By Proxy

By Proxy by Katy Regnery

A HOLIDAY SURPRISE

Stubbornly small-town Jenny Lindstrom has misgivings when she promises to stand proxy in her best friend’s wedding—misgivings that are fulfilled when tall, handsome Sam Kelley walks into the courthouse an hour late. In order to keep her promise, an afternoon favor turns into a weekend of startling but undeniable attraction, threatening the well-ordered world that keeps her heart at arm’s length from any more pain.

Sam’s plan is to fly to Livingston, Montana, take vows for his favorite cousin, and return to Chicago as quickly as possible. But his plan is turned upside-down when he must spend a weekend with Jenny in Gardiner in order to keep his word. He doesn’t want to fall for the prim, proper schoolteacher whose small-town life seems to him like selling out, but the more time he spends with her, the harder it is to say good-bye.

When city and country come together for Christmas, the unexpected gift is true love.

I love my best friend and I would do anything for her but I don't know if I could stand in as a proxy for her wedding. Jenny is going to do just that. Her best friend Ingrid is overseas, her fiance is in Afghanistan and they want to get married. They just aren't close enough and can't get the time to do it, so they call their best friends and ask them to be their proxies. Kristian asks his cousin Sam to stand in for him and so it goes.

Sam was late to the appointment and they had to reschedule for Monday so Sam goes to stay in the small town of Gardiner where Jenny lives. They spend a great deal of time together, dinner and walks, just getting to know one another. Sam is a big city boy and even though he's falling hard and fast for Jenny, he just can't see that he could live in a small town. Giving up his city ways wouldn't work, right?

Jenny came home to take care of her sick mom and never left again. She's afraid. Sam is everything she wants but she can't bring herself to leave her family. 

They fell in to love so easily. It was just natural, it wasn't forced or fake. You felt the pulls and you just know that they do love each other. They are just stubborn people. Sam can't leave Chicago and Jenny can't leave her family, so they become miserable people. They aren't happy but they won't be happy if they move to one or the other. Sometimes you have to miss something to truly understand what it means to you and what you will do to keep it in your life. This book was easy to read and the characters were easy too.