Title: Love, Lorena
Author: Ivy L. James
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 10/18/2022
Heat Level: 3 – Some Sex
Pairing: Female/Female
Length: 57950
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, lesbian, bisexual, light romance, royalty, matchmaker, arranged/forced marriage, modern fairy tale, flirting, interracial/intercultural, pets, family drama
Add to Goodreads
Description
Lorena García Fernández has built her matchmaking company, “Love, Lorena,” from the ground up, but her parents refuse to acknowledge the business as legitimate. Hoping to impress them, she travels to Ìovoria to find Crown Prince Callum a match. However, when Callum unexpectedly abdicates, his wild sister, Rosamund, becomes the crown princess and Lorena’s new client.
Lorena knows “Rowdy Rosamund” from the news headlines, but as she helps the princess, she learns there’s more to Rose than her public persona. The two women grow closer with each date Lorena sets up for the crown princess, and Lorena finds herself falling for Rose.
With only a month to find the perfect match, each failure increases the pressure to succeed. How will Lorena choose between her duty and her heart?
Love, Lorena
Ivy L. James © 2022
All Rights Reserved
Thinking fast, Rose offered Lorena her hand. “May I have this dance?”
Lorena hesitated. “I’m not a terribly good dancer.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll lead.”
“I… All right.” Cautiously, Lorena took the proffered hand, and Rose drew her out onto the dance floor.
They took up the frame and swept out into a basic box step. The music was slow, warm, reverent. Rose kept the moves simple and the leads clear so Lorena wouldn’t get nervous.
Rose danced Lorena deeper onto the dance floor. Despite her complaint that she couldn’t dance, she had stellar posture—her back arched, her arms firm, her gaze over Rose’s shoulder. Perfect, like her curtsy.
“I’m flattered to be asked,” Lorena murmured, “but aren’t you supposed to be dancing with potential suitors, as opposed to your employees? Isn’t that the entire point of this mixer?”
Rose wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think of you as an employee.” The very word, the standoffishness of it, left a sour taste in her mouth.
“How do you think of me, then?”
A dangerous question. The answer was buried deeper than Rose cared to dig. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” she said instead, because it was sort of true. The prim matchmaker and the party princess. Unlikely friends, but friends all the same.
Lorena slipped under Rose’s raised arm for another turn. She considered the admission. “I suppose we are. Who would’ve thought?”
Rose drew her back into her arms, and they waltzed around the ballroom, the world spinning around them, the music an embrace. Rose’s hand sizzled, clasping Lorena’s, and Lorena’s other hand felt warm and heavy where it rested on Rose’s bare shoulder. The moment was pure, and perfect, and all them. Just Rose and Lorena, whirling across the floor together.
Rose led Lorena into a spin and kept her there, twirling her, letting her feel the rush of a long pirouette. Finally, she drew her into herself, collecting Lorena’s back against her chest. “How was that?”
“Good.” Lorena caught her breath, and they continued waltzing down the floor. “How long have you been taking dance lessons?”
“Since I was old enough to learn a box step. Dancing is a required skill for the aristocracy. What made you want to learn?”
Lorena flushed. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
Rose spun her out, then brought her in. “You can trust me,” she said softly.
Meeting Rose’s gaze for the first time in the entire dance, Lorena swallowed. “Honestly? I wanted to feel beautiful.”
The fuck? “You are beautiful.” Like, drop-dead gorgeous. Glasses and bun and all. Every inch of her, even when she wasn’t dressed up fancy for a ball.
“You know what I mean. Like Cinderella coming down the staircase and everyone turning to stare at her.” Lorena shrugged. “I’ve never been that person. I guess I thought if I learned to dance, I might have a chance.”
Rose’s heart broke for this side of Lorena, this woman who wanted to be admired. Lorena deserved for the whole world to do a double take every time she walked into a room. But before Rose figured out how to reassure her of that, the orchestra’s last note resounded. She pulled Lorena in closer than proper form dictated, her right hand lingering on the small of her back. The other couples on the floor dispersed, but she held on to Lorena, unwilling to let her go yet.
“Do I have to give you up? You dance wonderfully.”
Lorena’s soft smile made butterflies take flight in Rose’s stomach.
“I guess I have to give everyone some time.” But if everyone else disappeared, Rose wasn’t sure she would notice. A night with only Lorena sounded delightful.
“Right. We both have a job to do.” Gently, regretfully, Lorena pulled away. “Thank you for the dance though.”
“Save me another one. It was fun.”
“Given this entire thing is for you, I think you get whatever dances you want with whomever you want.”
“Och, ‘whom’? Someone’s fancy,” Rose teased, and she was blessed with a light blush. Since when was Lorena shy?
Lorena stepped away, and two women appeared in her place. Lady Imogen and Lady Enya swallowed her up so Rose couldn’t see her anymore. Rose chatted with them and took them each for a spin around the ballroom, though she kept searching for that golden lace in the sea of gowns and tuxedos.
“Are you having a good time?” asked Lady Imogen, her mousy voice grating on Rose’s ears. She sounded hopeful, even as she stepped on Rose’s left foot.
Rose winced but scrounged up a thin smile. “It’s been a good evening so far.” Not a lie, even if the current dance partner left something to be desired. But dancing with Lorena had been the highlight so far—ouch. Right foot this time.
“Sorry!” Lady Imogen squeaked.
Rose took a deep breath and kept dancing. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Finally, the orchestra concluded the song, and Rose escorted Lady Imogen to the edge of the dance floor, where other contenders vied for Rose’s hand for the next dance, another waltz, this time Viennese. She accepted a handsome young man who introduced himself as Lord Jakodi, and they took up the dance. He started talking about his recent travels, but when he delved into the details of cattle production, her attention wandered.
Wandered to the sidelines, where gold gleamed at the refreshments table. Lorena glanced around surreptitiously before popping a snack into her mouth.
“Did you hear me, Your Royal Highness?” Lord Jakodi asked too loudly.
She cringed. “Yes, sorry.” Definitely a lie. She needed to make more of an effort. “Erm, so you like to travel! I love to travel. My favorite place so far is Santiago, Chile. What’s yours?”
Jakodi went into painful detail about a town in Wales, and Rose tried to pay attention—truly!—but when they turned at the end of the dance floor, her gaze returned to the refreshments. Where Lorena was backed up against the table. Stupid Lord Tiernan, earl of Sìnea, had a hand on either side of her, boxing her in. His lascivious smile, the greed in his eyes, the way Lorena smiled back—
Rose scowled and pulled away from her partner. “Excuse me,” she muttered, and she stalked past the other dancers to where Tiernan had trapped Lorena against the table
Purchase
NineStar Press | Books2Read
Amazon
Ivy L. James wrote her first story on Post-it notes as a child. Since then, she has graduated to regular paper and enjoys writing inclusive, heartwarming romance as a way to counterbalance the negativity in the world. She lives in Maryland with her partner and their corgi, cat, and two snakes.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | YouTube
