Misadventures of a Backup Bride

My late father’s confectionary might be worth about a billion dollars, but I must have liquid cash to keep it from going under right now. Shaw has been salivating for the opportunity to get his hands on any part of Sweet Darlin’. He can’t control me with the five percent interest I negotiated with him in exchange for some ready cash…but over the last few months I’ve come to realize that seizing power is his ultimate goal.

I wish I could sever the deal we struck in my moment of fiscal weakness. But that’s impossible. Still, I can’t let him think I’m totally out of options. “Then you’re not getting any stake in my company.”

He laughs as he cocks his head. “Let’s cut to the chase. You don’t want to relinquish any part of the organization, even temporarily. It bothers your considerable pride to be beholden to me—or anyone, I suspect. And you don’t want to let down the old man, even if you barely knew him. I understand th

at. But what’s the real problem, the one you’re obviously having with Kendra? Isn’t she a pretty girl?”

“She’s beautiful.” I can’t give her appearance anything but accolades. When I first clapped eyes on her, I was patting myself on the back. Twenty-five million dollars and a trophy wife? Win-win. But as I’ve gotten to know her, I’ve discovered we have zero in common. I realize more each day that, as a couple, we’re doomed.

“Isn’t she kind?”

“Very much.” I nod.

“Funny?”

Not in the way he means. She’s comical when she’s not intending to be, and not for reasons either she or her father would like.

How do I tell a man who potentially holds my future in his hands that his daughter is too immature for marriage? That I require a woman with more intellectual capabilities? That I’m too much of a serious-minded workaholic to make her anything but miserable? I can’t simply blurt that our chemistry is nonexistent. I’ve tried that already, when I first began to have concerns. His answer was to send us to Aruba together for a week. It didn’t help then. It will help even less now.

“Look… It’s not that simple.”

“Because…?” Brow raised, he draws furiously on his cigar with an impatient glance.

I rack my brain. Shaw will find the truth unacceptable, somewhere between noncommittal and ridiculous. He’ll deliver me another platitude wrapped in a threat—whatever he thinks is necessary to yank me back in line.

The simple fact is, I can’t wish myself in love with Kendra. And vice versa. But he’s more likely to hear what I’m saying if I assure him the fault doesn’t lie with his daughter.

“Kendra is wonderful, sir. The problem is me.”

He scowls. “Are you gay?”

I almost choke. Is he kidding? “No.”

Most assuredly not.

“Then how are you the problem?” His voice is a razor-sharp warning to tread very carefully.

I realize my options are limited and I pick the best of an unpalatable bunch. I lie. “I’m, um…in love with someone else.”

That takes him aback. The crafty bastard sends me a frown. He’s suspicious, but he has good reason to be. “You told me when we began negotiating that you weren’t dating anyone.”

“I wasn’t. I’m still not seeing anyone else.” I haven’t for months.

Climbing the corporate ladder back in LA after finishing my MBA a few years back, I was working seventy-hour weeks. Learning that I lost the biological father I’d met a handful of times was more of a blow than I expected. Finding out I’d inherited his empire stunned me even more. Some days, I still find myself reeling.

But Shaw doesn’t need to know all that.

“I don’t want to play a game of semantics with you, Frost. What the hell is going on?”

Shit. Why couldn’t he just accept me at face value? Yeah, because he’s too smart.

“Um…” Quickly, I try to remember the last woman I met who intrigued me. Her bright face pops into my head. Despite the three minutes we spoke, she left an indelible impression on me. “I met her at a party. Her date was the host. Because he’s a friend, I saw her off and on before I moved here. Naturally, I couldn’t poach. I’ve heard they’ve since broke up, but…in the time we spent together, I fell.”

That’s a huge embellishment, but the truth simply isn’t an option.

