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  • Excerpt: D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins

Today I am so pleased to welcome Chencia C. Higgins to Joyfully Jay. Chencia has come to talk to us about her latest release, D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

Excerpt

Jitter Cam 01-D’Vaughn

“Um. This isn’t awkward at all. Let’s see. Well, so far things seem cool. The party is a nice way for everyone to get to know each other, but I guess I don’t really see the point of it, since I won’t see eight of those people after today. Speaking of those people, Diamond is a trip. She’s hilarious and the complete life of the party. Whoever ends up as her fiancée had better be someone who won’t fold under her dynamic personality. I know it won’t be me, since she’s a straight, trans woman. She’s gorgeous though, and I hope she makes it all the way.

“Um…Kirk is pretty funny. I think him and Jerri have hit it off. Actually, you know what? Kirk is a huge flirt and was up in Margo’s face as well. Margo is…a lot. I mean that in the nicest way possible. She’s very…severe…for lack of a better word. She reminds me of the stereotypical schoolmarm from a boarding school. Just unyielding and hard to please. Yikes. That sounds terrible. If you see this, Margo, I apologize. Anyway, um…I wonder what made her audition for the show, but I guess I don’t have to wonder why she was selected. It would be a miracle if she can convince people that she is in love with someone, let alone getting married.

“Oh, and Jerri is freaking hilarious. Whenever I’m around them, I laugh until my ribs hurt. Kris is…fine as hell. That’s it. Just sexy as all get-out for no damn reason. Like…good luck to whoever is paired up with her, because you’re going to need the strength of the gods to keep from drooling whenever you look at her. Matter of fact; let me say a prayer right now.

“Lord, keep your hand on Kris’s fiancée. They need you now more than ever because they won’t be able to convince people they’re marrying her if they’re staring at her dumbly at every turn. Gird their loins and strengthen their poker face. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. Amen.

“My mama would kill me if she heard me joke like that while praying. Lord, forgive me. Mama, if you see this, forgive me too.

“Hosea seems cool, but something about him feels…disingenuous. Like…he’s cisgender and Very Manly. He presents as heterosexual, but I wonder if he isn’t hiding behind that facade. Now that I think about it, he strikes me as the type of person who isn’t out to their family. As a fellow mothball, I recognize that in him and I’ll be saying a prayer for him tonight. If he is closeted and is using this show as the vehicle to come out to his family—like I’m doing—I hope that he doesn’t lose anyone close to him. I hope that the people he loves, love him enough to accept that being gay is a part of who he is and always has been.

“Let’s see. Who am I missing? I haven’t really had a chance to talk to Bryce or Nicolas but I can’t lie. Bryce is flamboyant and seems to have his eyes set on Hosea, which would be great television if they actually got paired together. Nicolas seems cool, if a little gross. He doesn’t seem to be leaning toward any one person though. I’m still squicked out by that ‘wet hole’ comment. Why are men like this? Honest question.

“Last but not least, there’s Tanisha. Um…I…like her? I don’t know why I said that like a question. I’m not unsure about it. I like her. It’s weird to say that about someone I literally just met, but it’s true. I like her energy. She’s gorgeous and she smells so good, and she isn’t stingy with compliments. I don’t really have a type but if I did, it’d be her. Of course, I didn’t say that to her, but I didn’t have to, since she told me straight up that I was her type. That, um…that was nice to hear. She was pretty adamant that we wouldn’t get paired, but maybe she’ll be wrong. Who knows?

“Welp, those are my initial thoughts about everyone. Here’s to the next six weeks. Hopefully I’m not knocked out before we even make it to the weekend. I was gonna come out to my mama eventually…one day, maybe, but it would be so much easier to do with a camera around, since she’d rather die than present anything other than a solid family unit in front of others.

“Ah, well. Wish me luck.”


Blurb

“In a romance featuring Black joy, plus-sized beauty, and Mexican pride, the conflicts are entirely believable, and not overly dramatic, and make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. It is fake dating at its best.” Library Journal, starred review.

D’Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding.

Their whole relationship is fake.

Instant I Do could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt, either.

D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy fake wedding is just the excuse she needs.

All they have to do is convince their friends and family they’re getting married in six weeks. If anyone guesses they’re not for real, they’re out. Selling their chemistry on camera is surprisingly easy, and it’s still there when no one else is watching, which is an unexpected bonus. Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake.

But each week of the competition brings new challenges, and soon the prize money’s not the only thing at stake. A reality show isn’t the best place to create a solid foundation, and their fake wedding might just derail their relationship before it even starts.

Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. Discover a new Carina Adores book every month!


Bio

Chencia C. Higgins is just a girl from Texas who has made it her mission to create stories in which sassy, southern Black women are loved out loud. In 2019 she won a Romance Slam Jam Emma award for her debut paranormal romance, Janine: His True Alpha. When she isn’t hunkered down in her writing cave, Chencia can be found with her nose in a book, saving recipes on Pinterest for things she’ll never make, and dreaming about travelling even further south for the winter.

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