Blog Tour: Moments for You: Carrie Ann Ryan

by - Tuesday, April 23, 2024


Two widows. One wedding dress. And a promise of forever in the next installment of the Wilder Brothers.

Moments for You, an all-new second chance, small town romance from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ann Ryan is now available!

A wedding dress is meant to be worn only once.

When a stranger finds herself in need of a miracle at the last minute, I do the unthinkable: I offer mine to her.

The same one I wore down the aisle for my late husband.

Now I’m invited to the wedding and finding myself wondering why I shut myself away from the world for so long.

I’m only meant to be at the Wilder Retreat for a single day except I go home with not only a job offer, but the promise of something more.

Ridge Wilder is hiding secrets of his own. And the undeniable chemistry between us burns before we even contemplate taking that first step.

Only I’ve already had my happy ever after. I never planned on finding another. And Ridge is even far more broken than I am—with a past that might come back to haunt us both.

Moments for You is now available on ALL retailers in eBook, Paperback, Special Edition paperback, and audio with Teddy Hamilton and Samantha Brentmoor. It's also on Kobo Plus and Libraries for those who love subscriptions! https://geni.us/MomentsYouChoice

Two women connected by a single wedding dress. When Aurora hears a bride needs a last minute wedding dress on the anniversary of the day she lost her own husband, she takes it as a sign that it is time to begin to pull herself out of the grief she has been surviving in. One single act brings her into contact with the Wilders, as they are the coordinators trying to help one of their brides find her perfect replacement gown.

Ridge Wilder is hiding a secret pain from even those closest to him. No one knows the reason he really returned to the resort to work so closely with his cousins and brothers. He thinks he hides it but when he meets the woman donating her dress to their next bride, he finds himself drawn to her pain in a way he doesn’t quite understand except that he understands it.

Everyone knew Aurora’s heartbreak and were so sensitive to making sure she was comfortable with every step of the way. But Ridge’s pain burned behind the wall he had erected around his heart, until Aurora’s presence had him considering whether he could truly put the past behind him.

I loved the way these two helped each other heal. Even as the whirlwind of wedding plans circled around them, they found peace in each other that no one else could understand. But their newfound peace is threatened when Aurora is mugged and though it is ruled random, something about it doesn’t feel as random as it should.

Once again, returning to the Wilder Resort felt like a combination of going home and going on vacation. I wish this place truly existed (maybe without the paparazzi and creepers who seem to show up though!). Ridge is the first of the cousins to get his own book and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the way the family circled when he revealed the secrets he had been keeping from them all. Carrie Ann Ryan writes family sagas like no one else. I love the way everyone rallies and challenges each other, protects and pushes each other, like the perfect version of family we all strive to be. I can’t wait to jump back into this world for more from this family.
Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see the man I met the day before, Ridge. He was on the security team, and a Wilder if I remembered correctly. And the way he had stared at me made my stomach clench.

Not in a scary way, or perhaps that was a lie. Because something scared me.

I hadn’t felt that rush in so long that I had forgotten what it was.

Because that man, even with his harsh angles and growls, was beautiful. Those piercing eyes, that strong jaw. And those muscles? I hadn’t thought of muscles like that in a very long time.

I was a single woman after all, which was a very weird thing to think. There was nothing holding me back. Except perhaps today of all days wasn’t the time to think of it.

But when would the time be right?

He met my gaze and nodded but didn’t smile. He just turned and went back to whatever his job was for the day, leaving me feeling slightly bereft.

What was wrong with me?

Music began to play, and I sat back in the bench as the ceremony began.

A little girl with a beautiful lacy pink dress skipped down the aisle, making everyone laugh as she tossed petals into the air and twirled like she was a ballerina. Then she set the basket down and proceeded to do somersaults to the end.

A smile broke on my face, pushing through any nerves, and I laughed along with the others, shaking my head as the harried mother came back to pick up her daughter, as well as the basket.

The little girl waved at everyone over her mom’s shoulder, and I waved back, feeling lighter than I had in years.

The little boy was next with his ring pillow and was very serious. Left together. Right together. Left together. Right together.

I hadn’t even realized he was saying that aloud until people were laughing again, and I knew this wedding was going to be full of laughter.

The bridesmaids followed, meeting up with their escorts at the end as they helped them onto the stage. When the groom’s eyes widened and a single tear fell down his cheek, I turned with the others, my breath catching.

There was Augusta, her eyes bright and wide and a smile so radiant on her face that she looked as if she were a goddess, coming to grace us with her presence and gift us with joy and love and happiness.
And her dress.

It was hers now. It wasn’t mine. I still felt a kick in the gut that reminded me of the promise I had made to William. A promise we had kept but fate had broken. I would love William until my dying days, but as my dress became hers and she walked down the aisle, I knew that this was me saying goodbye to what was and what could have been.

It was time to make new promises, it was time to breathe again.

I let my tears freely fall as I watched a woman who, just days ago, had been consumed by panic and loss, marry the man of her dreams in a dress that reflected promises and memories.

And as they said their I do’s, I wiped tears from my face and looked to the left again and met Ridge’s gaze. He studied my face as everyone cheered and clapped. I nodded back, telling him that I was okay.

Because okay can mean a lot of things.

Today wasn’t about me or my memories. Today was about the future.

And it was time to make that happen.


For more information about Carrie Ann Ryan and her books, visit her website:

https://carrieannryan.com/

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