Shaw stares at me like he’s judging the veracity of my claim. “And you never saw fit to mention this earlier?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to forget her. Unfortunately, it’s not working.” I shake my head as if I have no control over my heart. “With all due respect, why not let Kendra find her own husband? She’s a lovely, independent woman. I’m sure she’ll meet someone—”

“She meets many someones,” he drawls. “They’re all deadbeats and louses. She has abysmal taste in men. My daughter can sniff out the worst loser in any crowd and be hopelessly attracted to him. So I made it clear to her that, if she wants her trust fund when she turns twenty-five, she’ll marry who I tell her to.”

That explains why, despite her obvious disinterest in me, Kendra hasn’t bowed out.

“In five months, you’ve reversed a great deal of the damage done to your father’s company during his protracted illness.” Shaw sounds impressed. “It’s obvious you’re smart, resourceful, hardworking, and a leader. You’ll take impeccable care of Kendra. And I’ll erase your cash flow issue, which won’t go away on its own. You have more loans coming due in forty-five days.”

I do, and the bastard knows I lack the short-term liquidity to satisfy them. I have contracts that will pay off at the end of the year…but I will have defaulted by then. I’ve tried restructuring the debt, but it’s a no-go. The interim CEO who ran Sweet Darlin’ before my arrival panicked and used the entire company as collateral. If I can’t untangle this problem, I’ll lose the empire my biological father sacrificed everything—even me—to build.

“All that’s true, but it doesn’t change the reality. I can’t make your daughter happy.”

“Because you’ll never love her?”

“Exactly. I can’t give her the kind of devotion she’ll want.”

“She’s too young to know what she wants.” He waves his hand dismissively.

“Doesn’t she deserve a husband who will love only her for the rest of her life?”

He frowns. “Not if he isn’t in her best financial interest. You’re far too smart to be this sentimental.”

“I once thought so, too. But we all have a heart.” I subtly remind Shaw that includes him, which is why he’s trying to see Kendra settled. “Mine is taken. However, I still have something you want. You have something I need. There must be another arrangement we’ll both find suitable and profitable.”

Shaw falls silent for a long time, studying me as if dissecting me with a glare. I steady myself and meet his stare head on. If I can save this company without shackling myself for life, that would be the best of both worlds. Maybe I’ll even stop waking up in a cold sweat.

“You know what, Frost? I think you’re full of shit. You want free money. That’s not the way the world works. There’s always a price to be paid. What’s this woman’s name?”

I’m obviously a terrible liar because he hasn’t bought a word I’ve said. I hide a wince and force myself to stay calm. “With all due respect, my personal life is private. Besides, you’ll only hire a private investigator to look into her, and I’ve never told her how I felt. Something that important shouldn’t come from anyone except me.”

“Ah, unrequited love, is it? How convenient.”

“I’m not finding it convenient in the least,” I quip. “My life would be much easier if I could love Kendra.”

At least I can say that with all honesty.

“Well, if that’s not going to happen and matters of the heart are suddenly so important to you, I think you should bring this woman to North Carolina and tell her how you feel face to face. After all, unless you’re able to win her over or find a way to fall out of love, you’ll be alone for the rest of your life. So sad.”

He’s toying with me. He’s trying to back me into a corner.

“That might be awkward. I’m sure she’ll be shocked to suddenly hear about my devotion.”

“Maybe so, but telling her also might bring great rewards.” He raises a dark brow. “Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

We could exchange parry-and-thrust platitudes all day. I’m over it. “What do you want?”

Shaw acts as if he’s considering my question, but I know damn well he’s already made up his mind. “I want to meet this woman you can’t live without. If you win her over, we can talk about changing the terms of our arrangement. If not, and you don’t marry Kendra, I won’t give you a dime. I can’t think of a single bank that will help you in your current financial position. And I’ll be happy to stand on the sidelines and watch Sweet Darlin’ crumble. Less competition for me. And maybe I can bu

y up the pieces on the cheap.” He takes another long drag of his cigar. As he blows out the smoke, he snuffs the stogie. “You have a week to introduce me to the ‘love of your life.’ Until then, get the fuck out.”

ELLA

“Hello. Ella Hope? I’d like to hire you to jilt me.”