Bride Wanted

by Eva Luxe

  "I give up. Go be happy, you little tramp."

  I looked down at my lap. I got the memo. It caused a hollow heavy feeling in my chest.

  No one should ever be told something like that by their own parents.

  "That's not true," I said, reaching across the table to touch her hand. She dragged her eyes up to mine and a tear fell. "You're a sexy lady, and deep down inside, you can find someone. But you have to do it the right way."

  She remained quiet and listened to what I had to say.

  "You think so?"

  "I know so!"

  Tara gave me a drunken chuckle and picked out an ice cube to chew on. “Then there’s something you ought to know. Grant’s been having you followed.”

  “What? You mean to here?”

  “Yeah, he thinks you might have a side lover. I may’ve told him that baby of yours wasn’t his.”

  I slumped back into my seat. Great. This was what jealousy did to perfectly able-bodied women.

  “I’ll handle it then. You better put in the truth for me though.”

  I was mad at him for having me followed. But with all the lies that Tara and who knew who else had been feeding him, I guess I could understand. I was having his baby. And I hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with him, due to my own stubbornness.

  Tara finished chewing on her ice cube and swirled her water around with her straw.

  “If I can get anywhere near him. Maybe I’ll drop him a letter.”

  “Please do so then. God, Tara, you’re such a wreck.”

  I got out of my seat and looked directly behind her. There was an older veteran who used to be a Navy Seal. He was retired now.

  I introduced them and now they were sharing a table.

  What a relief, I didn't have to worry about her anymore.

  I returned back to the barstool where I could overlook the cooks. Edwin came back and leaned in.

  "You hooked those two up together?" Edwin groaned.

  "Oh please, she's older than you. Plus, I think someone like him would be up her alley. What happened to your last girlfriend?”

  “Long story,” he sighed.

  “We all have long stories these days, don’t we?”

  "Well, that nasty burger of yours is almost done. We have chocolate syrup only, is that good enough?" he asked with his yuck face on.

  "Yup, that will be just fine."

  "You're really going through with this. So you're actually pregnant?" he asked with a much more hushed voice.

  "You won't stop asking, will you?" I rested my elbows on the table and chin in my hands. The baby bump was bound to come on sooner or later.

  "No, are you or are you not."

  I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'm pregnant."

  "Stacy!" he yelped.

  I flailed my hands up. "Don't let the whole world know!" I scolded. He ran around the counter and gave me one of his bear hugs.

  God, I was going to be crushed. "Hey, not so tight, bun in the oven over here," I said, coughing.

  "Oops, sorry. I'm just so happy. I get to be an uncle."

  The doors to the diner opened again. But instead of Tara, who was chatting it up with Mr. Navy SEALs over there, it was my worst nightmare come true.

  Grant.

  "Oh no."

  He made eye contact with me while my brother's arms were still draped around me. Bad timing, bad horrible timing.

  "Grant," I squeaked out.

  "Do you know him? Is that the father?" Edwin whispered to me. "He doesn't look too happy."

  Grant stomped over and I tried to hop off the stool I was sitting on at the counter. The stools were all pushed together and being under my brother's arms wasn't helping.

  "Who's this?" Grant growled, staring at Edwin.

  "Name's Edwin, who are you?" Edwin said, standing in front of me. Now the whole diner was focused on us again.

  Way to go life, throw me more bull shit to deal with.

  "None of your business," Grant said. There was venom behind each syllable.

  "You two, wait."

  "Stacy, who do you belong to?" Grant asked, trying his best not to blow a gasket.

  Edwin was just as quick to blow a fuse too.

  "She's not yours, I'll say that."

  Oh that didn't help.

  "Edwin, Grant. Please stop, the whole diner-"

  "Stacy, please," Grant turned to me as if my brother weren't here, "tell me that baby belongs to me, and that you do too."

  Alice was watching from the back.

  I inhaled and exhaled.

  "Grant, this is my older brother, Edwin."

  The look that dropped onto his face was nothing less than hysterical. A few of the onlookers in the diner busted out into laughter.

  What was this, a movie channel?

  Needless to say, I wasn’t laughing. I was pissed. And pissed pregnant women weren’t funny.

  "I wish you had told me this earlier," Grant said, backing up from Edwin. Edwin wasn't moving to give me room to get out of this stool.

  "Edwin, excuse me," I said, tapping on his shoulder.

  "Are you sure, Stacy?" he asked, being the protective older brother I always knew him to be.

  "Yeah, I'm very sure." He worked hard alongside me to keep the family afloat. But it wasn't enough.

  Bills kept piling on us, similar to how things were piling up right now.

  Edwin scooted out of the way and I got down from the stool and bolted out the door. The whole damn town didn't need to know my business.

  "Stacy, where are you going?" Grant asked, following on my heels out of the diner. It was dark outside and a chilly wind whipped around us. I kept walking, trying to get this whirlwind of emotions out of me.

  I came here for some solace. Now I had a huge shitfest to deal with. What would I say to my mother when Edwin tells her? What do I tell them?

