Fools Rush In (Weddings by Bella Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Janice Thompson

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131 pages

English

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Bella Rossi may be nearing thirty, but her life is just starting to get interesting. When her Italian-turned-Texan parents hand over the family wedding planning business, Bella is determined not to let them down. She quickly books a "Boot Scoot'n" wedding that would make any Texan proud. There's only one catch--she's a country music numbskull because her family only listens to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Where will she find a DJ on such short notice who knows his Alan Jackson from his Keith Urban?When a misunderstanding leads her to the DJ (and man) of her dreams, things start falling into place. But with a family like hers, nothing is guaranteed. Can the perfect Texan wedding survive a pizza-making uncle with mob ties, an aunt who is a lawsuit waiting to happen, and a massive delivery of 80 cowboy boots? And will Bella ever get to plan her own wedding?Book one in the Weddings by Bella series, Fools Rush In is fun, fresh, and full of surprises. Readers will love the flavorful combination of Italian and Tex-Mex, and the hilarity that ensues when cultures clash.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 septembre 2009
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441204608
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0259€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2009 by Janice Thompson
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2010
Ebook corrections 03.31.2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-0460-8
Most Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Some Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Published in association with MacGregor Literary Agency.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
“Mama mia, let’s escape! Let’s fall in love! Let’s eat chicken parmesan, fettuccine Alfredo, and Bubba’s down-home barbecue without gaining a pound. It’s all possible when we hang out with Bella Rossi in Fools Rush In . Janice Thompson’s first installment in the Weddings by Bella series is a fun, welcome distraction from life’s boredom and stress. You’ll fall for Bella’s D.J. even faster than she does. And you’ll root for the Rossi and Neeley families as they break down cultural barriers and rush toward each other, arms wide open. No fools, they!”
Trish Perry, author, Beach Dreams and The Guy I’m Not Dating
“From the Lone Star state, where everything is supersized, Janice Thompson brings us the larger-than-life story of Bella Rossi and her transplanted Italian family. I fell in love with the Rossi clan, a delightful collection of quirky characters who feel as passionately about their pizza as Texans do about chili. Add a hunky cowboy with a slow Southern drawl, and you’ve got a recipe for one terrific story. Polish up your line-dancing skills and get ready for a boot-scootin’ good time with Fools Rush In .”
Virginia Smith , author, Stuck in the Middle
“Janice Thompson is a master storyteller who draws her readers into the tale along with the characters. From page one of Fools Rush In , I felt as if I were Bella’s best friend, sitting down with her over cups of Italian cappuccino while she told me the latest happenings in her zany family. One of my top picks for 2009, Fools Rush In earns a permanent place in my library.”
Ane Mulligan , editor, Novel Journey
“Janice Thompson’s gift for writing humorous, romantic tales proves true once again in her book Fools Rush In . The story unfolds on Galveston Island, where Bella Rossi, a wedding planner of Italian descent, meets D.J. Neeley, a Texan through and through. Such a blending produces a joyous, fun-filled adventure for readers, whose lives will surely be richer for the time they spend at Club Wed in Fools Rush In .”
Nancy Jo Jenkins , author, Coldwater Revival
“ Fools Rush In is a charming tale about stumbling upon love and finding a bit of your true self along life’s journey. Wedding planner Bella Rossi bounds from one crazy situation to another in this fun read that makes you grateful for the truly important things in life—a loving family and a strong faith. Like fine seasonings in rich gravy, Janice Thompson skillfully blends in several insightful moments to distill truth in a meaningful way.”
Megan DiMaria , author, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands
In memory of my stepfather, Billie Moseley, a true-blue Texan, who is currently residing in heaven . . . and likely still wearing his boots
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Endorsements
Dedication
Prologue
1: Mambo Italiano
2: Just in Time
3: Fools Rush In
4: Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?
5: Make the World Go Away
6: Simpatico
7: With My Eyes Wide Open
8: You Belong to Me
9: Young at Heart
10: Little Did We Know
11: That’s What I Like
12: Who’s Sorry Now?
13: Walk on By
14: Pennies from Heaven
15: Walkin’ My Baby Back Home
16: Please Don’t Talk about Me When I’m Gone
17: Memories Are Made of This
18: Let’s Be Friendly
19: Turn the World Around
20: In the Chapel in the Moonlight
21: Baby, It’s Cold Outside
22: Which Way Did My Heart Go?
23: I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face
