The Matchmaker Bride (The Bride Series)

by Richards, Shadonna

  Mrs. Stone peeked over her specs as she surveyed Sophie’s eager expression. Sophie pulled the file open and froze when she took out the 8x10 colour photo of the potential match for Lady D’s daughter, Sandy.

  Oh. My. God!

  To say the gorgeous man staring back at her in the photo stole her breath away was an understatement. But she had to remember, she was there to match him with Sandy, not with herself.

  So why was her heart beating hard and fast in her chest? Why did she suddenly have butterflies in her stomach? And why couldn’t she tear her gaze away from this devilishly sexy man in the photo? He had the most beautiful dark, captivating eyes that she’d ever seen. He was strikingly good-looking though he looked a little tired in the picture. His hair was midnight black and cut short. He had a smooth rich honey-tanned complexion. Even with the slight shadow of unshaven stubble on his face that made him look more like a corporate bad boy, he looked deliciously handsome. Appealing.

  How could this man not get his own bride?

  Judging by his specs, he was the typical tall, dark and handsome at six foot four inches and filthy rich. This matchmaking venture had just gotten more challenging than Sophie originally thought.

  3

  The next day Carlos Bradley leaned back in his executive leather chair at his desk in his office. He was on the phone making another deal for his latest software design. He fiddled with the note on his desk from his attorney. He was drained to the max but had a lot on his plate right now. It appeared that Tessa was trying to smear his reputation as a womanizer and therefore unfit to care for his sister. He could not believe he was really going to go through with meeting the representative with the matchmaking agency but this agency guaranteed results and results were what he wanted. Now. This was crazy. He hadn’t yet seen the woman but she would be perfect for his purpose. She only wanted to be married to fulfill an obligation to her father’s lawyers. How brilliant. How perfect. No strings attached. Just the way he liked it. Romance would certainly complicate things. And that was the last thing he needed now. He’d had his share of drama queens going after his self-made fortune. After all, his father had given him nothing in life but solid advice. Learn to rely on yourself. He smirked without humor. He was glad Julian came through for him with this hook up. This woman had her own fortune and wouldn’t want any of his or his name. Perfect. He glanced at his appointment schedule on the desk, Sophie Wilson – 2:00 p.m. She sounded perfect, like a nice elder lady who could easily be a grandmotherly type or fairy godmother of some sort. Ms. Sophie Wilson sounded like a widow of some sort. Still, Mrs. Stone herself said that his file would be handled with discreet, protective care just as if it were his own mother doing the match. She sounded very professional and warm on the phone and her success rate had been checked out. He’d received and checked the referrals himself just to be sure Julian hadn’t misunderstood the agency.

  * * *

  Sophie’s heart thumped hard and fast in her chest. She could not believe she was stalking a man. A gorgeous guy at that. Sophie really wished she could have met her own Mr. Right. She took out her binoculars and peeked as he walked into the building. Did he say hi to the cleaner sweeping outside his office? Yes, he did! Bingo. Check one for Carlos. Okay, so he wasn’t a snob. Good! She loved that in a man. Wait a minute. Sophie had to remember that he was for someone else. Later, the next step would be to interview him. He even passed the pusher test. The agency arranged earlier for someone to bump into him on the street, to see what his reaction would be. Would he turn around and slug the guy? Did he have hidden anger issues that could explode during his courtship? Would he curse, laugh or shrug it off? Hmm. She felt guilty for going through these investigative steps but reminded herself it was for the best match just to ensure he really is who he said he was. It was a long morning for sure but it was a necessary part of the job.

  Right now all Sophie could think about was Mrs. Stone’s words, “don’t mess this up, dear.” She had said the words with an air of threat laced with a pompous attitude.

  She looked up again to where his office would be but did not see him inside. The blinds were opened but nobody appeared inside his office. She placed her binoculars on her lap. She then reached for her Starbucks coffee and read more details about Carlos’s life. When she looked up she glanced to her side and almost choked on her coffee.

  Carlos was standing there, his dark sexy eyes penetrating her as he leaned against the outside of the building, his hands shoved in the pants of his expensive-looking suit with his head slightly tilted back. A sexy grin curled the corner of his lips when their eyes finally met.

  Busted!

  Sophie froze. Should she drive off and pretend she didn’t see him? Or confront him?

  Great, Sophie, you’ve just screwed up Stone Matchmaking Services’ very important potential match. What were you thinking, you amateur sleuth?

  Sophie drew in a deep breath and reached for the key in the ignition and pulled it out. She calmly opened the door to the car, bringing her files and her handbag with her and shut the door. She was going to have to improvise. She didn’t know what the hell she was going to say now. But there was no way she was going to lose this candidate for Sandy.

