Bridesmaids & Bourbon

Sydney Marsh

She was the Maid of Honor. Being sabotaged was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Wrong shuttle. No wallet. One very annoyed bourbon distiller.

I’m supposed to be sixty miles away managing my stepsister’s wedding crisis, not stranded at Carter Creek Distillery with a man whose quiet intensity makes my overorganized world spin off its axis.

Beau Carter is all weathered denim and patient eyes, the kind of man who ages whiskey with the care I’ve never learned to give myself. When a bridge washes out in the storm, I have no choice but to accept his reluctant hospitality.

He sees through my “numbers girl” armor immediately. Sees the woman who fixes everyone else’s life but can’t figure out her own. The woman who’s been invisible for so long she’s forgotten what it feels like to be truly seen.

I’m not supposed to fall for his slow smiles and the way bourbon tastes like liquid fire on his lips. Not supposed to discover that his cottage feels more like home than anywhere I’ve ever lived.

The wedding is still happening without me. My family still needs their emergency contact…

And I’m starting to wonder if being sabotaged was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Book Information

Author: Sydney Marsh

Available on: September 15th, 2025

Series: The Shots of Love Series

Imprint: Lovelace Lit

Word Count: 62K

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Instalove Romance, Romance

Formats Available: Ebook

ISBNs: 978-1-966024-15-6

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Chapters from Bridesmaids & Bourbon...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 1

“Taylor! Sweetheart, the florist is absolutely hysterical! Something about peonies and a delivery truck fire? I cannot deal with this right now!”

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 2

The clatter of silver against china marked the end of the rehearsal dinner. I slipped my iPad into its sleeve, mentally calculating final gratuities while scanning for any forgotten designer...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 3

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Carter Creek Bourbon Resort express shuttle,” the driver announced over a crackling speaker. “Our estimated arrival time is 1:15 a.m.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 4

The bus door hissed open, spilling us into a world of liquid chaos. It wasn’t rain; it was a solid, wind-driven wall of water that hit with the force of...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 5

I stared at him. He was offering a complete stranger, a woman with no ID and no money, a room in his house.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 6

A low, persistent hum had been the soundtrack to my descent into sleep. Its sudden absence was what woke me.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 7

Beau had vanished into the rickhouse after delivering his blunt prognosis. Safe.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 8

“Dammit,” Beau bit out. His hand found mine in the dark, his grip firm and grounding.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 9

The thunder rumbled its last, fading into a distant grumble. The hurricane lamps flickered, their warm light suddenly seeming weak and insufficient as the cellar’s emergency bulb sputtered back to...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 10

My eyes fluttered open. Soft morning light filtered through a simple curtain, gilding dust motes dancing in the air.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 11

The distant toll of church bells rolled across the valley as I stood on Beau’s porch, watching the swollen creek rage against its banks. Sunlight glinted off the water, a...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 12

I took a breath and dialed my father’s number. The phone rang once, twice, three times.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 13

Bluegrass Estates unfurled like a billionaire’s fever dream. White-columned porticos gleamed under the late afternoon sun.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 14

Two hundred imported gardenias sweating under industrial-strength air conditioning, mingled with the underlying tang of panic that always permeated Sutton family events. After the damp earth, woodsmoke, and angel’s share...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 15

The Bluegrass Estates guest suite door clicked shut behind us, sealing out the relentless hum of orchestrated celebration. Silence descended, thick and sudden, broken only by the frantic drumming of...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 16

The fireworks went off without a hitch, and Beau and I couldn’t wait to get back to our suite. Our shelter during the storm that was Sutton.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 17

The absence of warmth woke me before the alarm. That feeling that comes from sleeping alone in a bed still carrying the impression of another body.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 18

The ivory silk of my dress hung on the back of the bathroom door like a condemned woman’s shroud, mocking me with its pristine perfection. Three hours until I was...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 19

The Bluegrass Estates Grand Ballroom had been transformed into something that belonged in a magazine spread titled “When Money Has No Boundaries. ” Crystal chandeliers the size of compact cars...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 20

The silence in the Grand Ballroom was so complete I could hear the soft hiss of dry ice from Chef Dubois’s abandoned molecular stations and the distant tick of the...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 21

I threw my few belongings into Ruth’s overnight bag with the systematic precision of someone who’d spent years managing other people’s emergencies. Phone charger.

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Chapter 22

The rickhouse door swung shut behind me with a soft, resonant thud, sealing out the cool Kentucky night. Inside, the air was thick and warm, saturated with the deep, complex...

Bridesmaids & Bourbon – Epilogue

Dawn crept through the cottage windows like aged bourbon through charred oak—slowly, deliberately, filling every corner with golden warmth. I woke wrapped in Beau’s arms, my back pressed against the...