Imperfect Love: Arranged (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

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  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Ryann Kerekes. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Imperfect Love remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Ryann Kerekes, or their affiliates or licensors.

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  Arranged

  An Imperfect Love

  World Novella

  FIFI FLOWERS

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Ireland

  “Oh my God, Ireland! That is the hottest bathing suit I have ever seen you wear! You weren’t kidding when you said you were ready for some action,” my best friend exclaimed as I slipped off my white eyelet cover-up and tossed it on a lounge chair partially situated outside a high-ticket cabana. Montana had insisted that we go all out on our Vegas trip. Bottle service everywhere and a poolside cabana that was much too spacious for just the two of us. I wasn’t sure about needing to purchase an abundance of alcohol, but the shade part was welcomed with the hot sun bearing down on the pool deck. The idea of sharing had to be on her agenda, knowing my friend.

  “You should talk, look at you.” Montana’s champagne bikini was smaller than mine and had a shimmer to it that was sure to blind some poor guy or at least attract even more attention. She was like a shiny lure on a fishing pole. Not that she needed a flashy suit to bring the boys, she is absolutely gorgeous with long, blonde, wavy hair. While people paid big bucks to get her beachy waves, she came by them naturally.

  Situated on two coral towels perfectly placed for us, Montana produced several colorful brochures with various menu items.

  “Last trip as a free woman. Oh, before we leave, you can get your skin evenly tanned to erase the effects of being out in the sun.” I raised an eyebrow when she looked my way. “Your future husband-to-be will find no tan lines on your body to be very sexy—an allover tan.” She winked. “Trust me. Every man likes the thrill or hint of an adventurous woman.” I shook my head. “At least get your tits tanned.”

  “Spa treatments I could go for.” I grabbed one of the pamphlets and opened it. There were millions of services; some were à la carte, while others were bundled and packaged together.

  “Get the works and they include taking care of your hooha with laser services.” I had always neatly groomed myself but I wasn’t sure about completely eliminating my pubic hair.

  “I’m not extremely hairy—”

  “Good. With very little hair…It is dark still?” I nodded. “Laser machines work better with darker hair and if you start while we’re here—” She stopped to count on her fingers. “Every two weeks, you will be ready and never have to wait for the waxing hold time.”

  “Hold time?” I had never waxed anything.

  “You have to wait twenty-four hours after a Brazilian wax,” our cocktail waitress announced, “before you can have sex.” I wasn’t sure how long she had been standing and listening to our conversation. She didn’t stay longer than the time it took to give her two cents, take our bottle order, and sashay over to two very attractive men in the pool.

  “Like something?” Montana asked and turned to see what or whom had captured my attention. Good thing my dark, oversized sunglasses didn’t give me away completely—allowing me to be able to gawk and speak at the same time.

  “I think I might need sex treatments…lessons might come in handy.”

  Our waitress totally knew how to play those guys and, most likely, every other heterosexual man at the pool when she bent and exposed her naked buns that were smuggling a bright red G-string under her very short white skirt. She must make big tips and probably got plenty of action when she was off the clock. I imagined them lined up at the “employees only” door, waiting to pounce on her purrfection.

  “They might have those too.” Montana laughed. “We’ll have to ask Tushy Tina for a special menu for those.”

  “Good name for her,” I agreed with a grin.

  “We are in Sin City, Ireland…Vegas, hiring man candy is legal.”

  “One Virgin Deluxe with the works.” I giggled, imagining the description.

  “How have you not lost your virginity?!” She really didn’t need to ask, but she did from time to time, and often at inappropriate times.

  “Shhh. Please no announcements about your freak of nature friend.” I crumpled and tossed the brochure I had been perusing at her.

  “You are not a freak.” Montana gathered all of the brochures, including the ruined one, and shoved them into her bag as a plate of cheese, fruit, and other goodies arrived. “You are freakin’ gorgeous with curves that stop every living and breathing man dead in their tracks.”

  “Doesn’t do me any good.” I grabbed a bunch of grapes and plucked a few off. “Remember, I’m promised to a rich man,” I said as I was about to toss some red grapes in my mouth.

  “Too bad you didn’t have a choice about when and where you wanted it to happen.” Montana, too, was diving into the platter that looked almost too good to eat. I loved that we were in sync with so many things, even if she was a bit more adventurous than I was.

  We had been friends for so many years that I couldn’t ever remember not being with her. We even had trouble with the exact date when our friendship blossomed as so many fab times blurred together, not to mention that we were so young—in diapers when we actually met according to our parents. Practically inseparable until college, we were once again going to be living close when I made my upcoming move away from our hometown. Montana had gone off to a college in Manhattan to be in the midst of the fashion world. Once she graduated, she decided to stay after procuring a dream job and an amazing loft space in Brooklyn. We both had dreams of becoming career girls only it hadn’t quite happened for me as I had wanted it to since my desires were being railroaded with decisions being made for me.

