Imperfect Love: Arranged (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  “Cheers to being neighbors!” I grabbed a bottle and poured her a bit more.

  “He better have a place for you in Brooklyn then.” I had no idea, but I agreed with her, I had no desire to be housed in a stuffy, closed up building with barely openable windows and a doorman.

  I really knew nothing about him. But then again, I was going to marry another guy that I knew even less about. Jensen was pleasant to look at and his amazing kisses were off the chart, incredible. I bet he was very skilled in the bedroom… Oh…I hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed in my lacking…or would he be opposed to taking my virginity? I had read in a magazine that some men wanted nothing to do with virgins. The flipside was that there were some men willing to pay for them.

  “What are you worrying about?” I heard Montana say in my ear as she watched me staring at Jensen who was obviously telling his friend about our plan. Or at least that was what I imagined as I watched Novak throw up his arms and shake his head a few times after looking in my direction. I hoped that our arrangement wasn’t going to cause trouble between them. I knew that Montana would have my back no matter what I did.

  “My virginity. I hadn’t planned on dealing with it…” Shit! I almost revealed my earlier thoughts of giving it up to a stranger…someone that I would never see again. Luckily, I recovered, “…so soon…and Jensen looks like the kind of guy that would know what to do and be great at it. Oh my God, his kisses are incredibly delicious and…”

  Suddenly, my words halted as I burst out laughing and started dancing, Montana couldn’t help but join in as a certain “Virgin” song played on a video in our cabana.

  Forgetting about every care in the world, we continued to dance around until it was time to close our tab and leave the pool area to get ready for the night’s festivities. Plans for the night were already in motion according to Jensen as we went our separate ways and were given one hour to get ready. Montana bargained for an extra half hour and I laughed as we stumbled out of the elevator to our two-bedroom suite.

  Showered, dressed, and styled by Montana, I looked like I should be walking down a runway during fashion week…the grand finale, the bride. “You know that this is ridiculous, right?” She had to play devil’s advocate which I appreciated and, yet, I was a little bit surprised.

  “Coming from you who tells me to live a little and be spontaneous.” I laughed. “You should be cheering me on and maybe giving me pointers in case he wants to go all the way.”

  We both laughed.

  “You know that you don’t have to do it. You just met him and I’m sure he would understand. You could tell him—”

  I cut her off. “—I don’t want to do that. It could be a deal breaker.”

  “Keep the lights off and if he asks about the mess…” I wrinkled my nose and prayed that it wouldn’t look like someone was murdered. “…you can say you started your period…or you can come clean…hmmm…not the right word there.” She snickered. “You can then tell him the truth. My best advice to you is, play everything by ear and that includes changing your mind about getting married.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind. He’s the perfect guy for me. Not only does he have the looks of my dream guy, but we have so much in common.”

  At the pool, we couldn’t stop talking—which was a great sign. How many times had I met someone or gone on a setup date and struggled to think of things to say or to keep the conversation going. So many had bored me; talking about themselves non-stop with no interest in me at all and then they hoped that I would ask them in to fuck me. That may have been the best reason for keeping my virginity intact as I had never met anyone that I was willing to give it up to…until Pool-boy. I nearly laughed out loud at the words pool boy. He was definitely all man. Nothing boyish on him except for his playful laughter and animation while telling childhood stories about getting Novak in trouble. They reminded me of Montana and me in so many ways.

  Jensen told me how he was a bit on the wild side and always getting Novak in trouble. I could relate to that, but it was Montana that was instigating the trouble. Like when she talked me into going bar hopping on spring break with fake IDs. I was perfectly happy to stay at the hotel and drink whatever the other girls talked different guys into buying for us. No, not good enough for Montana. “We are college girls, we need to be out partying in clubs.” For her, the days of parties at home were a thing of the past. The only thing was, she forgot to act more grown up by not climbing up on tables or bars to dance. Not to mention, she needed to keep her clothes on too. Needless to say, we were kicked out and our doctored IDs were confiscated. At least we didn’t have to worry about not being old enough on our Vegas trip. But I thought I might have to worry about her getting Jensen to climb up on tables with her. A plus was that I knew Novak was good at keeping him in line thanks to listening to a few of their stories.

  “Do you think they are telling us their true names?” I hadn’t thought about that. When we waded over to them in the pool, they were quick to give us their names and there was no hesitation. “They’re kind of odd names…different.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from my best friend in the whole world as she put the finishing touches to her hair and makeup. I was sure she was going to laugh hysterically at any given moment…but to my surprise she didn’t.

  “Are you serious?” I looked at her reflection in the mirror. “Ireland and Montana…I’m named after a country and you’re a state. Our names probably sound made up to them.”

  I moved away from her to grab two bottles of water from the mini fridge. We didn’t need to get dehydrated after all of the booze at the pool and more which we would surely consume throughout the evening.

  Back to where Montana sat, I placed an open bottle in front of her. “Besides, we will both need to be truthful when filling out the marriage license…otherwise it won’t be valid.”

