"So you think you really love her?" Mom's eyes are a little misty as she pats my hands with hers, "After just one visit?"
I nod, swallowing hard and staying quiet to avoid choking up. Even if it is Mom, I still have my pride.
"Well, honey, it's just that you haven't had a serious girlfriend for awhile. Not one that lasted more than a couple of months anyway."
I laugh.
"This whole marriage broker thing really came out of the blue. Your father and I weren't sure what to make of it, and I have to admit, Raven did a lot of the work for us. She was very sure that Alicia and you were the right match. All we had to do was double check her facts and get to know Alicia."
She squeezes my fingers in her hands and whispers like it's a secret, "We really like her, Michael."
"OK, Mom," I laugh nervously and take my hands back. I'm not sure she's been listening this whole time while I tell her how Alicia is the one that backed off and how I came up here to talk to her and Dad to see if they can help me figure out how to convince her to give it a try.
"But Mom," I try to back her up and get her back on track, "it wasn't me. Alicia's the one who's not ready to get married."
"Well there's no reason a girl needs to rush to the altar these days, Michael," Mom scolds, "You know it's not like the old days. Woman have careers now, not every girl is going to be in a hurry to get your ring on her finger and your baby inside her."
I have to swipe my hand over my face to keep from laughing at my mother. All I can do is nod, "Yeah, Mom, I know that. I'm not in a hurry either. I thought we could take it slow."
Mom raises her eyebrow and stares down her nose at me. I'm not sure what she's about to tell me because the door opens with a loud bang against the wall in the front room and Jeremy's voice fills the house.
"We're here," he comes around the corner of the kitchen door and stops cold when he sees me sitting at the island, "Michael."
The way he says my name sounds like he's very surprised to see me, and none too happy about it.
"I didn't see your car out front," he tells me. There's a deep crease between his eye brows that he gets sometimes when he's upset about something and his voice is a hollow attempt to feign enthusiasm at me being here.
"Yeah, I pulled it around back, Dad and I were going to check the tire pressure before I took off."
Jeremy's eyes dart nervously to our mother and she gives him a warm smile and little shrug.
There are voices out in the front room. I'm not surprised to hear my sister-in-law's voice but I am surprised that it's not my niece's voice answering.
"I just need to plug in my phone charger so I can check--"
Mom and Jeremy are looking at me but I'm looking at Alicia.
Alicia
A call to Raven, a call to Michael's mom, some hastily scheduled time away from the business, and a cross country flight is all it took to get me here.
It didn't take my competitive spirit for me to fall in love with Harold and Georgia Boyd. They're absolute sweethearts. Genuine people that are hard not to fall in love with right away.
Georgia and I hit it off immediately and I like to think that my own dad would have been a lot like Harold.
It was a no-brainer to call them as soon as I made up my mind to to come out here and try to get this thing with Michael back on track.
Georgia swears up and down that I'm perfect for Michael and once she heard from me, she was on board with whatever she had to do to make sure I got my man.
I'm still not sure what "get my man" means to me, exactly. I'm still not sure I'm ready to get married. I just know I can't stand the thought of losing Michael.
Which is why I'm here. Feeling a little worse for wear after a long flight booked at the last minute.
Michael's brother and his wife picked me up at the airport. They're wonderful people too. Jeremy was shocked to hear that his brother hired a match maker. He had no idea. Apparently my perfect match has been a bit of a player since he was a teenager.
I could see that.
Michael definitely has the bad boy look down, with the beard and the tattoos, but he wears it well. With a sophisticated thing about him, nicely dressed, educated and well spoken, and without the cocky attitude I'd expect of an actual bad boy.
So I guess that's why hearing his brother and sister-in-law's stories on the way here about how Michael hasn't kept the same girlfriend for longer than a year is more entertaining than worrisome.
By the time we arrive at Georgia and Harold's home in the country, I've had a chance to hear all the stories about Michael that only a brother would know, and I've had a chance to explain to Jeremy and his wife all about how I met his brother.
I have a feeling that Jeremy has not had enough time to come to grips with the idea that his baby brother hired a professional to help him find a wife.
I'm supposed to stay here with Georgia and Harold for a couple of days while Raven follows up with Michael to find out where he stands on the subject of--well-- me.
Jeremy pulls my bags out of the trunk and hauls them through the front door while Kristie and I take our time getting to the house. I've known her for about an hour and a half and she's already the BFF I didn't know I needed.
"He's just so surprised about Michael," she tells me on our way across the lawn, "He never thought Mike would settle down, let alone hire someone to help find the right woman."
I know the whole arranged marriage thing is unusual, Kristie and Jeremy aren't the only people I've had to explain it to.
"He's going to march right in there and start giving Mom the third degree, you watch," Kristie says with a nod toward the front door that her husband just left open for us.
Stepping inside the front room of the house, I check the outside pocket of my small carry on that Jeremy has set just inside the door with my larger suit case and grab the charging cable for my cell phone. The thing went dead just before the plane took off and I haven't been able to power it back on to check messages.
