Today’s
Wednesday Wonders features Mail-Order Groom by Cindy Flores
Martinez.
About
Mail-Order Groom (Second Edition):
MAIL-ORDER
GROOM (Second Edition) is a sweet romantic comedy novel about an American woman
who marries a handsome stranger from Poland after her fiancé leaves her right
before the wedding.
Lisa
is about to marry the love of her life, but her world is shattered when she
finds her fiancé, Jeff, in the arms of another woman. When he calls off the
wedding, she's heartbroken.
In
a twist of fate, she meets Krzysztof Zielinski from Poland on
Mail-Order-Grooms.Com. He needs to marry an American woman so that he can stay
in America, and he’s willing to pay money for it. His reason for needing to
stay is what tugs at Lisa’s heart and convinces her to say “I do” to him. After
all, it’s going to be strictly a business deal.
Lisa races to the
altar with Krzysztof, but things become complicated when she finds herself
falling for him, and he’s not planning to stay in America forever. Will her heart
break all over again?
Excerpt:
"Without
further ado," said Pastor Dan, "I now pronounce you husband and
wife.”
Was
it really over? I remained there, unmoving, as reality sunk in. Yes, it was
over. I had married Krzysztof Zielinski. Despite my good intentions for having
married him, I couldn't escape the enormity of what I had done. I hardly knew
Krzys, but I needed to make our marriage look real, or else he and Jerzy would
lose everything. What made it even harder was that my heart was still breaking
over Jeff, and nobody could ever know how I felt. Would I really be able to do
this?
Pastor
Dan clasped his hands together and turned toward Krzys. “You may now kiss the
bride.”
Somehow,
I had forgotten about this part of the ceremony. I wasn't ready to kiss Krzys,
or anyone else for that matter. Jeff was the only man I had kissed in years. What
was I going to do now?
The
photographer that I had hired for the day positioned the camera directly in
front of us, and everyone in the room waited in silence for our blessed union.
I
caught a glimpse of Mario and Jerzy who stood beside Krzys, and Magda who sat
behind them in the front row of the church looking beautiful in a flowing
floral dress. Daphne, Chloe, and Zoey were at my side in matching bubble gum
pink maid of honor and bridesmaids gowns. They all watched me and Krzys with
anticipation.
There
was no way around it. I had to kiss Krzys, and it had to look as if it was
something other than the first time.
As
I prepared myself mentally for the inevitable, I decided that our kiss couldn't
be just any kiss. It had to be better than anything Jeff and I had ever shared
and better than what he and Vivian experienced on the night I found them
together. I was going to give Krzys the biggest, most overly exaggerated kiss
in the history of my love life, and I was going to make sure we were in full
view of the camera. I hoped with everything inside of me that Jeff would see a
picture of that moment and that somehow, someway, he would feel the same pain I
felt when I saw him kiss Vivian.
I
stepped forward, but Krzys's lips met mine first. The kiss that followed
between us was gentle, soft, tender, warm, and kind. Yes, those are the words
that come to mind when I think of that kiss. Nothing ever happens exactly as
you plan it. Life is never the way you think it’s going to be.
When
it was over, Krzys didn’t move, and neither did I. We watched each other as if
we were the only two people in the room. We had just experienced the most
perfect kiss, and it had rendered us immobile. Before that moment, our marriage
was going to be a clear, straightforward business deal with no emotions
involved, but our kiss had just complicated it.
“Ladies
and gentleman,” said Pastor Dan, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Krzysztof
Zielinski.”
About Cindy Flores Martinez:
My name is Cindy Flores Martinez. I was born and raised in a
suburb of Los Angeles. I have an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in
Screenwriting. I have been a screenwriting instructor, screenplay consultant,
script reader, and screenplay collaborator. My debut novel, Mail-Order Groom,
started out as a screenplay and movie project. I spent years shopping it around
Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world and had two well-known
actors, one of them Academy Award nominated, interested in portraying the lead
character's parents. After not finding the success I wanted, I officially
canceled my film production company, Mail-Order Groom LLC, in November of 2009
and embarked on the journey of turning my screenplay into a novel.
Author Links:
