Fairy Tale Wedding (The Cinderella Ball Series, Book #3): The Cinderella Ball Series
Page 19
It was a ridiculous dream, as foolish as it was reckless. But she couldn't help herself. Just as she'd been instantly attracted to him that infamous night so long ago, she found that attraction every bit as immediate and powerful the second time around. A few minutes later he returned and took the seat across from her.
“Here we are. Two coffees. Both black.” He set Shayne’s in front of her. “I don’t believe we’ve introduced ourselves.” He offered his hand. “I’m Chaz from Lullabye, Colorado.”
He hadn’t volunteered his last name. That would simplify matters. “My first name’s Marianna.” It was the truth. She’d only adopted her middle name, Shayne, when Rafe had rescued her from her hellish existence in Florida.
“Marianna. Pretty. And why are you here?”
She lifted a shoulder in a brief shrug. “The same reason most of the people are. I’d like to find a husband.” One special, long-lost husband. “What about you?” She struggled not to appear too anxious.
“I’m looking for a wife.”
“Why?” she couldn’t help asking. “Why here?”
He hesitated for an instant. “Someone sent me a ticket.”
Rafe! “So you came? Just because you received a ticket?”
“I had another reason.” He toyed with his coffee cup. “I recently bought a ranch.”
So the wanderlust had finally left Chaz McIntyre. “And this ranch requires a wife?”
“Yes.” Bald. Abrupt. He spoke the word in a tone that warned he wouldn’t take kindly to questions.
Too bad. She had questions and a lot of them. Did he really expect to show up at the ball and entice someone to the altar with just his good looks? He'd be satisfied married to such a shallow, undemanding woman? “Why do you want a wife, Chaz?”
He took a long drink of coffee, as though debating how much to say. She suspected it would be as little as possible. “The ranch is in need of repair. I can handle the structural changes, but not the rest.”
“What rest?”
His mouth compressed. “It’s a bachelor’s residence. There isn’t a female within miles. The place needs a woman’s touch.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You’re getting married so you’ll have someone to coordinate throw pillows?”
He slammed his mug to the table. “No! I need someone who can create a ho—” With a muttered oath, he looked away, tension vibrating along every line of his body.
“A home?” she finished in a gentle voice.
“Yeah.”
He hadn’t meant to admit so much. Dusky color rode his angled cheekbones and his features compressed into taut lines, etched there by more than the sum total of thirty-one years. No doubt they’d been a hard thirty-one years, filled with disillusionment and pain, his face weather-beaten into the sort of creases women found irresistible on men and dreaded seeing in their own mirrors. He thrust a hand through his hair, combing the sun-kissed streaks on top into the crisp nut-brown strands beneath.
“I gather you prefer more than a housekeeper or interior decorator?”
“A lot more.”
“And what are you willing to give in return?”
He didn’t like the question. “What do you want?” he asked warily.
“That isn’t what I asked. I assume you’re offering a home and basic creature comforts.”
“I’m not a rich man,” he warned.
She regarded him steadily. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t need riches, isn’t it?”
He returned her look. No doubt his years of wrangling had helped him sum people up with swift accuracy. “Lay it out for me, Marianna. You’re after something. What is it?”
She thought about it, sitting so quietly even the bells on her mask fell silent. He wanted a wife to create a home for him. He’d offered to provide physically for that wife. But what about her emotional needs? What about his? “Will we share a bed?”
“Yes.”
“Tonight?”
He answered without hesitation. “Yes.”
“And you expect a woman to hop into bed with you after such a short acquaintance?” she asked curiously.
“We’ll be married.”
“So you gift her with your worldly possessions and she gifts you with her body and a home. That’s your idea of a marriage?”
“If you’re looking for more than that, you’re sitting at the wrong table.”
“No love? No affection?”
“I’ll treat you well. I’ll never hurt you, at least not intentionally.”