  “I still can’t believe that you, my logical friend, agreed to marry a complete stranger in one afternoon.” Montana arched a perfectly penciled eyebrow at me as she stood. Then she smoothed down the sides of her bodycon turquoise dress that highlighted her blue eyes, shook her blonde waved hair, and stood tall wearing some sexy, killer-high, silver strappy sandals. Mine were a reasonable four inches while hers were definitely six.

  “You know…he doesn’t feel like a stranger.” I moved to a full-length mirror for a final evaluation. Montana joined me and we stood side by side as we had on so many occasions, but never for one of our weddings. “You know, if you think about it, at least I know Jensen somewhat. My parents want me to marry a man that I have never seen nor spoken to… that sounds a whole lot worse.”

  Montana smiled at me in the mirror, bumping my hip with hers. “Do I look like a maid of honor?”

  “A sexy as hell one!” I bumped her back with my hip, standing next to her wearing a pretty white sheath dress Montana had brought for herself that I snagged and paired with my red pumps. “What about me, do I look like a bride-to-be?”

  “Yes, and the sassy red shoes will keep him from thinking you’re a virgin.”

  Her remark had us both roaring with laughter. I hadn’t worn them for that reason. I just didn’t want to stand out as the girl that was about to get married. Instead, they just screamed “fun night out” and, suddenly, I couldn’t wait to see Jensen.

  Chapter Six

  Jensen

  Ready in a flash after a nice hot shower, I put on a dark suit, white dress shirt, and skipped a tie. A tie—something I only wore when absolutely required—might’ve sent up a signal or reminder to Novak that I truly planned to follow through with my wedding plans. I thought it was best to drop the subject for the time being. True, I had told him that I planned to marry her but I was sure he didn’t believe it. He had known me to say some pretty crazy shit to women over the years to get them into bed…or at least naked and in a compromising position.

  Ireland was different. Of course I wanted to sample her goods, but for more than a few hours, more than a nigh
t…for as long as we both shall live. I silently laughed to myself…at myself and my corny words. On a more serious note, she had the looks of what I pictured as my dream girl and she was smart to boot. Fun. Funny. Fantastic… My list could continue on and on and for the first time ever, I wanted to try…to establish a real relationship with a woman. That had to be a positive sign that I wasn’t utterly out of my mind for proposing marriage to a gorgeous stranger.

  A complete stranger. Ha! I had to laugh. How was what I was plotting to do any different than marrying some foreign woman that I had never seen before? At least I knew what Ireland looked like. I knew what her life goals were and we were doing things on our own accord. Our free will. No one was scamming and drawing up legal contracts. Shit! I had signed some documents. Surely they couldn’t be legally binding without the pending marriage being executed. I couldn’t be liable for anything, could I?

  “Let’s go get a drink,” Novak said, gripping my shoulder. “Looks like you need to get your buzz going again.”

  He might have been right, I was coming down off a high. “I think a bite of food might be in order too.” The last of my thoughts had my stomach churning a bit. I didn’t want my choice to do any financial or legal damage to my parents…or the company.

  “Exactly.” Novak agreed, heading for the double doors of our penthouse suite after looking at his trusty wrist watch. “We’ll grab a drink at the casino bar while we wait for the girls who should meet us in about an hour. I’m sure they can rustle up an appetizer or two. Soak up the old alcohol and get us ready for the new.” I shook my head—he sounded like me. “I might need it if you’re serious about tonight.”

  “I am,” were the only words I uttered as we were joined by other hotel guests on our way down to the lobby bar close to the bistro where Novak called in a special reservation for four. It was a favorite of ours when we came to Vegas for business and the chef was pleased with our request to eat off the menu, allowing him to be creative. We paid a pretty penny for it, but it was totally worth it. One of the perks too, we were able to eat at an exclusive table in an area of the kitchen. We loved it. I just hoped Ireland would feel the same way…something told me she would.

  Seated at the bar just footsteps away from the sound of slot machines, we ordered a couple of beers and a mixed platter of mini sliders to share. Novak narrowed his eyes at me before speaking. “I have to ask. How do we know that they don’t know who you are?”

  “First of all, we are in Vegas. Not many people have recognized me…except at the conference. Secondly, Ireland doesn’t strike me as the socialite type and Montana…definitely not!” I lifted my bottle and nearly downed half of it—it was frosty cold and tasted amazing.

  “Montana is in the fashion business. Probably caters to some of the fake women you’ve dated…wrong word there…used.” I didn’t even have time to tell him to fuck off as he came up with another concern. “They might be giving us fake names and stories. A city and a country? Not very original.”

  “That’s true they are not common…the polar opposite of ours.” I had to laugh. “Hello, do you hear yourself? Jensen and Novak. They probably think ours are fake too.”

  Sitting up taller on his stool, he proudly announced, “Novak is common in my native land.”

  “You are in your native land. You were born here, in America.” I took my first bite of a pulled pork slider.

  “I’m going to put them both to the test,” Novak said, before shoving a buffalo wing slider in his mouth, followed by a few fries that were on the side.