"I just need a place to plug in my charger," I start telling my hosts as I follow Kristie into the kitchen.
I'm met with a silence that sends a shiver down my spine. Looking up, I realize why.
Georgia is standing on the kitchen side of a large island counter. Kristie has taken up a position at her husband's side and all three of them are focused intently on Michael sitting at the breakfast bar side of the big kitchen island.
And Michael is staring at me like he's never seen a woman before.
The shiver that had a hold of my spine turns into something else. Something more electric, that spreads out and wraps around my back to my ribs and tightens my nipples.
My body knows exactly what to do right now.
My brain, however, is off on an entirely different tangent.
I just spent the last 24 hours running through a million different scenarios on how our reunion would go. I've rehearsed dozens of conversations, and in each one, I always know my lines.
Right now all I know is that I forgot how fucking gorgeous he was. I forgot how handsome his face was, even covered by the neatly groomed beard.
I forgot about the way the ink that covers his torso ends in bold lines that peek out from his shirt collar and snake down his arms till it ends in bright patterns that dip all the way down the backs of his hands.
I forgot that a plain black t-shirt does nothing to disguise the broad shoulders or the muscled chest.
Shit, I forgot that I know exactly what he looks like without all those damn clothes in the way and my body chooses right now to remind me that it remembers exactly how he feels without all those pesky clothes in the way.
This is really awkward, standing in Georgia's kitchen before I've even properly met the woman, with my panties soaking wet and my nipples feeling like the temperature just dropped 40 degrees. I can feel my hands shaking with my phone and charger clutched far tighter than necessary.
I hear Georgia's familiar voice somewhere in the dista
nce, shooing the extra people out of the kitchen. Kristie says something to me but I'm not sure what it is and Jeremy stutters in response to his mother. It all happens in a flurry of movement out of the corner of my eye and then Michael and I are alone.
Alone and staring at each other and my heart is beating a mile a minute and suddenly I feel like such an idiot! Flying 3,000 miles without notice hoping that showing up and making some sort of speech would make this man love me.
Make him give me a second chance.
Maybe make him want to marry me.
And here I am, face to face with him and I have never been more sure of anything else in my life than I am right now that I want this man. I want him to want to marry me.
I want to marry Michael.
And if he doesn't get off that bar stool and kiss me, I'm also sure I'm going to die right here on his mother's kitchen floor.
Michael
I forgot how fucking beautiful she is.
I mean-- I took pictures when I was in California. I look at her every single day but...nothing compares to Alicia standing in my mother's kitchen staring at me like she needs me to kiss her.
Her hair needs brushing, there are dark circles under her eyes, she looks like she's lost a few pounds that I'd rather put back on her, but she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
Her lips are parted and I'm not sure if she just forgot to close her mouth after her voice died with her words, or if she's begging me to kiss her.
Those perfect tits of hers are rising and falling heavily like she ran all the way here from San Francisco and I can see the outline of her nipples poking through the layers of her bra and the soft cotton, v-neck t-shirt she's got on.
Her skin went pale when she first saw me but now it's flushed with a rosy color that makes my cock ache in memory of the way that blush spreads down her body when she's naked and aroused and saying my name.
"What are you doing here?" She breathes softly, like I'm the one who's out of place in my parents' house.
"Me?" I ask, feeling like I might be talking aloud to a figment of my imagination. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again."
Alicia smiles shyly, "I wasn't sure you wanted to."
"Why would you think that, Al?" I stand up and move a step closer to her, still worried that she'll disappear if I try to touch her.
She takes a step closer to me and sets her phone and charger on the island counter. Then she stands there fidgeting with the cord till I think she might tear it in half.
"Because you went into this arrangement voluntarily," she looks up at me, her eyes filled with fear and she chews her lower lip before looking back down at her hands, "and when you left San Francisco, I told you I wasn't ready for...anything serious."
My hands ache to touch her, to pull her against me and kiss her till she changes her mind about all that but she's got more to say so I stand on the other side of the counter and wait.
"I get that, Alicia, I know signing up with Raven wasn't exactly your idea but," I have to lean on my elbows to get down to eye level where I can try to make sense of what's going on in her head,"but why did you sign up with Raven, Al?"
It's the question that has been on my mind for days now, ever since my last discussion with our match maker.
Sure, Alicia's aunt and mom might have started the process in an overzealous attempt to kick start Alicia's love life, but Raven would never have taken the contract without believing that Al was genuinely interested.
I had this talk with Raven. She told me she believes that Alicia is more serious about finding a partner to share her life with than she even knows herself. She just needs it to be her decision.
I need to be Alicia's decision and it's killing me to wait for her to make that decision.
"I told you the whole story," she says unconvincingly, "Aunt Vera and Mom--"
"Aren't the one's who filled out that crazy questionnaire and went through all those interviews," I finish for her.
Alicia's eyes rise to mine and widen.
