Baked With Love
Page 15
“Okay. May I have a look?”
“Certainly.” He leaned forward to place the folder on her desk.
Felicity took it, opened it up and her mouth nearly hit the floor. She frowned, looked up at him and said, “Um…I think there’s some mistake.”
“No. There’s no mistake.”
A small grin escaped her mouth. “Okay, um, Gianna Jacobsen is my best friend and her profile wasn’t even active on Wedded Bliss’ system.”
“Oh, it was active. How was I able to retrieve it if it wasn’t active?”
“Okay, what I’m trying to tell you is, she’s not one of our women. She only entered her information as a favor to me for system testing. She’s not looking for a husband and—”
“She’s the one I want?”
“She doesn’t even have a profile picture listed.”
He shrugged. “So what? I told you looks weren’t important to me although I have a feeling she’s as beautiful as those words make her sound.” He nibbled on his bottom lip.
“Okay is this a joke? You’re playing me, right? You somehow found out that Gianna was my best friend, and this is how you’re getting back at me for our little disagreement the last time we spoke.”
“No, not at all. I don’t have a personal vendetta against you. I simply want Gianna Jacobsen. Can you make it happen?”
Felicity was beside herself. She was convinced by the smirk on his face that he was playing her. “Do you know Gianna?” she decided to ask.
“I do, no pun intended.” He smiled.
“Care to tell me how?” Felicity asked, her eyebrows raised.
“I took her on a date.”
Felicity scrunched up her face. “Huh?”
“I took her on a date. We went out.”
Then it dawned on her. “Wait—are you the Luce guy?”
He smiled showing his flawless, white teeth. “She told you about that, huh?”
“Oh my God! You’re the guy?”
“If by the guy, you mean the one who took her on a date to Luce and the one who spent the night with her last night, then yes. I’m the guy, and she’s my girl…at least I want her to be. I want you to make it happen. Draw up the papers. Let’s get this thing rolling.”
“Uh…um…I can’t do that, Mr. St. Claire.”
“Yes, you can. That’s what you do around here, correct? You make marriages.”
“Yes, but besides the fact that Gianna’s profile wasn’t supposed to be active, I know for a fact that she doesn’t want marriage.”
“And how do you know that?”
“She’s my best friend. I know everything there is to know about her.”
“So, tell me if you think she and I would be good together.”
“Absolutely not. You’re too…um…what’s the word…alpha-like. Your personality is too dominant for Gianna.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is,” she said.
“Ask her.”
“I don’t have to ask her. I already know.”
“Then you tell me, Ms. James. What kind of man does Gianna like?”
Felicity shrugged. “She doesn’t date, so I don’t know.”
“She doesn’t date,” Ramsey said matter of factly. “Why’s that?”
“Because she doesn’t,” Felicity said, not wanting to tell him too much.
“Because of Gemma?”
Felicity frowned. He knows about Gemma, too?
“I met Gemma last night,” he told her. “We had a good little chat about Gianna and how she’s put her life on hold to take care of her. I admire that in her. It takes a lot of courage, endurance and suffering, I might add, to do what Gianna is doing for Gemma. That’s why I want her. I know what she’s going through and I want to be there to help her. You’re her best friend. I know you’ve helped her financially and otherwise, haven’t you?”
Frowning, Felicity said, “Uh…yes, but—”
“Now, I want to take over. I know what she needs. I know what her sister needs. I need you to convince her that she needs me. I need you to have her sign a marriage agreement and I want it done this week. First, I want to spend a couple of more days with her, so how about you present this to her on Friday?”
“Uh…um…yeah…that’s not going to work. Sorry.”
“Why not?”
“I know this space, Mr. St. Claire. This is what I do. I know people and I know how well they mesh. This – you and Gianna – will not work.”
“Have you ever been in love, Ms. James?”
“Maybe, but we’re not talking about me.”
“Right, we’re talking about me. I know what I want. I want her. I’m the client. I paid you for this service. I want what I want.”
“Are you implying that you love Gianna?”
He smiled. “I haven’t loved a woman in a very long time. That’s not what I’m saying.”
“You’re the one who brought up the subject of love,” Felicity reminded him. “Not me.”
“You’re right. I brought it up because you seem incredibly uptight for a matchmaker.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, arching a brow.
“I would expect a matchmaker to have been in love at least once or twice. Maybe even currently. It should be a prerequisite for your line of work.”
Felicity rolled her eyes. She had been in love before, but unfortunately the guy she was with wasn’t in love with her.