24: I’d Cry like a Baby
25: Return to Me
26: Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime
27: You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
28: That’s Amore
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Prologue
If Uncle Lazarro hadn’t left the mob, I probably wouldn’t have a story to tell.
Okay, so he wasn’t actually in the mob, he only sold vacuum cleaners to a couple of guys who were. In the ’70s. In Atlantic City, New Jersey. Before I was born.
But still, mob ties are mob ties, right? And we Rossis certainly know how to take a little bit of yeast and puff it up into a whole loaf of bread—which means we’ve managed to elevate Uncle Lazarro’s story to folklore status. And why not? As my mama always says, “A little extra spice never hurts the sauce, just gives it more flavor.”
Depending on who you ask, it was a Damascus Road experience that did it. Uncle Lazarro swears he was blinded by a bright light that drove him backward to the ground, just like the apostle Paul in the book of Acts.
My Aunt Bianca, God rest her soul, told the story a little differently. In her version, Uncle Lazarro was hit by a bus on a city street late at night while walking home from a bar in a drunken stupor. She said the headlights came at him like two glowing snake eyes just before the kiss of death. She always exaggerated her s’s when she said the word ssssnake , which made the story more exciting.
Afterward, Aunt B. would lift her tiny silver crucifix to her lips, give it a kiss, then roll her eyes heavenward and mouth a silent prayer of thanks to the Almighty—not just for sparing her husband’s life, but for returning his sanity and his religion.
Regardless of whose story you believed, Uncle Lazarro ended up at the Sisters of Mercy hospital in Atlantic City, where the nuns got ahold of him and led him to the Lord. He called it a “come to Jesus” meeting, and his eyes filled with tears every time he spoke of it.
According to my pop, my uncle gave up selling vacuum cleaners that same night. From what I hear, he was never quite the same . . . and neither was anyone else in my family. Funny how one event can change absolutely everything. In our case, it set the wheels in motion for the whole Rossi clan to end up in the most illogical of places—Texas.
Transitioning my story from the East Coast to the humid South would be impossible without mentioning my uncle’s love for pizza. It’s one of a million things we have in common, particularly when it comes to deep-dish, heavy on the pepperoni. He’s also keen on coffees, especially the flavored ones with the foam on top. So when he came up with the idea to move to Galveston Island in the late ’80s to open Parma John’s—a pizzeria featuring the ultimate in Italian coffees—everyone took the news in stride.
Likely, my parents were intrigued by Lazarro’s suggestion that they join him in this new venture. My pop, heaven help him, has always been lactose intolerant. I’m still not sure what motivated him to follow after this mozzarella-driven Pied Piper. Probably just his overwhelming love for his older brother. Love and loyalty—these have always been powerful opiates in the Rossi family. I’ve found them to be both a blessing and a curse.
How my uncle settled on Galveston Island is another story altogether, one that involves the untimely passing of my beloved Aunt Bianca, may she rest in peace. Upon her deathbed, she mumbled these strange and startling words: “Toss my ashes into the Gulf of Mexico.” At least we think she said the Gulf of Mexico. My mother insists she must’ve meant Galva Messio’s, her favorite shoe store. Then again, my mama is always looking for an excuse to shop.
Regardless, the entire Rossi clan ended up in Texas, a far cry from Atlantic City not just in miles but in personality. Transplanting the whole group of us—three adults and five children—was no small feat. And the little things nearly proved to be our undoing. For example, I spent the better part of my elementary years figuring out how to transition from “you guys” to “y’all,” something I thought would never come naturally. Now I can “y’all” with the best of ’em.
Turns out Galveston Island was the perfect place to grow up and the ideal setting for a family business. In fact, it turned out to be such an ideal setting that my pop, probably weary with the whole cheese thing, decided to open a business of his own—Bella’s Wedding Facility.
And that’s pretty much where my story begins.
1
Mambo Italiano
To be twenty-nine and single in an Italian family is one thing. To be twenty-nine and single with a wedding facility named after you is quite another.
From the day my father opened Bella’s, I knew I would never marry. I had enough working against me already. Legs as skinny as Uncle Lazarro’s walking cane. Interfering family members, who sabotaged every relationship I ever attempted. Now this. What were the chances someone would actually propose to a building’s namesake?
Bella. My pop said he chose the name because I was such a beautiful baby. His face always lit up when he told the story of the first time he laid eyes on me in the hospital nursery. “What a vision of loveliness, bambina!” he would say. “All wrapped up like a piggy in a pink blanket with those big brown eyes peeking out . . . You were every papa’s dream!” Of course, he could