#Romance

Our Review for Between the Vines by Staci Troilo ~ #Contemporary Romance ~ @stacitroilo

/ Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie / 43 Comments

When you grow up on a vineyard, you learn the grapevine can’t always be trusted.
Elena Santucci is one of the best wedding planners in the Keystone state—ironic, as she doesn’t believe in love. Why should she? Rumors cost her all meaningful relationships, sending her into the arms of one loser after another until she swore off men entirely. Now she spends her days helping brides put together dream days… even though she suspects they’ll all lead to nightmares.
Aaron Kennedy looks like a tough-as-nails cop, but he’s got a marshmallow for a heart. One that’s recently been roasted over the coals by Heather, his former fiancée. After discovering her affair with his best friend, he broke off his engagement and swore off women—at least for a while. When his sister asks for help with her wedding plans, he can’t say no. Then he learns the wedding is at Blooming Valley Vineyards, and his former crush is the event planner. Maybe this is fate telling him not to give up so quickly.

Just when Aaron starts to break through Elena’s icy shell, Heather comes back into his life with an unbelievable story—one Elena seems to support. Rumors travel the grapevine faster than he can make sense of them. He needs to discover the truth before his one chance at happiness withers on the vine.

Find your copy HERE

Our Thoughts

I don’t often read romantic stories, for like Elena, the heroine of this story, love hasn’t been kind to me.

On a good day, I do still look for it, which is why this is the second story I have read in the Keystone Couples Series.

Romance is a funny thing, so many things can ruin your chances.

Unusual circumstances, strange coincidences and jealous people almost wrecked every chance for Elena, and my heart went out to her as she struggled to create perfect fairy-tale weddings for other people in the course of her job, knowing she would probably never walk down the aisle herself.

Luckily, love will usually find a way, for even the most stubborn of hearts…

All three stories in the Keystone Couples Series were wonderful romances and well worth reading…

Love, Spoken without Words… #Poetry

/ Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie / 13 Comments 






Image by Felix Merler from Pixabay






Trembling, I stand on the edge of the universe
Remembering the life I had before, the family
After the long darkness
The memories, pinpoints of light, jewels
Evening murmurs break the silence
Raging storm clouds gather
Rain carries new light
Evening stars, hidden by dark clouds
Sun hides, waiting to shine
Telling us there will be a new day
Rain covered earth springs back, new life
In a memory that shines bright, I remember
Her face, her blue eyes that glow
Love spoken without words…

©AnitaDawes2022


			

	


			
				


	

							
That Empty Feeling ~ The Sunday Whirl ~ Wordle 546 ~ #Poetry
						

			 / Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie						 / 7 Comments
								

			


		

		
















That Empty Feeling  


Dawn stretched its red flames
Across the tips of the mountains
Strange mists awoke my mind
The world outside quite still
Something felt off, I could see
only through a blur of old memories
I shouldered my nightgown
hearing only his sound, his voice. He laughed
I turned, expecting to see him standing behind me
Reminding me he liked it off the shoulder
The one that made life hard
To live without…

©AnitaDawes2022


			

	


			
				


			
				


			
				


			
				


			
				


	

							
Mindlovemisery’sMenagerie ~ #Challenge #Poetry
						

			 / Anita Dawes and Jaye Marie						 / 2 Comments
								

			


		

		

Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie










Champagne bubbles kissed my nose, 
reminding me of last night’s French kiss. 
I lost her in the crowd, my dark-haired beauty. 
Please God let me find her.
With no chance of hailing a taxi,
tenacious is now tattooed on my brow.
With a grimace on my face, 
I turned my collar up to the sound of fireworks. 
My red mustache dripping rain on my chin, 
flustered, pushing my way through the crowd 
trying to find her. I need a second kiss. 
One will not quiet the caterwaul, 
the silent howling in my head.
Why had I let her slip from my hands?
A New Year's gift from the Gods I must find…


©AnitaDawes2022