares, Kendel Lynn, Christina Rogers, and especially my fabulous editors, Maria Edwards and Rachel Jackson.

  A world of gratitude to Samantha Stroh Bailey and Natalie Aaron, the best beta readers a girl could ask for.

  Thank you to my friend since the third grade, Amy Ehrnsperger, for all your insight into event planning (and for always making me laugh).

  I am so thankful for the support and enthusiasm of so many bloggers, authors, and members of my small but loyal street team who connected so well with the characters of this series. Without your encouragement, the series would likely have stopped at one book. Special shout-outs to Melissa Amster, Ashley Williams, Kelly Perotti, Bethany Clarke, Amanda Lerryn, Isabella Anderson, Gina Reba, Kaley Stewart, Samantha Janning, Mary Smith, Susan Schleicher, Charlotte-Lynn, Linda Levack Zagon, Lindsay Lorimore, Rebecca Moore, Aimee Brown, and Stacey Wiedower.

  Finally, I am grateful for being blessed with people in my life who inspire so much of the strong, loyal relationships found in this series: my family, the Beach Babes (Sam, Francine, Eileen, Jen, Julie, and Josie), Ronni, Jenny, Hilary, Elke, Deborah, Megan, Lily, Shanna, and my guardian angel, Alan.

  Chapter 1

  SEVEN MONTHS UNTIL “I DO”

  Two stars: Fluffier than a bag of marshmallows

  Dentists all over the world rejoice: A Blogger’s Life might make your teeth fall out. Popular book blogger Kim Long’s debut novel has about as much depth as a Kardashian sister.

  Published one hour ago by Thirsty Reader

  “Something wrong, Kimmie?”

  Nicholas’s breath tickled the back of my neck, and I quickly minimized the screen on my computer. “It’s nothing,” I muttered as a lump settled in my belly. I didn’t want Nicholas, my fiancé, to know I’d been stalking my book reviews—again. He knew how upset I got by negative ratings and implored me to accept it was impossible to please everyone. He was right, as he almost always was, but I couldn’t help myself. Hoping his question was merely rhetorical and not in response to the groan I’d accidentally emitted, I swiveled my kitchen stool to face him. From the way the inner edges of his dark eyebrows curved toward each other in concern, I knew he’d heard my sounds of distress.

  “You’re looking
at your reviews again, aren’t you?” The silent “tsk, tsk” attached to his question was deafening.

  “Why do you ask?” I waved my hand. “Never mind. Yes, I was. Too bad none of your siblings are dentists instead of physicians.”

  Nicholas regarded me with amusement before rubbing a strand of my long light brown hair between his fingers. “What do Neil, Nathan, and Natalie’s careers have to do with reviews of A Blogger’s Life?”

  I chuckled at the names of Nicholas’s siblings, but soon enough, the text of the two-star review flashed before my eyes and threatened to turn my laugh into a sob. “Apparently my book is sweet enough to cause tooth decay.” If my readers were going to cry while reading my romantic comedy novel, I’d hoped it would be happy tears, not because of a toothache. My lips quivered.

  Nicholas let go of my hair and opened his mouth to say something I assumed was positive in nature, but I cut him off. “It wasn’t meant as a compliment.” I gave him a pleading look, silently begging him to lift my spirits with his next words—like the reviewer had the intelligence quotient of a gnat, no taste, and was probably a fifty-five-year-old woman who lived in her aging parents’ basement with a dozen cats.

  Nicholas appeared to contemplate, as if letting Thirsty Reader’s opinion set in before responding. “What advice do you think Blogger Kim would give to Author Kim right now?”

  As the creator of the popular chick lit book blog, Pastel Is the New Black, I was very familiar with mixed opinions on novels. But being on the receiving end of mixed reviews took some getting used to, and Nicholas knew it. “I think Blogger Kim should cut Author Kim some slack. Sure, she’s experienced at the art of writing two and three pink-champagne-flutes reviews, but she’s a newbie at receiving them.” I rotated my stool so I was again facing my computer, where it sat in the kitchen nook in the one-bedroom apartment I shared with Nicholas in Manhattan’s West Village.

  Nicholas squeezed my shoulders gently. “I’m sorry, Kimmie, but bad reviews come with the gig. Especially if you expect anyone besides your friends and family to read your books. Besides, most of the reviews have been fantastic.”

  With my eyes closed, I took in his truthful words while his skilled hands attempted to loosen the tight knots in my joints. Since my debut chick lit novel had been published a month earlier, sales were more than decent. Numerous reviews from bloggers, readers, and at least one of the major trades cited me as the “next big thing in romantic comedy” and “an author to watch.” But along with the shining accolades came hurtful comments that I should stick to reading and leave the writing to the professionals. I wished I could focus on the positive, like I’d always urged my author friends and those who did review tours with Pastel Is the New Black to do. As a book blogger, I was a hypocrite to the nth degree, but I couldn’t make my skin grow thicker overnight. Making the transition from Blogger Kim to Author Kim was a dream come true, but if I’d learned anything in the last thirty or so days, it was that even the best dreams were peppered with nightmare sequences. The recurring one where my agent, Felicia, rejected all of my pitches for new novels and then dumped me as her client was especially disturbing.

  “By the way, can you please tell Natalie you’re not dressing up as a mermaid for the wedding? I’m betting you’ll be the sexiest bride no matter what you wear, but a Splash or The Little Mermaid theme does nothing for me.”

  Nicholas’s voice buzzed in my ear, snapping me out of my own head. I turned around to face him again at the mention of his younger sister, Natalie, who was twenty-nine and a year younger than me. “What’s this about a mermaid? Sounds kinky.” I’d never thought about role playing Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah from the classic eighties movie, but Nicholas could make anything sexy if he put his mind…and other parts…to it.

