Wedded to a Wayne
A Finn Factor/Finn’s Pub Holiday Romance
R.G. Alexander
Wedded to a Wayne
Copyright 2019 by R.G. Alexander
Edited by D.S. Editing
Formatted by IRONHORSE Formatting
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Author’s Note
I didn't expect the Wayne family. There I was, innocently writing my hot Irish series full of men at a pub and, well, they just started showing up. Over and over again. Cassandra and Foster Wayne and their kids. Hugo and Thor. Bronte and Austen. Robert aka Nora. Shelley and, of course Emerson and his two young boys. They show up in the Finn Factor series and Finn's Pub romance. They show up on holidays or when you need to move. They are the kind of friends you cherish and the kind of family you want on your side. So far love has found four out of seven. This Christmas, the fifth Wayne falls.
Dedication
To my Christmas Cookie and Robin the magical wonder-elf as always.
To Princess Tani, who deserved her own fairy tale.
And to my readers a heartfelt thank you. Happy Holidays and may next year bring us health and joy and new books that become old favorites.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
Thanks for Reading!
Other Books from R.G. Alexander
About R.G. Alexander
Chapter One
Tanisha
I should change my name to Cliché. Tanisha Cliché Chahal.
I won’t say it has a flattering ring to it, but at the moment it feels all too accurate. Don’t believe me?
Not only did I run away from being trapped in an arranged marriage, but I’m technically an heiress. Of course, I took the smaller inheritance I got years ago and cofounded a company now worth millions, but still, if the shoe fits. Speaking of shoes, I also wear long, flowing, romantic skirts to hide my prosthetic leg, which would have made me unmarriageable to anyone but a scoundrel in need of funds if this were a Gothic romance.
My mother actually spent years mourning my prospects, but she comes from a very traditional Indian family, so that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
If I were white, British and fictional, I’d be the perfect romance heroine.
Oh, and we can’t forget the whole virgin-at-twenty-eight thing. Or the fact that my best friend is part of a gaggle of guys—not seven dwarfs, but ten attractive foster brothers—who were always around to make sure I didn’t bite the wrong apple.
But let’s not talk about that right now.
I have an appointment meant to end this trope once and for all and take control of my destiny.
A glance at my computer tells me he’s due to arrive at my new office in less than three minutes, so I pull a compact mirror out of my desk drawer and check to make sure my hair is still styled and there’s nothing in my teeth.
I peruse the neatly organized rows of lip balm in the drawer, picking strawberries and cream for the occasion, and apply it methodically to my lips. The action helps to relax me.
My collection is a bit on the unusual side, I know. I’m also irritatingly organized, I own a personally engraved label maker and I watch too much reality television.
My habits are arguably eccentric, but I’ve never done anything really crazy before. Not until my brother upended my safe, organized, shiny-lipped world and sent me flying across the country to join Joey’s new life with a fresh start of my own.
I haven’t told him anything about this. Joey Redmond isn’t just my ride or die and best friend since middle school, he’s my roommate and business partner. We’ve always told each other everything. But not this. Initially, it was because I was worried about his health and stress levels and didn’t want to add anything more to his plate. Now he’s dealing with another problem altogether—namely, his growing feelings for his handsome new neighbor.
Liar. That’s not why you didn’t tell him.
Okay, so maybe I knew he’d think this was a bad idea and worried he’d talk me out of it. We made a deal years ago to accept each other’s crazy, but this might be too much, even for him.
“Ms. Chahal? Mr. Wayne is here to see you.”
I drop the lip balm and turn so fast I knock over a cup filled with identical pencils before managing a frazzled smile for my assistant. “Thank you, Ann. Would you mind getting us some tea? And then I’d like us not to be disturbed for the rest of our meeting.”
“Right away.” The efficient woman disappears and I take a bracing breath.
I can do this.
Emerson Wayne walks through the door with a languid, easy stride that reminds me more of a panther than an accountant, and my racing heart drops to my fluttering stomach at the sight of him. He does this to me every time. Hot and bothers me.
Am I really doing this?
“Looks good out there,” he says as he closes the door behind him and approaches my desk. “The last time I came here with the boys, you didn’t have all that furniture in the waiting area.”
“We’ve made a few additions,” I finally manage. “Please, sit down, Emerson.”
He’s shaved off his goatee since the first time I met him, but now I think he might be growing a beard because he has a few days’ worth of dark stubble shadowing his strong jawline.
It doesn’t occur to me that he forgot to shave. This man rarely does anything he doesn’t intend to. It’s a trait I admire.