  As she walked towards Carlos, her arms trembled with the files hugged close to her chest. She noticed a gleam of interest sparkled in his sexy, dark eyes. Or was that a devilish look? Sometimes she found it difficult to read expressions when she was nervous.

  How was she going to get out of this one?

  4

  “So, you were watching me?” Carlos said with a grin on his face. His eyes were compelling, magnetic.

  “I could say the same thing.” Sophie tried to hide the fact that her heart hammering away in her chest. The closer she got to Carlos, the more she felt something. A magnetic pull of some sort. He was drop-dead gorgeous in person. In fact, the photos did not do him any justice at all. Though he was dressed to kill in his suit, his tie was slightly loosened and he had a rugged, sexy look about him like he’d been pulling an all-nighter with his work or perhaps an emotional drama. The aroma of the cologne he wore tantalized her. The man was dripping with charm. His voice was silky as his tie and deliciously deep but she could somehow see raw hurt glittering in his dark eyes. Was this the reason for hiring Stone’s? Suddenly, she felt a little sorry for the trouble he may be going through but she also felt something else, indescribable. Sophie’s legs began to feel a bit weak.

  “Um…Hi, I’m Sophie. I’m from—“

  “Stone Matchmaking Services,” he finished for her with a salacious smile.

  “You know?”

  “It didn’t take me long to find out I was being stalked. I made a few calls and got some information about you.”

  “But how?” In hindsight that was a silly question. After all, he was a very connected man. Influential. “I mean how did you know that I was…um…looking at…”

  “I miss nothing.”

  “Wow, you really do take notice of everything.”

  “A man in my position can’t afford not to. You could have been anyone.”

  “So that means you have enemies?” She tried to be playful while surreptitiously scouting more information.

  “The only people in the world that don’t have enemies are six feet under ground. You breathe, you think, you have beliefs, you’ll have enemies.”

  “Wow, you’re very optimistic.”

  “Realistic, my dear. Realistic,” he replied. “Come let’s go inside; I’ll order a gourmet lunch for the both of us. We can discuss more inside.”

  Sophie swallowed hard. She did not know how to take Carlos. Was he going to call the agency and tell them the deal was over? Was he going to complain about being stalked, for lack of a better word?

  Suddenly Sophie had no appetite—except for a taste of his presence, she was ashamed to admit.

  * * *

  To say he was more than impressed with this beautiful, delicate young woman before him was an un
derstatement. Carlos couldn’t help but grin. He rubbed the stubble on his face. So this was what the agency did? They spied on potential clients to make sure they were who they said they were. Clever. But it wasn’t just that; when he called his connections to do a quick surveillance on the woman in the silver Ford Escort, he could not believe what information was pulled up on this young beautiful creature. First of all, he had been expecting, well, a much older lady for some reason. Not a cute, young thing, like Ms. Wilson with her beautiful curves and ebony locks of silky, long hair. She was breathtaking. He’d seen beautiful women in his time. But she really stole his heart for just a moment. Very few if any women had that type of instant effect on Carlos.

  According to his sources, she had been watching him most of the morning. He guessed if she had found him to be something else she would have cancelled her two o’clock appointment with him. Very crafty indeed. Bravo for the matchmaking agency, weeding out phoney applicants the old-fashioned way. He had checked out the procedures used by the agency and trusted that all applicants were screened the same way. Even though his was a marriage of convenience. It didn’t take long to figure out that his two o’clock appointment would arrive early to do a little spying. Still, he knew she was ordered to do so. But she intrigued him. Her delicious floral perfume and her salacious curves almost threw him a curve ball. She was hot, but in a ladylike way. There was something delicate about her mannerisms that intrigued him. She was odd in some ways but desirable in a way that would make a man proud to call her…his wife.

  Carlos thought to himself he may very well have made his own match—with Sophie Wilson. His sources told him she was single and overwhelmed with debt from mostly some sort of medical bills. Perhaps he could turn the tables around.

  5

  They both sat down to a delicious gourmet lunch specially delivered by his caterers in his magnificent glass office overlooking the beautiful glistening water of the lake outside. His office building was situated very close to where his condo was—on the lake. That way if he worked late at the office he could just literally walk over to his condo instead driving out of the city to his mansion. It was a breathtaking view and the sun shone in brightly.

  “So,” he said, his voice deep, low and sexy. “Tell me about yourself, Sophie.”

  “Um…I think, I’m supposed to ask you those questions.”

  “Really? You mean you didn’t find out anything from those questionnaires I filled out? How does this agency work exactly?”

  Sophie’s cheeks burned. Her heartbeat raced in her chest.

