The Great Bridal Escape by Bonnie Tucker is hysterical and was my favorite of the two stories. Mary Kathryn O’Malley has been ruled and overruled most of her life by her family. She was basically roped into marrying her friend and co-scientist, Seth Rutherford, but lately, Mary Kathryn has been having fantastically hot dreams about a tall, dark, handsome stranger. Sure she loves Seth, but not like she knows she should. They’ve never kissed; never had sex. Their honeymoon will consist of capturing and analyzing water samples from Lake Erie. Oh baby.

Tony Donetti is not only Seth’s best friend, he is to be the best man at the wedding. Tony, too, has been roped into an engagement with a friend, but the minute he sets eyes on Mary Kathryn, he realizes he feels something he shouldn’t for his best friend’s bride, and begins to doubt his own plans. Tony no longer lives in Pennsylvania, but lives in Houston where he own a wildly successful Irish Pub and Sushi Bar (Italian-to-the-bone Tony is allergic to tomatoes). When Mary Kathryn flees her own wedding, she hides in Tony’s SUV and he has no choice but to take her with him when he heads home to Houston.

Tony and Kate are a perfect match. Their dialogue and self-talk is truly funny and their love story charming. One of the funniest scenes is when Kate feels she must get to a church and to confession immediately or risk her immortal soul (over the lustful urges she has toward Tony). But there’s no priest on the premises, so Kate does a sort of serve yourself confession.

The only quibble I have with this story is that Kate’s fantasies about Tony are hotter than her actual encounter with him. Her dreams are detailed, but when they finally get together, it’s over pretty fast. It seemed to me that a little more time should have been spent on the live love scene and less on the fantasies. But, overall, this is a nicely done story by an author who can really turn a witty phrase.