Meet the Bridegrooms Books

Three confirmed bachelors get a second chance with their one true love ... For this groom, a trip to the altar is written in the stars ... Workaholic film producer DeAndre Portiss is focused on bringing a high-profile investor onto his company’s next documentary. But since the financier has turned him down before, DeAndre’s next pitch needs to be a hit. Luckily, his business partner’s sister is an experienced marketing consultant with a successful track record. But will their secret past bring down their project’s reviews? Free-spirited marketing consultant Elisha Tomlin has a unique approach to project presentations. The unconventional marketer also has a revelation for the uptight producer. According to their horoscopes, their one wonderful and reckless night was only the beginning. Elisha is certain that their love is written in the stars. Can she convince DeAndre to go against his nature and follow the signs? A Groom to the Altar is a second-chance-at-love / reunion contemporary romance that reunites a mature couple. It's a friends-to-lovers, opposite-attract love story. Excerpt: A Groom to the Altar Elisha had been expecting DeAndre’s call. It had been written in the stars. But how would he approach this? Would he ask her to dinner or possibly lunch this afternoon? How should she react? Should she pretend that she hadn’t been angered by his almost six-year silence? “Congratulations.” There was a smile in his voice. “El, I have a proposition for you.” A proposition? Did he mean a proposal? He was moving a little fast, wasn’t he? “What is it?” “Actually, Ash, Nate, and I have a proposition for you. We’d like your help creating a marketing campaign for our documentary film on the Sellsville Sluggers.” Elisha’s mind went blank. This was 2019, the Year of the Earth Pig. DeAndre was born in the Year of the Horse, 1978, and she was born in the Year of the Dog, 1982. This was supposed to be the year for them to fall in love and get married. Instead DeAndre wanted to hire her to be his marketing consultant. Someone had missed a memo. “Are you serious?” Elisha sensed his confusion. Well, good. She was confused, too. “Of course. You have an impressive track record and our project will benefit from your expertise.” Oh, no. This was a bridge too far. Elisha closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, filling her senses with the soothing fragrance of lavender from the unlit candle on her desk. She opened her eyes, struggling to keep her voice level. “The last time we spoke was almost six years ago. You were flying out of my bed the morning after my brother’s wedding. Are we just going to pretend that never happened?” “I’m not.” DeAndre lowered his voice to a pitch that strummed the muscles of Elisha’s abdomen. “That night was very special to me. But, El, as I told you at the time, I’m not the marrying kind.” “But you’re the hiring kind?” “I’ve made a mess of this.” “Yes, yes, you have.”