He takes off his glasses to clean them on the white t-shirt he’s wearing under his sweater, giving me a glimpse of dark skin and ridges of muscle that hint at a six-pack.
When I look up, he’s watching me from beneath his thick set of lashes and I can’t help blushing.
Shameless. Stop objectifying the poor man.
“Your email was intriguing.” He sets his wire frames back in place and focuses in on me. “Birds and stones and time crunches. Our last conversation had to do with introducing Langston to the ballplayer who gave him that autograph as a surprise. For some reason, I don’t think that’s what this is about, is it?”
“No, I—” Ann comes in sets down two steaming cups of tea before disappearing again. My assistant has moves like a ninja. “Oh, I needed this.”
I take a sip and close my eyes,
letting the warm flavors of cardamom, cinnamon and ginger ease the tightness in my throat. There’s no reason for me to be nervous. This is just another business meeting, and I can do those in my sleep. I run a now bi-coastal, successful placement agency for nannies. I can handle lawyers, frustrated parents and yes, accountants in my sleep. I pick my teeth with the bones of my enemies…
That last bit is visually disturbing and untrue, but it’s helping to get me in the right mood. I set down my cup and straighten my spine while Emerson looks on with open curiosity.
“Is everything all right with you? You mentioned having a problem.”
Be professional. “I’ll tell you about that in a minute. First, I want you to know I took the liberty of consulting my lawyers about your custody situation.”
His lighthearted demeanor evaporates in an instant, eyes narrowing and broad shoulders tensing visibly beneath his navy sweater. “Why would you do that?”
“You asked me for my help not that long ago,” I remind him. “And so did a valued employee. I take a request like that seriously.”
“I asked Jae to get your advice on potential live-in childcare. That’s true enough. But that was a while ago. Before you moved here, in fact. And we’ve done a lot of talking since then, none of it with your lawyers. Why now?” He crosses his arms in a posture that’s more defensive than I’d like. “And what did they tell you?”
They told me that the situation didn’t look as good for him as it should. Despite the home he purchased with his children in mind, despite his steady job and financial solvency, despite his deep roots in the community and family connections. His ex-wife will still have priority over the children due to their previous arrangement and the fact that she is their mother.
“The main issue remains that the shared custody agreement you signed during your divorce—”
“Was skewed in her favor because I didn’t push for more?” He sighs in frustration. “I’m aware of that. It was a rough time for all of us, but she gave me her word that she’d never use it to keep me from our kids.”
She is Rowena Wayne. The ex. “But she did keep you from them, on multiple occasions and often without warning—until this last summer.” When she dropped the boys off with their father and disappeared.
Emerson told me that, other than a few short phone calls every other week and postcards from far off places, there’d been no real communication since she went on her trip to parts unknown.
I put my hand on the thick folder beside my laptop to remind myself to stay on track. “You didn’t approach a lawyer then. Not even after the new school year started. You could have brought her up on abandonment charges, but you didn’t. Why?”
He rubs a hand over his mouth and jaw, his brown eyes boring into mine. “What is this about, exactly? You sitting behind that desk makes me feel like I’m being called to the carpet. Have I upset you in some way I’m not aware of? The boys and I have been enjoying getting to know you over the last few weeks. I thought you were as well.”
You have?
Stay strong.
“I have. I am. Bear with me, Emerson. I’m almost finished, but this is salient to our conversation. Why didn’t you sue for sole custody before she came back?”
He doesn’t look that happy with me, but he answers anyway. “Statistics. A single father isn’t the ideal. I didn’t want to take the chance that it would backfire spectacularly, and I’d lose the rights I have in the process.”
I trace out designs on the folder with my fingertip to soothe my nerves. That isn’t the whole truth. “You didn’t realize she’d come back with a wealthy fiancé, a summons and a plan to move your children to Arizona, I know. But is that the only reason you hesitated? The statistics?”
“What other reason would there be?”
I look him squarely in the eye. Make-or-break time. “Is there a possibility that you wanted an excuse to maintain a relationship with her? There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve seen joint custody situations that have more to do with the parents than the children.”
Inwardly I’m cringing. I think I know the answer to this question, but I need to be sure. I’ve seen pictures of his ex, an ebony-skinned supermodel type, leggy and stunning, with a bonus set of curves I can only dream about. She looks like every man’s fantasy.
I’m not jealous. Not really. I think you’d have to be in the same league to be jealous.
Though it would complicate my whole destiny plan if he was still hung up on his ex.
Emerson scoffs and leans back in his chair. “Not in any reality.”