  “Um…Well how it works is first of all Stone Matchmaking Services gets referrals from happy clients. We don’t seek or advertise, which sets us apart. We create detailed profiles from the preliminary application but we don’t set up online profiles. We create the completed profiles based on our…um…research and later a one-on-one interview with clients.”

  “Intriguing.”

  “Yes, it is actually. It’s a family-owned business that started thirty-five years ago. We don’t just take on any clients. If we feel we can’t find a suitable match for them—they receive a full refund. We start off with a one-hour in-depth consultation to find out about you and what you are looking for. Based on that conversation we…um do a little fieldwork observation in your natural setting.”

  “You mean spying.”

  “I mean discreet observation for the purpose of obtaining an accurate portrayal. People can say anything in a questionnaire and in this day and age we want to be sure that people are who they say they are. More and more people are under pressure these days to find a suitable soul mate, companion, or temporary arrangements. We want to be as safe as possible to find out more about our clients even if they hold an elite position in society. People can be very different behind closed doors or in social settings. And we have a reputation of providing our elite members quality matchmaking with a personal touch as we ensure both parties understand their personal requirements for their partner. We also do the usual contact information, criminal records, such as arrests, convictions or driving records, military, court records such as marriage records.”

  He nodded thoughtfully, holding her gaze with a grin on his face. “Go on.”

  “Well, we then create a profile and assessment to our potential client for a match based on the answers provided to our questions. We set up a pre-date communication and schedule a few dates where you’ll get a briefing before you meet. We dedicate a minimum of twenty hours in doing all the groundwork in finding your soul mate which includes a coaching session if necessary.”

  “Coaching?”

  “Yes. You know…just in case one is nervous about what to do on their…um date.”

  Carlos grinned as he gazed hungrily into her eyes. “I’m just intrigued by your presence.”

  “You are?” Sophie’s face flushed. No one’s ever told her that before.

  “Why does that surprise you,” he replied in a low sexy voice.

  Sophie tried not to look into his dark, penetrating eyes. He was the type of guy that could make her blush a thousand shades of red and tie up her tongue all at the same time so that nothing coherent came out of her lips.

  “Listen, let’s go out to the park. As you know I love the outdoors. I love being cool with nature. But you already know that don’t you?”

  “Well, actually, I don’t know if that’s on the…” She stopped when she saw him give her a salacious grin. Okay, this guy was having fun with her. And who could blame him really? She was stalking him—even if it was for business. He could have taken it the wrong way. But he didn’t.

  “Good, let’s go to the lake,” she said, attempting to sound more confident and business-like. She had to remind herself that she was interviewing a candidate for her matchmaking client. Nothing more. And everything that happened was only business and for the detailed report for her client.

  ***

  They sat on the grass by the rich blue lake which glistened in the sunlight. It was mesmerizing. The gentle warm breeze kissed her skin and almost blew her papers out of her hands. She laid them on the grass and placed her bag on top of them, noticing that Carlos barely took his eyes off her.

  The way his body filled out his suit told her he had a sculptured body and that made her dissolve like warm butter in a pan. God, he was stunning. But she had to remember to focus because he was, after all, for a client. Not for her.

  “So, um…let me get this straight…you don’t smoke, you drink only on occasion, you don’t have children but you would like to one day, you prefer a monogamous relationship, you listen more than you talk…” She paused and slowly met his gaze as he continued to stare into her eyes. She noticed he had the most delicious facial features. Dark thick eyelashes, chiselled cheeks.

  Stop it, Sophie! Focus on business. Use your head, not your heart.

  Who was she kidding? Oh, she just knew she was not cut out for this line of business. Heck, she didn’t believe she’d ever find her perfect soul mate, why should she believe everyone else in the world could?

  “You have the most beautiful eyes, I’ve ever seen,” he said in a deep voice that slid off his tongue like honey, ignoring everything she had said.

  This is so wrong. I should not be here. My client should be here.

  “Thank you,” she replied, trying to sound professional. This situation was getting more awkward for her and she barely knew what to do. She really could not afford to screw up this matchmaking. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she felt heat rush to her cheeks like a blaze. She took the pages up and shuffled them in order and shuffled them again, hoping he wouldn’t notice her habit of being overly organized.

  She already loved his physical stats: Height: six feet four inches. Color of his eyes: midnight blue. He left his ethnic, religious and political outlook blank and spoke very little of his relationship history or his income.

  “I see you like things in order,” he said observing her.

  “I…um…”


  “No, it’s okay. I like that in a woman.”

  “Now about your background?” She flushed, trying to keep the conversation strictly on business. Why did she feel so awkward when getting close to someone? Especially a guy. A hot one at that!

  “What about it?” he said dreamily.

  “You don’t mention your past relationships.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because.”

  “Because? That’s your rationale for prying into the past which is dead and gone?” He grinned and continued to hold her gaze.