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Before you get down on bended knee... ...you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O'Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she's got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it's the perfect time to get married. When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who's now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she's positive married life isn't for her. But this time, Connor says it's all or nothing. If she doesn't want to marry him, he'll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he's never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn't quite as sure as she thinks...
Before you get down on bended knee... ...you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O'Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she's got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it's the perfect time to get married. When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who's now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she's positive married life isn't for her. But this time, Connor says it's all or nothing. If she doesn't want to marry him, he'll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he's never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn't quite as sure as she thinks...
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Excerpts-
From the book
"Get up, doofus."
Though the words were said with a smile, they definitely weren't what Connor O'Rourke was hoping to hear. He was, after all, on a bent knee, holding up a diamond ring.
"I just asked you to marry me, Jess," he said.
"And it was adorable." She ruffled his hair. That didn't bode well, either. "The answer is no, obviously. What were you thinking? And boy, I'm starving. Did you call for pizza yet?"
Okay. Granted, Jessica Dunn was...different. They'd been dating for the past eight months—or ten years, depending on how you counted it—and getting her to this moment had taken as much strategizing as, oh, D-Day. Still, he hadn't quite anticipated this.
He tried again. "Jessica. Make me the happiest man on earth and say you'll be my wife."
"I heard you the first time, big guy. And I did wonder about all these candles. Nice touch, if a little on the fire-hazard side of things."
"And your answer is?"
"You already know my answer, and you knew it long before you asked anything. Now come on, Connor. Upsy-daisy."
He didn't move. Jess sighed and folded her arms across her chest, giving him a patient look, eyebrow slightly raised.
Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket, because she always checked her phone, no matter what they were doing. "Iron Man is killing all the bad guys in the cave," she said, deadpan.
This was normal—her brother dictating text updates on whatever movie he and Gerard, his occasional babysitter, were watching. It could be funny. At the moment, not so much.
"Can we be serious here?" he asked.
"I'm really hungry, Con."
"If I feed you, will you say yes?"
"No. So up you go. Let's have a nice night, okay? Weren't we gonna watch Game of Thrones?"
Hail Mary, full of grace, she was really turning him down.
He didn't get up. With the hand that was not holding the little black velvet box, he rubbed his hand across his jaw. He'd shaved for this and everything. The diamond winked in the candlelight, taunting him.
"Look, Jess," he said. "I'm tired of feeling like you pay me by the hour. I'm tired of you breaking up with me. Why don't we get married and stay together for the rest of our lives?"
"You ever hear that expression, if it ain't broke, don't fix it?"
"Do you see me here on one knee with an expensive ring in my hand?"
"Yes. You're hard to miss. And it's very pretty. But I get the feeling you think you should love me for the simple reason that we've been sleeping together on and off for so many years—"
"No, it's genuine love."
"And secondly, you know how things are. I can't marry you. I have Davey."
"Well, I have Colleen, and she's a lot more trouble than your brother."
"Funny." Jessica's three feet away face was erasing any emotion. It was a face he'd seen all too often in the past two decades, as if she was saying, very politely, keep three feet away from me or you'll lose an arm.
His knee was getting sore. "I know how things are with your brother, Jess. I don't think you're supposed to martyr yourself because of it."
"Don't go there. I love my brother. He comes first."
"So you basically have a life sentence."
"Yes," she said, as if she was explaining it to a two-year-old. "Davey's life. My life. They're inseparable. You think I should put him in a kennel for you?"
"Did I say the word kennel? No, I...
About the Author-
Kristan Higgins is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly and USA TODAY bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than twenty languages. She has received dozens of awards and accolades, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The New York Journal of Books and Kirkus. Kristan lives in Connecticut with her heroic firefighter husband, two atypically affectionate children, a neurotic rescue mutt and an occasionally friendly cat.
Reviews-
Starred review from October 1, 2015 When Connor O'Rourke decides he wants to marry longtime on-again, off-again secret girlfriend Jessica Dunn and she turns him down flat, he tells her it's over]but no one else will do, despite his sister's attempts at matchmaking and his wish to get over her once and for all. Connor fell in love with Jessica when he was 12 years old, and despite being one of the few boys she never slept with in high school, his feelings for her have never changed. Now, 20 years later, and after 10 years of sneaking around Manningsport in a relationship that grows hot and cold]depending on Jessica's moods and what's going on in her life]Connor is convinced they're ready to take the next step and proposes. Jessica wants none of it. Her mentally challenged brother hates Connor after a childhood trauma, and she knows he'll never accept Connor as her husband. Plus, her father, who abandoned them years ago, is back, claiming to be sober and wanting to try again. Just when Jessica thinks her life is going well]landing her dream job at Blue Heron Winery, saving enough money for a home of her own, Davey settled into some level of independence]the messy emotions of her past are rising up, complicating things. When Connor tries to convince Jessica that some obstacles might not be impossible, she lashes out, until more emotionally intense events reset their mercurial cycle. Finally Connor draws a line, and Jessica must decide if she'll reach for a future with the man she loves, despite her fear and insecurities. Blue Heron fans will not be disappointed in this emotional novel that spans Connor and Jessica's 20-year love story and offers peeks into their volatile relationship that make the final chapter of their romance and the series even more poignant and gratifying. Higgins' masterful storytelling and penetrating study of human nature combined with a dollop of humor make for breathtaking, heart-wrenching, compelling romance.
COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from December 1, 2015
Connor O'Rourke has loved Jessica Dunn since he was 12, but their relationship over the years has been rocky at best. Now, together once more, Connor wants to settle down, but convincing independent Jess to marry him is not going to be easy. She is happy with their current "friends with benefits" relationship, and with a developmentally disabled brother to care for, Jess has no plans to marry. But Connor is determined to change her mind. VERDICT A heroine who believes she can only count on herself, a persistent, protective hero who won't give up, and a wonderful cavalcade of Blue Heron folk lead to an irresistible, often touching story that is tender, sexy, and hilarious as only Higgins can write it. A story to savor. Higgins (If You Only Knew) lives in Connecticut.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 15, 2015 Higgins continues her Blue Heron series (In Your Dreams, 2014). As tiny as it is, Manningsport, New York (population 715), has a wrong side of town, and that is where Jessica Dunn grew up with her alcoholic parents and younger brother, Davey, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Nicknamed Jessica Does in high school, she only shares her bed these days with Connor O'Rourke, and she has managed to keep that relationship under wraps for more than 10 years. She has had to, because Davey still blames Connor for the death of his dog when they were children, and Jessica has to put Davey first, because their parents never did. Jessica has a good lifeher dream job, Davey, and Connor. Maybe she sometimes wishes for something more, but she never thought she'd have all that she does. Then Connor gives her an ultimatum, but Jessica believes she can never be anyone's wife. Recommend to readers who enjoy authors Shannon Stacey, Macy Beckett, or Jane Graves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
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