"Alicia, Raven accepted you as a client, not Vera and your mom," I point out gently, "I've talked to Raven, Al. I wanted to know why she would have matched you to me if she knew you weren't serious. Why she would match you to any of her clients if she knew you weren't going to go through with the deal."
"Michael, it's not that I'm not--"
I can't take it any more, I step to the other side of the counter and pull her against me, holding her arms till she looks me in the eye.
"I know." I tell her simply, "I know, I talked to Raven for a long time, Al."
"What did she say?" Alicia's face is tipped up toward mine and her eyes are soft as they search mine.
"She said you're the right woman for me," I whisper against her lips, "but I already knew that."
I don't give her a chance to answer.
My grip is tight on her shoulders as I hold her against me, preventing her from moving away from me, but her lips don't require any coercion. They part against mine and let me move my tongue between them easily.
She stands still in my grasp and returns my kiss so hungrily that I forget where we are. I forget that there's more to this conversation. I forget that I still don't know why she's here or that the gig is up and my brother must know what's going on since he brought her here.
None of that matters right now.
Right now the girl I want to marry is kissing me like she wants to marry me too.
That's all that matters.
Alicia
I forgot to tell him why I'm here.
That's the first thing that goes through my mind as his lips touch mine.
I was going to tell him that I've been talking to Raven too. That Raven's the one that talked me into getting a hold of his parents and that she's the one who told me not to give up yet.
There's so much more to tell him but this kiss is the thing I flew across the country for.
This kiss. The pressure of his fingers wrapped around my shoulders, holding me firmly. The way his grip makes it clear that I'm not going anywhere till he's had his say and that he'll say it with his tongue wrapped around mine till I can't breathe any more.
When he finally relents and draws back to look down at me, waiting for whatever I was about to say next, the only thing I can remember is, "I love you."
The words tumble out of my mouth before I have a chance to think better of it.
This is not the right time. There's so much more to discuss. We've barely known each other for a few weeks and there's been an entire continent between us for most of that time. We're nowhere near the point in our relationship for me to be telling him that I love him.
I'm not even sure we're in a relationship.
I stiffen in his hold, feeling like a stupid teenager for saying too much too fast and hoping I didn't just screw things up all over again.
Seriously, I've gone from not committed enough to over committed in the space of a couple of days.
Michael smiles, his hands loosening on my shoulders and sliding around my back to pull me against him.
My head presses against his chest and I can hear the thunder of his heart beat just beneath my ear. I snake my arms around his waist, enjoying the feel of his body against mine, taking time to memorize it in case this is turns out to be a friendly, "that's nice but it's too late" hug.
"Fuck, Alicia," he murmurs into my hair between new kisses, "I can't believe you're really here. I can't tell you how glad I am you're here."
I lift my head up to look at him, not sure I want him to acknowledge what I just said or worried that he will.
He looks down at me and smiles before he kisses me softly.
"I love you too," he whispers low as he lifts his face from mine.
I start to say something but he shushes me softly, "I'm sorry if you're not ready for that, but I am. When I applied for Raven to find me a wife I was thinking like you. I was thinking that I was ready to find something real, but not ready to go all in with
the whole marriage thing."
He's still holding me. His arms around me snugly, making it clear that I'm not going anywhere, but he's leaning back against the counter and speaking seriously.
I don't feel trapped at all. I don't feel held prisoner. There's no impulse to push him away or put space between us. Michael feels warm and safe, holding me while he explains his side.
It's the first time I can ever remember feeling safe and secure in a situation like this instead of trapped.
"I knew your aunt Vera wasn't putting a lot of effort into finding the right man for you long before I even met you, but your mom was really trying and then Raven did a lot to steer me toward you too.
"I thought I'd go out and meet you and that it wouldn't work out, you know? Like, what are the odds that I'd find the right woman on the first try? Right?"
I laugh lightly. I know what he's taking about.
Nodding, I tell him, "That's OK, I didn't think I'd find the right man on the second or third try either."
I shrug lightly and admit, "OK, I didn't think I was even looking for the right man."
"Except you were, Alicia."
Michael kisses me again, "Maybe you didn't know it, but Raven did. Or she wouldn't have let your crazy aunt pay her and she would never have let you meet me."
"You don't think so?"
It hadn't occurred to me. Even after all the interviews with Raven and our last few talks since I realized I wanted another chance with Michael, I guess I just thought she would keep sending me out on dates with new matches until one clicked.
I thought it was just a fluke that that turned out to be Michael.
"I know so." He says with a grin, "I told you, I've been talking to Raven kind of a lot lately."
I've been talking to her a lot lately too. Trying to backpeddle and get back to where Michael and I are just meeting again. Hoping that I didn't miss my chance because, frankly, if I had I'm not sure how long it would take for me to get over him.
"Raven's the one who suggested I call your parents," I admit shyly. "She said your mom was my best bet at finding out if you were still interested."
An Elegant Solution: Arranged Marriage Romance Page 7