This groom will need the right words to get back to the altar ... Cynical screenwriter Asher Tomlin needs help researching and writing the script for his company’s historical documentary. Before their divorce almost three years ago, Asher and his ex-wife had made an impressive scriptwriting team. Now Asher’s two business partners and best friends urge him to turn to her again. Asher doesn’t need much prodding, though, to commit to doing whatever it takes to reunite with his ex-wife. The clock is ticking for jaded editorial consultant Zora Dabney. Her biological clock, that is. While they were married, she and Asher had agreed to have children. Now she’s divorced and childless. So when Asher asks for her help creating the script for his documentary, she tests his claim that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her to work with him. If Asher and Zora find a way to collaborate on the script, can they also find a way back to the altar? A Groom Once Again is a second-chance-at-love/reunion romance that reunites a mature couple. It's an adversaries-into-lovers, opposites attract love story. Chapter 1 “You’re asking me to work for the company that destroyed my marriage.” Zora Dabney stood on the opposite side of her condo’s living room. She focused her glare squarely on her ex-husband, Asher Tomlin. No doubt about it. Zora was definitely the source of the chill in the air. Asher considered Zora across the length of the room. Ebony hair framed a beautiful, heart-shaped, cinnamon-kissed face. The dark mass was parted in the center and flowed in thick waves to her narrow shoulders. She’d lost weight in the three years since their divorce. So had he. Zora was backlit by the mid-morning April sunlight streaming through the white sheer curtains covering the living room’s bay window. It made reading her expression hard. Had she done that on purpose? “You’re being melodramatic.” Asher shoved his fists farther into the front pockets of his iron gray khakis. “On the contrary. I’m showing amazing restraint.” Zora crossed her arms over her chest. Her cream cotton jersey and lime linen pants accessorized her frosty disposition. “And what do you mean your marriage? It was my marriage, too.” “Trust you to come to that realization three years too late.” Asher scrubbed his face with both palms. Zora’s salty tone still stung. “Will you work with me on the research and scripting for the Sellsville Sluggers doc or not?” Asher and his two business partners and closest friends – Nathan Fletcher and DeAndre Portiss – had met and bonded more than twenty-three years before during their first year as communication majors at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. That’s when they’d also conceived the idea of telling the story of the Sellsville Sluggers, Columbus, Ohio’s, twentieth-century black baseball team. It was after that epiphany that Asher had met Zora. She’d followed the progression of the trio’s dream through graduation and the establishment of their independent documentary film production company, Fletcher Portiss Tomlin Productions or FPT. For this project, DeAndre was the producer and Nathan the director. Asher was the documentary’s researcher and writer. Zora shifted her stance. “Why are you asking me to work with you? Do you think I need the money?” “El’s working on the project.” Asher referenced his younger sister, Elisha Tomlin, who was a marketing consultant. “She’s helping Dre with the marketing campaign.” “I know.” Asher frowned. “Do you and El keep in touch?” “We’re still friends.” Zora’s chin tilted to a defensive angle. “You are? Do you talk about me?” Zora rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.” “Never mind.” Asher was nearing frustration. “If you don’t want money, what do you want to be paid with, Zo? Coffee? Books?” Zora stared at him in silence for so long that Asher began to believe she wouldn’t respond. He prompted her. “What do you want?” “Your sperm.”

A Groom Once Again: Meet the Bridegrooms, Novella 2 By Patricia Sargeant Three confirmed bachelors get a second chance with their one true love ... For this groom, it will take the right words to get back to the altar ... Cynical screenwriter Asher Tomlin needs help researching and writing the script for his company’s historical documentary. Before their divorce almost three years ago, Asher and his ex-wife had made an impressive scriptwriting team. Now Asher’s two business partners and best friends urge him to turn to her again. Asher doesn’t need much prodding, though, to commit to doing whatever it takes to reunite with his ex-wife. The clock is ticking for jaded editorial consultant Zora Dabney. Her biological clock, that is. While they were married, she and Asher had agreed to have children. Now she’s divorced and childless. So when Asher asks for her help creating the script for his documentary, she tests his claim that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her to work with him. If Asher and Zora find a way to collaborate on the script, can they also find a way back to the altar? A Groom to Worth the Wait is a second-chance-at-love / reunion contemporary romance that reunites a mature couple. It's an adversaries-to-lovers, opposite-attract love story. Excerpt: A Groom Worth the Wait Alexis hesitated. “When do you start production?” Nathan didn’t want to pressure her, either by words or deeds, but how could he make their documentary irresistible to her? Why should she choose their project over Wes’s much more lucrative one? Why should she choose him over Wes? “Production starts as soon as we can get a D.P.” Nathan spread his hands. “We’re anxious to release the doc this fall. Next year, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum will celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Negro National Leagues. We want our project to be part of that celebration. Are you interested?” “I’d need to leave by the beginning of July.” Alexis’s eyes narrowed as though she was picturing her work schedule. “I’ll need time to prepare to leave for Benin with the other production crew at the end of the month.” “That’s plenty of time. This is only the beginning of May.” “There’s no give in my schedule, Nate.” Alexis pinned him with a warning look. “I’d need to leave, whether or not your production’s done.” Holding her gaze, Nathan leaned into the table and lowered his voice. “Lexi, what’s holding you back?” Alexis considered him for several silent beats. “Not what; you. I still have reservations about working with you.” That stung. Nathan sat back. “We’re not twenty-somethings anymore.” “Age doesn’t guarantee wisdom.” Alexis chuckled. Her smile warmed her features, brightened her eyes - and stole a large chunk of his heart. Nathan took a moment to refocus. “Do you trust me?” Alexis tilted her head. “I don’t know you.” “That’s about to change.” For better ... or for worse?