  Wasn’t that the truth? Montana didn’t even know the whole story because I was being asked to sign a non-disclosure statement, as well as a prenup. To my friend, it was a merger between two prominent families, but really it seemed more like a business transaction. How quickly things were moving had me wondering what the big rush was. I had always expected my parents to push for an arrangement of sorts as they had been and their parents before them. However, I hoped that I would have a little say in the matter. Like maybe they showed me a catalogue of prospects. That wasn’t the case in this matter as I was to meet my future husband at the altar.

  Complying with my parents’ wishes, I did my part and made sure my hymen was intact. Not to say that I didn’t have some intense make-out sessions over the years. I did also supply a few hand jobs and a couple of blow jobs that were nothing to be proud of as neither of them lasted for very long. I had no real technical skills to brag about. I did almost get talked into a bit of backdoor action in college but chickened out. Some of my dorm girlfriends encouraged and partook in anal
play often so that they could remain virgins, along with not running the risk of pregnancy—they said it was the thing to do.

  Montana never pushed me or bothered me, but was always shocked by my virginity that was a selling point for my pending marriage. My groom-to-be was going to be the one to deflower me. That word always made me laugh and made me wonder; did men really still look for that prerequisite in a wife? It wasn’t like I was marrying into royalty and I definitely wasn’t a princess. Thank God there were no certificates or tests necessary…or required to make me feel more pathetic. A virgin at twenty-nine years old was not something I wanted to announce and especially not when I was secretly contemplating giving it away over the weekend. If things went my way, my mother wouldn’t be able to proudly tell people that I was a good girl.

  I had always heard that Vegas was the place to really let your hair down—hair might not be something to mention—and get wild. Not that I believed for a minute that what happens there, stays there, but I was far enough away from my home that just maybe I would never run into anyone I knew.

  Everywhere I looked, poolside, attractive men lounged at various bars, on the vast deck area, or waded in the twinkling blue water. There was a wide selection. Some were definitely more appealing than others and the two that were close by had me thinking naughty thoughts that I didn’t dare mention to Montana. She would, for sure, wave them over to join us and I hadn’t consumed enough liquid courage to help get my flirt on.

  “Oh, they are very yummy.” I heard Montana purr like a cat ready to pounce on her prey or one in heat looking to mate as she looked over the rim of her fancy plastic glass compliments of our server’s generous pour.

  I had not voiced my own thoughts out loud but the hunky specimens were hard to miss and they almost mimicked us; a blond and a brunette. Was brunette the proper term for a man with the “ette” ending? It sounded a bit feminine and he was anything but female looking with his nicely bronzed, big, muscular arms, and well defined pecs. Since he was standing in the pool, the water level deterred me from assessing the rest of his anatomy, but something told me it would be equally impressive.

  Chapter Two

  Jensen

  I was so happy to have the conference behind me and even happier that my boss, aka my father, didn’t balk when I told him that I planned to stay in town through the weekend. He did tell…warn me to keep whatever happened in Vegas exactly where it began. I really hated that stupid marketing slogan. It was brilliant because everyone used it, but I was truly sick of hearing it. Besides that cheesy line, I knew perfectly well what he meant by his words of warning thanks to his latest merger that had me, literally, by the balls. Meaning, his venture was about to limit my freedom of releasing their contents wherever and in or on whomever I desired at any given time.

  At that moment in time, standing in a large resort pool with a zillion other practically naked people, I spotted one gorgeous woman that had my whole entire being on high alert. I loved the way she reclined like a centerfold model on a lounge chair I was overly jealous of—I’d rather she were resting her luscious body on top of mine. Good thing the water was keeping my body temperature cool and the edge of it was hiding a part of me that was threatening to lose all control to get a better look at her, intimately.

  “There is my dream girl with chestnut hair and roasted almond eyes,” I said, tilting my head in her direction once the annoying titty girl walked away after giving us a show while taking our drink orders.

  “Not only are you nuts, you’re describing a woman using nuts. What happened to brown hair and brown eyes? And how the hell do you know she has brown or roasted almond eyes? She is wearing sunglasses.” He had a good point, but something told me that I was right.

  “Because she looks exactly how I picture the ideal woman for me. Look at her shapely body and those curves—amazing hips and full breasts.” I didn’t even bother to be casual about my assessment of her, I was blatantly obvious, and I was certain that her eyes were directed right at me.

  “Should you even be thinking about hooking up with women? Have you forgotten that your announcement has already been made public? Granted there were no real details or photographs other than saying that the ultimate New York bachelor, Jensen Callum, is off the market.” Novak had a point. If she was into society-shit news, she would instantly know that I was a dirtbag… Or maybe she was a gold-digger—my mother’s favorite word of warning—trying to get her hooks in me. A last fling or to steal me away? Fuck! I sounded like snooty Nancy Callum aka my mother.

