Sweet Gone South (32 page)

“I guess we’re not going to have much of a wedding night,” Lanie said. “And I hope you aren’t disappointed that the wedding wasn’t bigger. But considering — ,” she put her hand over his where it rested against her womb, “ — it was better to get on with it.”

“Hmm,” Luke considered as he nuzzled her neck. “The wedding doesn’t matter to us. We only care about being married.”

The band ended “Hotel California” and went straight into “Sweet Home Alabama.”

“We care about dancing,” Lanie said.

Luke gave her one of those deep dimpled smiles that she loved so much. It was definitely a smile worth coming back to life for.

“Yes, we do,” he said, with a leer woven into his dimples.

She’d finally shared with him her theory about couples who danced well together and they’d laughed as much as she had imagined they would.

They kissed for a while. And a while longer. They might not have come up for air if they hadn’t been distracted by the rhythmic clapping coming from the dance floor.

“Who is that?” Lanie had to sit up to get a better look. There was a couple dancing in the middle of the floor and everyone else had backed up to give them room and urge them on. “No!”

But it was. Nathan and Tolly were dancing together and bringing the house down.

“What do you make of that?” Lanie asked.

“Nothing.” Luke pulled her against him again. “Strictly amateurs. Wait until you get that cast off. We’ll show them.
And
we’ll see about that proper wedding night.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Before they began writing as Alicia Hunter Pace, Stephanie Jones and Jean Hovey were friends — not just friends, but the finish each other’s sentences and swap shoes on the sidewalk kind of friends.

They had no idea their writing styles would be so different but, upon reflection, they could have looked at their travel styles for a clue. Jean once got off a plane in London with eight dollars, an ATM card, no reservations of any kind, and a vague idea that she wanted to go to the Victoria and Albert museum. When Stephanie travels, she arrives with a detailed concrete plan written in a notebook that she carries in a coordinating tote bag that matches her calendar and her shoes.

There’s something to be said for both philosophies. Traveling by the seat of one’s pants — whether in a foreign country or on the printed page — can lead to adventures never recorded in a guidebook, but it seems to work out better if there is a plotter along with her hand on the rudder.

Writing with a partner — most people wouldn’t do it; most people shouldn’t do it. It could easily lead to hair pulling, lawsuits, and funeral food.

But it works for them.

Stephanie lives in Jasper, AL, where she teaches third grade and wishes for a bigger bookstore. She is a native Alabamian who likes football, Civil War history, and people who follow the rules. She is happy to provide a list of said rules to anyone who needs them.

Jean, a former public librarian, lives in Decatur, AL, with her husband in a hundred-year-old house that always wants something from her. She likes to cook but has discovered the joy of Mrs. Paul’s fish fillets since becoming a writer.

Stephanie and Jean are both active members of the fabulous Heart of Dixie Chapter of Romantic Writers of America.

Sweet Gone South
is the first book in their
Gone South
series.

Visit them at their website,
http://aliciahunterpace.com