“Then why did you really agree to those terms and why haven’t you fought them until now?”
I stare at him in silence until he breaks eye contact. “Ro doesn’t have family, Tanisha. She’s harder than she needs to be because of it. At the time, she was worried my family would convince me to cut her out entirely. Take away all of her rights. I thought I could give her that peace of mind since…” He looks at me again, his jaw tightening. “Neither one of us put that much effort into our marriage. We both knew why we were there.”
Because she got pregnant, and he didn’t marry her for love.
He’d admitted as much to me in one of his emails, and I can hear the sincerity in his voice now.
“Thank you for being honest,” I say softly.
“You’re welcome. Now will you repay the favor and tell me what that inquisition was about?”
I push out of my chair and walk over to the windows that look out into the main office space. Then I flip a switch on the wall and the smart glass frosts over in an instant.
“I want to say that’s cool and a little disconcerting at the same time,” he says in a wary tone. “What don’t we want witnesses for?”
Smiling, I glance at him over my shoulder. “Managers appreciate this convenience when I call them on the carpet. And on occasion, I appreciate my privacy.”
Especially when you’re preparing to humiliate yourself and have your proposal rejected out of hand?
Especially then.
“Now I’ll tell you my problem. Do you remember what I said when you asked why I’d moved here?”
He’s turned his chair slightly to face me, his strong thighs spread in a casual posture that makes me notice things I shouldn’t.
Business, Tani.
“Your parents,” he says immediately. “You said your family was old fashioned in the extreme, and that you needed a change of scenery.”
“Those were understatements, but still true.”
As he looks at me, I’ve never been more aware of my flaws. I’m short. I’m small—breasts included. I don’t wear short pencil skirts or attention-grabbing heels.
You can’t, because you’re wearing a prosthetic leg instead.
I never forget that, thank you.
He can see all of that, but it’s the flaws he can’t see that I have to share with him now. It’s only fair. I already know more about his life than I’m sure he’s comfortable with. And I want us on even ground.
“My family is old fashioned. So much so that they aren’t talking to me right now,” I tell him, not hiding how much the thought upsets me. “I’m partially to blame for the whole shunning thing. I kept secrets from them, things I didn’t share until my hand was forced.”
“I haven’t known you that long, but that doesn’t sound like you.”
My gesture encompasses my office. “I built this with Joey. The initial business, the West Coast offices, all of it. I’m an equal partner, and I’m proud of what we’ve done together. But I let my parents believe I was his secretary for the last seven years. That he gave me the job because of our friendship, instead of my investment and acumen.”
Emerson is frowning now. “Why would you do that?”
To keep the peace? To keep my family intact? It’s complicated.
“In the past, every time I tried to talk about starting a company or going to college to major in business, I got a pat on the head and a reminder that s
ome things weren’t meant for me. It wasn’t mean-spirited, you understand, it was how they were raised. How they were raising us. They believed my brother Arush had the head for business, and that my other brother Niraj would marry well. And they believed that I was meant to be taken care of, not only because I’m a woman but because of this.” I touch my thigh in explanation. “The only child they were right about is Niraj. He’s a romantic and handsome devil, and girls follow him around like he’s Harry Styles. But I don’t need to be taken care of. And Arush is a horrible businessman. He always has been.”
I can’t look at him for this last bit. “Which is how he managed to land himself in the kind of debt he thought he could repay by offering his only sister’s hand in marriage instead of cash.”
“He did what?” The anger in his voice makes the skin on the back of my neck tingle. Anger on my behalf.
He leans forward in his chair as if he wants to get up and fight someone, but my brother isn’t here to confront him. It’s an encouraging reaction.
At least we agree that Arush sucks.
“It gets better,” I say wryly. “The loan was from a widower with children who went to school with Niraj. Someone my parents knew and respected, so from their perspective this was a blessing.”
I step over to my desk and grab a sip of tea. My throat feels tight again. “Their complete disregard for my arguments, along with the very idea that I would accept my brother’s commandment was the final straw for me. I lost my temper. I told them the truth, everything about my business and financial situation to show them I didn’t need my marriage arranged, and that I could make my own choices. That I could easily pay off Arush’s debt myself.”
The last argument I had with my family plays on a loop in my head, the way it has for weeks now. “It wasn’t my intention to make my brother look weak, and yes, I could have worded it better, but the damage was done.”
Emerson’s expression is hard to read now as he watches me, but I keep pushing forward.
Wedded to a Wayne: A Finn World Holiday Romance Page 1