“But love,” Ramsey continued. “I’ve lost the ability to love. I’m on a fifteen-year loveless streak. Does that answer your question?”
“Yes, it does…yet another reason why a marriage between you and Gianna wouldn’t work. I don’t want you to hurt my friend, Ramsey.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
“She deserves a man who can actually love her. Your friend needs me.”
“That’s why you’re attracted to her? Because you think she needs you.”
“I don’t think it. I know it, and yes, it is part of my attraction to her. I’ll admit, she’s a pretty woman. She’s beautiful, even when she has flour in her hair or on her nose. But, as I stated to you before when we had the very first consultation, Felicity, I’m attracted to hearts. Her heart needs mine.”
“Okay. I get it. You have this strange calling to help her. That doesn’t mean you have to marry her.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Why?”
“Because no one else can have her.”
“So, let me get this straight. You want to help her, you’ll never love her but you don’t want anyone else to love her either?”
Ignoring her, Ramsey said, “She’s mine, Felicity. Friday, I want you to talk to her and do not mention anything to her about this before Friday. As your client, I’m expecting that you will fully comply with your own privacy and confidentiality clause. Am I right, or do I need to put my attorney on notice?”
“You don’t have to threaten me with your attorney. I always abide by my privacy policy.”
“Good,” he said standing.”
“Wait,” Felicity said. “How am I going to get her to sign?”
“Tell her everything I’m willing to do for her.”
“And what are those things? Enlighten me.”
“I will get her sister the highest form of care possible, pay every outstanding hospital bill she has, prevent her home from going into foreclosure, pay off her car, pay the lease on the bakery for the next ten years and whatever else she needs. I’ll do it.” Ramsey smiled. He’d planned on doing all those things regardless of whether Gianna signed the papers.
“Most likely, she won’t go for it,” Felicity said. “She’d struggle until she dies before she would have you blackmail her with money.”
Ramsey frowned. “Blackmail? This isn’t blackmail. I’m helping her.”
“If you were sincere in your efforts, you would help her without requiring her to sign over any documents to be your wife.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand what your
problem is. This is what you do for a living. Now that it’s someone you’re close with, you want to hit the brakes. I want Gianna. I told you I won’t hurt her.”
“And how do I know that? I don’t know you. Gianna is my friend, and I would give her the money myself if I could afford to. But this business isn’t exactly taking off. If it was, I’d give her all the money she needs to take care of her sister. She’s struggling, Mr. St. Claire. For as long as I’ve known her, she’s struggled.” Felicity blinked back tears.
Ramsey sat down again, crossed his legs and decided to level with Felicity since she was obviously upset and loved Gianna dearly. “Okay. Listen. I know what Gianna’s going through. I know how it feels to lose someone close to me. I think that’s what drew me to her. I could sense she was going through something similar, and I was right. I don’t love her. I haven’t known her long enough to love her. I don’t even know if I’m capable of loving anyone after what I’ve been through. But I am capable of lending a helping hand. I signed up for your service because I wanted companionship. I wanted someone to come along with me on business trips. I wanted to have someone to introduce to my clients. To my family. When I met Gianna, I knew that someone was her. I need to go through this process to find out why. I give you my word that I will not hurt her.”
Felicity nodded. “Okay.”
Ramsey was about to stand up again but didn’t move when he heard Felicity say, “She’s shy.”
“I’ve spent enough time with her to know that.”
“She doesn’t have experience with men, especially men like you.”
“I know that, too.”
“She has bad nerves. I think being on edge all the time about Gemma did that to her, and I actually believe she’s going to have a breakdown when Gemma…when Gemma dies. When Gemma was first diagnosed, Gianna had a mini-stroke. Did you know that?”
“No.”
“She can’t handle much more stress, Mr. St. Claire.”
“I know. I’m here to make her life easier, not stress her out. I promise you…I won’t hurt her.” He placed a hand over his heart and said, “I give you my word.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
~ ~ * ~ ~
Will Gianna sign the agreement? Is there any way Gemma’s health can improve? And what about Ramsey? Will taking on the responsibility of helping Gianna interfere with his work at St. Claire Architects? Look for part two in May! It’ll be worth the wait and even SWEETER. In the meantime, please take a moment to leave a review.
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TINA MARTIN is the author of forty-five romance titles and has been writing full-time since quitting her corporate job in 2013. Readers praise Tina for her strong heroes, sweet heroines and beautifully crafted stories. When she’s not writing, Tina enjoys watching movies, traveling, cooking and spending time with her family. She currently resides, in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two young children.
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