  “I’m sure it would be, but I’d like to keep our wedding a kink-free reception. The honeymoon is an entirely different story.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  I imagined Nicholas playing with my mermaid tail and blushed. “Count me in. As long as it’s pink.”

  Nicholas scrunched up his face. “You want to wear a pink wedding dress? You’re far from virginal—thank God—but I was thinking white or off-white.”

  “Oh. You mean mermaid-style wedding dresses.” I withheld a giggle at my overactive imagination, although Nicholas did like to keep things interesting in the bedroom, and sometimes bathroom and living room. Nicholas would have me on the kitchen table if I let him, but I preferred to keep activities in the kitchen PG-13 for sanitary reasons. “It doesn’t actually have a tail, silly. It’s just form-fitting at the bodice and the skirt flares to the floor.” I gave him a playful punch in the arm.

  Nicholas’s cheeks turned pink. “When Natalie said mermaid dresses were sexy, I argued that Ariel had nothing on you. Now I know why she rolled her eyes. I thought she was just being Natalie. It all makes sense now.” He chuckled. “Don’t forget, your appointment at Kleinfeld Bridal is next weekend. My mom and Natalie won’t shut up about it.”

  “Of course I remember.” An appointment at the world-famous bridal shop was unlikely to slip my mind. Thankfully, I’d done my research and made the appointment shortly after Nicholas proposed. When it came to shopping for clothes, I didn’t play around, but I couldn’t fault Nicholas for double checking. We’d been engaged for nine months, but aside from the date, venue, and entertainment—Nicholas, whose passion for music ran deep, had already booked the house band of a popular club—our wedding to-do list had very little check marks.

  “Hopefully, you’ll have so much fun trying on dresses and drinking champagne, you’ll manage to go the entire afternoon without checking your reviews,” Nicholas said, his voice dripping with hope.

  “I think I can manage it,” I said with only a hint of doubt. I wondered if my shopping session at Kleinfeld would be aired on the reality television show Say Yes To The Dress. It was doubtful, since I wasn’t a bridezilla, no one in my entourage was a bully, and despite a rocky path from casual colleagues to future husband and wife, Nicholas and I didn’t have a tragic story to win over the hearts of viewers, like a battle with cancer or an imminent deployment back to Afghanistan. Not that I was complaining.

  “Atta girl,” Nicholas said with a wink, causing my knees to wobble. He could still incite the butterflies to dance in my tummy with a mere facial expression—like a wink or the trademark rubbing of his hand along the ever-present dark scruff on his jaw—as effortlessly as he could when we first fell in love more than two years earlier. Our love story might not make exciting television worthy of a reality show, but the hills and valleys kept me on my toes.

  “I need to get back to the hotel with the number of rooms we want to set aside. How many people do you think will stay over?” We were holding the reception at the Soho Grand. It was where the magic of our coupling first began the night Nicholas met me for a drink after my ten-year high school reunion, and it was also where he had popped the question. We planned to reserve a section of rooms at a special rate for our guests.

  I counted on my fingers. “Your parents and siblings, my parents, Erin and Gerry, out-of-town relatives.” I ran out of fingers. “Maybe we should look at the guest list.”

  “What is this list you speak of?” Nicholas asked with an eyebrow raised.

  I bit my lip. We hadn’t yet vocalized how pathetically unorganized we were, but it was the white elephant in the room. We’d picked a date more than a year away so the wedding planning wouldn’t need to compete with the release of A Blogger’s Life for my attention. But now the big day—a Saturday night in early November—was only seven months away. “I suppose we should figure out who we’re inviting, huh?” My stomach curdled at how much we needed to do before we could finally say our “I dos” and live happily ever after, but as the bride, I felt it was my responsibility to take on the bulk of the preparation. Nicholas had nearly short-circuited our relationship the year before, when his obsession wit
h getting ahead in his high-profile legal career trumped our time together. I didn’t want to add more to his plate and tip the balance we’d worked so hard to achieve. Even though I was now juggling my role as a published author with my full-time gig as a legal secretary and managing Pastel Is the New Black, I had it under control. My dreams—both professional and romantic—had all come true and I’d be damned if I’d complain about “having it all.”

  Nicholas was only five foot seven, but at a mere four foot eleven, he towered over me and I had to stand on my tippy toes to give him a reassuring butterfly kiss on the nose. I squeezed both of his sides and presented a confident smile. “We’ll get there, sweets. One thing at a time.”

  Chapter 2

  The following Saturday, my entire body shook with nerves as I sat down on a brown-upholstered couch and took in the crème-colored walls and white columns inside Kleinfeld Bridal. I wasn’t a stranger to luxurious department stores, but this was the first time I’d been in one entirely devoted to dressing a bride-to-be. I pinched myself to confirm this was really happening—I, Kimberly Michelle Long, was going to marry the love of my life, and my friends and family were at a world-famous bridal shop to support my search for the perfect gown. Nicholas’s mom had come in from Vermont, mine from Florida, and my younger sister, Erin, from Boston. The local crew included Nicholas’s little sister Natalie, who was now a surgical intern at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, having graduated from the University Of Vermont College of Medicine, and my closest friends, Bridget and Caroline. Erin was my matron my honor, Bridget, my BFF since the seventh grade, was my maid of honor, and Caroline and Natalie were my bridesmaids. My relationship with Natalie was still a fetus, but I asked her to be in my wedding party as a way to grow our bond. I hoped we’d eventually be as close as real sisters.