  Did I really care? And she couldn’t be too poor or in need of money being camped out in a poolside cabana that was costing her thousands. Of course, her friend could be paying or an unseen sugar daddy…or just a regular daddy. She didn’t give off the typical, stereotypic rich girl vibe. Something about her just screamed perfection from head to toe, inside and out—crazy as it sounded.

  “I need to make her mine.” Even if it was only for a night or a few days, I had to have a taste that would last a lifetime if I couldn’t have her forever. Was that what it felt like to fall in love instantly? Love at first sight? I always thought that was pure bullshit until she captured my attention. I had never felt anything so strong for a woman, but love was knocking on my heart. Strange as it sounded—it had to be love. I knew what lust was like and it never involved having my breath sucked from my lungs along with rapid heartbeats. It only attacked my dick, not my entire body.

  “Stop ogling her. She’s going to think you’re some creeper.” He elbowed me to take my drink that he had just accepted from our same delightful waitress who made sure that Novak got a good view of her red panties, if you could call them that. Damn! She put it right in his face and I barely recognized his next words. “We’ll get you a lap dance later to cool your fires. Real life girls can be nothing but trouble.”

  He was always trying to guide me down the right path since we met at summer camp. Stealing a canoe to go to the other side of the lake where girls could be found almost got me a one-way ticket home, but Novak lied for me. Unfortunately, that didn’t work in some instances and I had landed him in some pretty sticky situations. It was a miracle that he was still friends with me.

  Lucky for me, he liked the excitement I added to our friendship that accelerated once we attended the same prep school for our high school years and then in college. Hell, he had even gotten a job with me after being caught with his pants around his ankles and his boss’s wife over his desk. My father, Pax Callum, didn’t care about the blacklist Novak had been added to as the guy was a real asshole and had no right labeling my friend when he had been dipping his own dick where it shouldn’t have been for years.

  Novak did learn a valuable lesson—don’t fuck the boss’s wife or daughter or any relative, if possible, and if you do, be discreet and don’t do it at work. Best if he never did it since he was working for my family and I had no desire to hear about him with my mother or anyone in my bloodline. Of course, in the end, he did blame me for being a bad influence—I just laughed as I may have encouraged him a time or two. But who could blame me for nudging him, she was hot and closer to our age than the boss.

  In Vegas, it appeared that he felt like it was his duty to nudge me on a straight and narrow path toward fun without complications.

  “Yes, my mysterious bride.” I felt my shoulders slump at the mention of her.

  We were in modern times. How could I be involved in something that happened with royalty? We weren’t from feuding countries that needed to form an alliance. We certainly didn’t have bloodlines that were dwindling and needed to merge so they could continue. I had much older siblings that were married and procreating. We weren’t a religious family, I couldn’t remember the last time we went to church or if we even belonged to one. So I knew that it wasn’t for that reason either and if it was, it should’ve affected the rest of my siblings. It had to be a business thing, but even that did not compute as I had seen the accounting ledgers and our company was
strong. In fact, that was why we were at the conference to decide where we were going to take the company with all of our excessive funds. It had to be the girl’s family who was in trouble, but why did my father—or parents—think that it was my life and happiness that needed to be sacrificed for the greater good?

  Novak knew that it was more or less a business arrangement and he had heard my father say how important the deal was to everyone involved at least a zillion times. But we had never really gone over the details as to how and where I was to be getting hitched…he did know where I was…or I should say where “we as in newlyweds” were going to live—since I refused to leave my home. He did know when it was going to happen and what he was to wear to the crazy-ass ceremony that didn’t seem real. Having my friend drill it into me at the pool had me realizing that it was really going to happen and all the more reasons why I needed that girl…woman…gorgeous woman.

  “It’s not going to be so bad. I’ll have your back.” Easy for him to say, he only had to stand next to me as my best man. “You go through with it and then do your own thing discreetly.” I downed the rest of my drink as he continued to rattle on. “Your out-and-about-the-town partying days are over, but on the bright side, she’s European. Those lucky bastards have mistresses and their wives accept them. She will be fine with a marriage of convenience as long as she can live comfortably and be home with the children…”

  Kids? I hadn’t even brought them into the equation.

  Novak continued on with his ideas, “…while you are entertaining whoever you want at your fuck pad.”

  That all sounded totally wrong as I looked at the exquisite vision that was standing up from her chaise, adjusting her tiny turquoise string bikini, and heading in the direction of the pool stairs.

  “Please let her come to our location. Please let her come to me,” I chanted over and over in my head in hopes that she could read my mind—well, maybe only part of it.