  “Whatever…but do it nice and not obvious, like mentioning my name and past stories. Let’s make this night fun. They’re here for a bachelorette weekend. I say we provide them with the works right after dinner. Which reminds me to stop eating all of these.” I looked down to a nearly full plate as I hadn’t realized that it mentioned that it was a party platter for five. Luckily, some young guys—probably college kids—at a table were happy to take the rest. They also didn’t mind that we sent along a bucket of beers.

  I remembered those days of being young and dumb without a care in the world. I nearly said those words out loud to Novak but I was sure he would still call me dumb for a multitude of reasons. And the latest reason was heading our way looking even more stunning than by the pool.

  Holy shit! Her body looked just as perfect in clothing, the way her white dress hugged every curve of her figure…and sexy long legs lengthened by red heels. She stood out and I wasn’t the only one gawking at her, our college friends were nudging each other and practically drooling all over each other. I loved how she didn’t seem to notice anyone but me as she walked right into my personal space—we were the only two people that existed.

  It was Novak that pulled us apart again and brought us back to reality. “Time to go.” I noticed him looking at his watch before he stood and started waving his hand. “Right this way, ladies…and Jensen.” And the three of us followed my good friend out of the bar area and right next door into the bistro.

  “Oh, a swanky steakhouse. Typical meat and potato men,” Montana laughed, linking her arm with Novak’s as we stood in front of the maître d’.

  “Not exactly.” I spoke up. “There’s a bit of a surprise coming your way.” I smiled as we were led to the swinging kitchen door, through the chaos of clanging pots and pans, and to a linen draped table set for four.

  “Oh my God, this is so exciting,” Ireland clapped her hands together. “I have been telling one of my clients to do something like this.” She was smiling and looking around at the whole setup. “He’s a brilliant French chef in New York. I look forward to meeting him and checking out his restaurant in person…I’ve only seen it online…I’m so sorry…I tend to rattle on when I’m overly excited.”

  Her enthusiasm was wonderful. I could listen to her ramble for hours, but not about another man. Thankfully, she had only been communicating with him through her computer. What a stupid thought! How many women were still in my life after I had fucked them? I hated jealousy! Strange how it felt when it was the other way around. I’d never cared what any woman ever did in their pasts or with others, present or future. With Ireland, everything was new.

  “I hope you won’t be stealing my food secrets,” Chef Amaury said with a light laugh, smiling at Ireland whose face turned a shade of red as he set plates down in front of us. “Good to have you back, Jensen…Novak.” He reached out and shook our hands. “Better to see you with two beautiful women.”

  His handshake to each of them included his lips to the top of their hands. The charming chef continued to wow all of us through each course with just the right amount on each plate so that we weren’t stuffed to the gills without room for dessert.

  Satisfied with the dining experience, we thanked Amaury, settled the bill, tipped his staff, and wandered through the main dining room out to wild crowds of people. I was ready to join the excitement that appeared all over the city known for partying, gambling, and pure sinfulness. However, we had to make one important stop before we could completely lose ourselves to Vegas since the marriage license office only stayed open until midnight. I was determined to make Ireland officially mine within the next twenty-four hours. Thanks to an online pre-application, we were able to breeze right through, obtain what we needed to make it legal, and were on our way to fulfill certain steps before the big event.

  Thankfully, we received no protests from either of our friends who, reluctantly, agreed to serve as witnesses to our elopement.

  Chapter Seven

  Ireland

  Dinner was an incredible experience that made me appreciate…and learn a little about my clients in the restaurant industry. Understanding the behind the scenes of any business, I think, it is always helpful when guiding people to gain exposure needed to make them well-known in the public eye. Another plus besides all of the insight and delicious textures and spices that had my taste buds dancing, I got the pleasure of getting to know another side of my extremely handsome
fiancé. Such a fun word to use and it sounded even more real when Jensen pulled out a little red jewelry box.

  “I thought this might complete my marriage proposal,” were his words as he flipped open the box to a square cut center diamond with tiny diamonds around the entire band. What truly floored me was that it fit perfectly when he slid it up my finger—like it was meant to be. “I hope you like it.”

  “I love it,” I said softly, looking at how it sparkled on my finger.

  “You should announce your engagement through that society rag in New York so everyone isn’t surprised when you return married…oh…well…I guess there isn’t really time for that. Those things go out months or, at least, a month ahead of time. Maybe they have an online way of putting it out there. Are either of you girls familiar with those sites and how they work?” Novak had ruined the moment with his ramblings about making a big announcement which I did not want to do without breaking the news to my parents first.

  Montana was first to jump in with her opinion and I loved her for it. “Those rags are bullshit! Why anyone bothers to read about so and so marrying some other equally snobbish person is beyond me.” Then she turned to me and lifted my hand, proudly, wearing the dazzling ring. “You my friend are not going to shove your business in anyone’s face.”

  “I agree,” Jensen spoke up glaring at his friend. “This night is all about us and no one needs to know our business.” His touch and words put me at ease for the rest of the night. Though some moments were a bit tense, like getting the marriage license and realizing it was official—filed with the court system.

  “Mrs. Ireland Callum…will you be taking my friend’s name and everything that—” Novak didn’t finish his sentence thanks to Jensen elbowing him. It had me wondering if he didn’t like me.