Janice Thompson - Fools Rush In

Mama mia, lets escape! Lets fall in love! Lets eat chicken parmesan, fettuccine Alfredo, and Bubbas down-home barbecue without gaining a pound. Its all possible when we hang out with Bella Rossi in Fools Rush In. Janice Thompsons first installment in the Weddings by Bella series is a fun, welcome distraction from lifes boredom and stress. Youll fall for Bellas D.J. even faster than she does. And youll root for the Rossi and Neeley families as they break down cultural barriers and rush toward each other, arms wide open. No fools, they!

Trish Perry, author, Beach Dreams
and The Guy Im Not Dating

From the Lone Star state, where everything is supersized, Janice Thompson brings us the larger-than-life story of Bella Rossi and her transplanted Italian family. I fell in love with the Rossi clan, a delightful collection of quirky characters who feel as passionately about their pizza as Texans do about chili. Add a hunky cowboy with a slow Southern drawl, and youve got a recipe for one terrific story. Polish up your line-dancing skills and get ready for a boot-scootin good time with Fools Rush In.

Virginia Smith, author, Stuck in the Middle

Janice Thompson is a master storyteller who draws her readers into the tale along with the characters. From page one of Fools Rush In, I felt as if I were Bellas best friend, sitting down with her over cups of Italian cappuccino while she told me the latest happenings in her zany family. One of my top picks for 2009, Fools Rush In earns a permanent place in my library.

Ane Mulligan, editor, Novel Journey

Janice Thompsons gift for writing humorous, romantic tales proves true once again in her book Fools Rush In. The story unfolds on Galveston Island, where Bella Rossi, a wedding planner of Italian descent, meets D.J. Neeley, a Texan through and through. Such a blending produces a joyous, fun-filled adventure for readers, whose lives will surely be richer for the time they spend at Club Wed in Fools Rush In.

Nancy Jo Jenkins, author, Coldwater Revival

Fools Rush In is a charming tale about stumbling upon love and finding a bit of your true self along lifes journey. Wedding planner Bella Rossi bounds from one crazy situation to another in this fun read that makes you grateful for the truly important things in lifea loving family and a strong faith. Like fine seasonings in rich gravy, Janice Thompson skillfully blends in several insightful moments to distill truth in a meaningful way.

Megan DiMaria, author, Searching for Spice
and Out of Her Hands

Weddings BY Bella

BOOK ONE

Fools Rush In

A NOVEL

Janice Thompson

2009 by Janice Thompson

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P. O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thompson, Janice, 1959
Fools rush in : a novel / Janice Thomspon.
p. cm. (Weddings by Bella ; bk. 1)
ISBN 978-0-8007-3342-1 (pbk.)
1. Single womenFiction. 2. WeddingsPlanningFiction. I. Title.

Most Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Some Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Published in association with MacGregor Literary Agency.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

In memory of my stepfather, Billie Moseley,
a true-blue Texan,
who is currently residing in heaven...
and likely still wearing his boots

Contents

If Uncle Lazarro hadnt left the mob, I probably wouldnt have a story to tell.

Okay, so he wasnt actually in the mob, he only sold vacuum cleaners to a couple of guys who were. In the 70s. In Atlantic City, New Jersey. Before I was born.

But still, mob ties are mob ties, right? And we Rossis certainly know how to take a little bit of yeast and puff it up into a whole loaf of breadwhich means weve managed to elevate Uncle Lazarros story to folklore status. And why not? As my mama always says, A little extra spice never hurts the sauce, just gives it more flavor.

Depending on who you ask, it was a Damascus Road experience that did it. Uncle Lazarro swears he was blinded by a bright light that drove him backward to the ground, just like the apostle Paul in the book of Acts.

My Aunt Bianca, God rest her soul, told the story a little differently. In her version, Uncle Lazarro was hit by a bus on a city street late at night while walking home from a bar in a drunken stupor. She said the headlights came at him like two glowing snake eyes just before the kiss of death. She always exaggerated her ss when she said the word ssssnake, which made the story more exciting.

Afterward, Aunt B. would lift her tiny silver crucifix to her lips, give it a kiss, then roll her eyes heavenward and mouth a silent prayer of thanks to the Almightynot just for sparing her husbands life, but for returning his sanity and his religion.

Regardless of whose story you believed, Uncle Lazarro ended up at the Sisters of Mercy hospital in Atlantic City, where the nuns got ahold of him and led him to the Lord. He called it a come to Jesus meeting, and his eyes filled with tears every time he spoke of it.

According to my pop, my uncle gave up selling vacuum cleaners that same night. From what I hear, he was never quite the same... and neither was anyone else in my family. Funny how one event can change absolutely everything. In our case, it set the wheels in motion for the whole Rossi clan to end up in the most illogical of placesTexas.

Transitioning my story from the East Coast to the humid South would be impossible without mentioning my uncles love for pizza. Its one of a million things we have in common, particularly when it comes to deep-dish, heavy on the pepperoni. Hes also keen on coffees, especially the flavored ones with the foam on top. So when he came up with the idea to move to Galveston Island in the late 80s to open Parma Johnsa pizzeria featuring the ultimate in Italian coffeeseveryone took the news in stride.

Likely, my parents were intrigued by Lazarros suggestion that they join him in this new venture. My pop, heaven help him, has always been lactose intolerant. Im still not sure what motivated him to follow after this mozzarella-driven Pied Piper. Probably just his overwhelming love for his older brother. Love and loyaltythese have always been powerful opiates in the Rossi family. Ive found them to be both a blessing and a curse.

How my uncle settled on Galveston Island is another story altogether, one that involves the untimely passing of my beloved Aunt Bianca, may she rest in peace. Upon her deathbed, she mumbled these strange and startling words: Toss my ashes into the Gulf of Mexico. At least we