Mary Ann Rivers, author of The Story Guy (my review), kicks off her brand-new Burnside series, which features tales of small-town romance.
She laughed. “Have I told you how much I like your accent?”“No. I like yours, too.”
“I don’t think there is an Ohio accent. Don’t we all just sound like newsreaders?”
“You have an accent to my ears, and I like it. I like the sound of your voice.”
“I was looking on the internet, about Wales, and did you know that you have your very own language?”
He smiled. “Yes, I think I remember hearing about that.”
“Do you speak it?”
“Most everyone in my village does. I learned in school and from my mum and dad.”
“Say something to me.”
Hefin kept a hold of her and kind of danced her around in a circle, looking up as if for inspiration. “Braf cwrdd â chi.”
The words belonged to his accent, burred and soft, impossible to parse out where one started and the next began.
“Slower.”
“Braf cwrdd â chi,” he repeated. She watched his mouth.
“Brahv-corth-ah-kee,” she tried.
He squeezed her. “Yes, that’s it, actually. Just right.”
She squeezed him back. Smooshed her nose against his chin until his bristles made her eyes water. “What does it mean?”
“Perhaps I shouldn’t translate until I miss a ball.”
“Pffft,” she blew the raspberry against his neck and he jumped very satisfyingly.
“Tell me.”
He stood back and held onto both of her hands. “Say it again.”
“Brahv-corth-ah-kee,” she tried to fit the burrs and dips in the best she could.
“Braf i gyfarfod â chi, yn rhy,” he answered. “You told me, nice to meet you.”
“And what did you say back to me?”
“I said that it was nice to meet you, too.”
“So we’re official now, properly introduced.”
“Yes, one language is never enough for a proper introduction.”
She decided she would ask him what was Welsh for good-bye later. They might need more than one language for that, too.
“Hit some balls for me, Hefin of Aberaeron.” She moved to sit on the bench and handed him his bat.
Title: Live
Series: Burnside, Book 1
Author: Mary Ann Rivers
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 21, 2014 by Loveswept
Add to Goodreads | Buy on Amazon
Mary Ann Rivers was an English and music major and went on to earn her MFA in creative writing, publishing poetry in journals and leading creative-writing workshops for at-risk youth. While training for her day job as a nurse practitioner, she rediscovered romance on the bedside tables of her favorite patients. Now she writes smart and emotional contemporary romance, imagining stories featuring the heroes and heroines just ahead of her in the coffee line. Mary Ann Rivers lives in the Midwest with her handsome professor husband and their imaginative school-aged son.
Find the author online: website | goodreads | twitter | facebook
Okay, I might need to read this, because I am a sucker for Welsh!
ReplyDelete