He was lying. She sensed it with every instinct she possessed. He was a man in desperate need of love, though he'd undoubtedly deny it, just as he'd undoubtedly fight long and hard to hold it at bay. So the real question was, did she have it within her to give him that sort of unconditional love?
It was an even greater risk than the one she'd taken nine years ago. Then, he'd been open and carefree, all-too willing to surrender his heart, to give every bit of himself to a woman. She couldn't be certain that man still existed, that once he uncovered her identity, he'd ever come to trust her enough to allow love into his life again.
“Are you interested?”
He asked the abrupt question as though her response were of no particular interest. But his hands clenched around his coffee mug and his eyes remained carefully blank. That, more than anything, gave her hope. He was a man determined to keep love out of his life, and yet he’d come to the Cinderella Ball to find a bride capable of creating a home for him.
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Coffee sloshed over the rim of the cup. “I don’t recall askin’.”
“Now who’s playing games?” She didn’t give him time to respond. “Do you want to marry me or not?”
He paused for an infinite second. “Okay, fine. But you have to do something for me, first.”
“What’s that?”
He leaned across the table toward her, his eyes an incandescent blue, full of fierce determination and tightly controlled passion. “Take off your mask.”
A Note From Day Leclaire
Do you know what the number one question I am asked about The Cinderella Ball Series? I routinely get asked if A) the Cinderella Ball is based on a real event, and B) where they can get tickets.
Yup. Seriously. Well, I’m sorry to say that the idea was not based on a real event. But I have to admit, I’m really curious. If there really were a ball, would you attend? What would have to be happening in your life in order to
Ella Montague grew up on fairy tales and happily-ever-after endings. So is it any wonder that she would expect the magic of the Cinderella Ball to work for her? Unfortunately, Rafe Beaumont doesn’t believe in faith or hope or miracles. Worse, he’s determined to prove how wrong Ella’s dreams are by making this the very last event of its kind.
I’ve really enjoyed writing the Fairytale Weddings series. And I hope you’ll enjoy sharing in the romance and fantasy of the Cinderella Ball just one more time.... A very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Love, Day
Meet Day Leclaire
I love family first and foremost, which is why writing a family saga is so much fun. Maybe you can tell that from my books since they always feature the warmth and joy that comes from having a close-knit family. I also love animals and have taken in rescue dogs and cats and fostered dogs for the local animal shelter. And of course, I love writing. All I need is a functioning brain (batteries not included), a pen, and paper, and I can write anywhere. Please don’t let a conversation with me lag because my imagination takes over and I. Am. Checked. Out!
USA Today bestselling author, Day Leclaire is the author of more than 60 novels and has received an impressive eleven nominations for the romance industry's most prestigious award, Romance Writers of America RITA© Award. Day lives in Charlotte, NC and spends her days obsessively writing while vaguely remembering to pay attention to her adorable husband, busy son and daughter-in-law, two tiny grandchildren, and two even tinier Ted
dy Bear dogs. Not to mention a whole lot of dust!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read The Cinderella Ball Series: Fairy Tale Wedding. I hope you enjoy this romantic series. I love hearing from my readers. For a personal response, please contact me at Day@DayLeclaire.com. And be sure to visit my website. Would you like a free book? Sign up for my Newsletter for your copy, as well as the latest exclusive updates and specials.
You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter.
Dedication
To Kathy Smith Acosta. Thank you so much for always
being there when I’ve needed you.
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of copyright owner.
Please Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The reverse engineering, uploading, and/or distributing of this eBook via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Cover Design by Melyssa Noujoks, 2020
Photo Copyright: www.123rf.com/profile_marina99
Photo Copyright: www.123rf.com/profile_liliwhite
Copyright © 2020 by Day Totton Smith. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. ISBN 13: 978-1-939925-16-9
Copyright © 1997 by Day Totton Smith. Original Title: Shotgun Marriage All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. ISBN-13: 978-1-4592-6957-6
For more information, visit my website at: http://www.DayLeclaire.com
Thank you!