Once
Upon a Marriage
Retelling
The Three Army Surgeons
By
Sara Daniel
My
favorite school assignment ever was
modernizing and retelling a fairy tale (sophomore English – Aced it AND got
extra credit – Thanks Ms. Seckler!), so
when Decadent Publishing put out the
call for a retelling of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, my hand immediately shot in the
air. I was given The Three Army Surgeons,
an obscure, somewhat gruesome story that was definitely not a romance. (Read it
here.)
At
the beginning of the initial brainstorming, I thought, “You have got to be
kidding me. What I have I gotten myself into?” But then I plunged in. Before
long, I was giggling as I typed because Once Upon a
Marriage
was SO MUCH FUN to write. Yep, favorite assignment ever!
Time is running out for Armina Keer to have the baby she’s always
wanted. Before she can move on with her life, she needs her estranged husband
to sign their divorce papers. When she can’t get him to respond, her meddling
uncles arrange for a trip to his inn. Despite vowing to guard her broken heart,
she has to settle the past before she can have a future.
Ian Keer might not deserve a second chance with his wife, but he’s
not going to give up one either, not with the immediate flaming attraction
still between them. While her uncles’ antics wreak havoc on life at The Inn, he
offers her the ultimate gamble: Spend the night with him, and afterwards he’ll
sign the papers if she still wants to leave.
With everything riding
on one night together, Ian must convince her that their love is strong enough
the second time around, and Armina must decide if love is worth sacrificing her
dreams.
Excerpt:
“You hate me,”
Ian whispered, feeling more nauseous than if he’d ingested a prosthetic
eyeball. How could she not hate him when she believed their personal
relationship had meant less to him than an employment issue?
Armina gazed
beyond his left shoulder. “I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you. When we got
married, I understood you had a strong work ethic combined with an unusual
drive to succeed and a consuming passion for the Inn. I knew I’d come in second
to this place.”
He opened his
mouth, wanting to argue, but couldn’t. If she’d made him choose, he wouldn’t
have picked her.
“I thought I was
okay with it,” she continued. “After all, I loved the Inn, too, and wanted you
to realize your vision for it. Turns out I wasn’t okay. I didn’t realize how
distant second place actually was.” She shrugged her slim shoulders. “Live and
learn, right?”
Not right. He
wanted to take back the lesson and teach her about real love instead. “You
never should have had to settle for second place. With me or with anyone else.
No one has the right to ask that of you.”
“Agreed.” Her
voice came out stronger, her shoulders squared, and she looked him directly in
the eye. “Now you understand why I want a divorce.”
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Sara Daniel writes what she
loves—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She
lives her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband. Connect with
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