  "Away from that diner, away from you," I spat, keeping a brisk pace. The city streets weren't as clogged with cars as they used to be.

  "How come you couldn't just tell me you were visiting family?" Grant was getting closer up against me. The scent of his body lingered around me, warning me of his descent.

  "It was none of your business. I trusted you to take care of me, but I didn't want my family tied up in this too. Look what happened."

  Grant rushed up and grasped my shoulder. When I met his eyes, I saw something I never quite saw in him before.

  Sadness.

  "Did you think I'd hurt them?" At first, yes, but after I got to know him and see him behind closed doors, I knew he wouldn't.

  "I didn't want any possibilities of them to get hurt. You're rich, and I'm just the side piece to give you an heir."

  "You still think that?" Grant slipped his hand off of my shoulder, his eyes still locked on mine.

  "Yeah. You might be nice to me and cater to my needs, but did that really transfer over to love? Guys know how to fool us females really well."

  "I don't want to fool you. I want to keep you," he said, bringing me closer to his body. God, the warmth of his body was tempting. But I had an important decision to make.

  I stepped back from him. Distance was needed to see the scope of what was happening.

  "So now I'm an object you can have now?"

  "Stacy, you're taking this the wrong--"

  "Then tell me, do you love me?"

  Grant's mouth dropped open. He wanted to say it only to say it.

  "You can't even lie. I can give you that at least."

  "I do, I really do!"

  I turned around to keep walking and waved my hand in the air. "It's off. The contract is off. You don't need to give me anything. When the kid's born you can have full custody. I only ask to know how they're doing once in a while."

  Grant let me walk away. I didn’t need to see the look on his face. I only needed to walk. Somehow it’d work out, right? That was what I kept telling myself. I was in a good part of town luckily, and it was well lit, but I couldn’t sit here and roam around fore
ver.

  A car pulled up to me and beeped. At first I thought it was Grant or some perverted freak. But when I looked closer, I saw Willow motion for me to get in.

  "I should've known whose blue Bentley this was," I said, opening the car door. It opened up the opposite of other cars. Strange, but hey, some rich people had strange taste.

  "Hey, Stacy, why are you walking out here alone like that?" Willow asked.

  "You know me, I can be a loner sometimes."

  Willow began to drive me back to my studio. I caught myself when I was about to tell her to take me to Grant's place.

  There was no going back to that place. Only forward. Grant could raise a kid. They wouldn't have to worry about money or food.

  A tear escaped my eye and I let out a small sniffle.

  "Are you okay? Why are you crying, Stacy?" Willow pulled over and took out some napkins she had stashed around her car for her kids.

  "No, I'm in such deep shit."

  "What deep shit?" Willow asked, blotting my face.

  "I agreed to have a baby with Grant Carter for a million dollars and I just broke the contract."

  "Wait, did I hear everything correctly?" she asked, her mouth wide open.

  "Yes."

  She shook her head and sighed. "Men these days. I'm so sorry, Stacy." Willow continued to blot my face and handed me more tissues.

  "Don't be. This isn't your fault."

  Willow scratched her head and looked out the side of her window. "Well, I kinda sent you there to work for him..."

  I laughed. "You weren't sending me there to be a carrying case for his kid."

  She frowned. "True. But…damn. Darien's going to be pissed."

  "Don't tell him, Willow. I'm not going to get in the middle of friends. Plus, Grant treated me well."

  "Then why is the contract broken? Are you pregnant?"

  "Yeah, I'm a mommy alright. And I'm the one that broke the contract, not him. It was too much stress on my shoulders, it was crushing me."

  Willow turned on the heat since the cold air began to chill the car.

  "Are you in love?" Willow leaned back in her seat with a mellow smile on her face.

  "Huh?" I dabbed my eyes with the tissue and wiped my nose.

  Willow smiled. "Gotcha."

  "Gotcha, what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  What did Willow know that I didn't?

  "You're afraid of being in love with him, aren't you?"

  I had to process that one for a second. Afraid of love?

  It didn't occur to me that I thought that way. But then it began to make sense all on its own.

  "Willow, you remember where I live. Take me home, please. I need a good night's rest over all of this."

  "No problem. Buckle up."

  Willow patted my arm and we were off. My phone buzzed in my pocket a few times. I ignored it and closed my eyes.

  I had to head home. Sure, that crazy guy had been following me but it had been ages since I had been home long enough for him to stalk me. He probably thought I was long gone— that I had moved away as I’d originally intended.

  What was there to be afraid of?

  Chapter 31 – Grant

  Love.

  How come that word couldn’t leave my mouth. Stacy was mine. But she had a point.

  She wasn’t a thing to possess. I wanted her, needed to have her. First, I needed to look myself in the mirror and say it.

  “I love her. I do. But I’m afraid to say it. To admit it,” I said aloud to myself.

  I had taken a hot shower this morning.

  Even though all of last night was spent reflecting. I didn’t trust Stacy, and she didn’t trust me. We were well within our rights to do what we did. She didn’t even want my money.

  Fuck, did I mess up the only good woman I’d meet in my life?

  Or was she a stripper and not telling me? I’d figured a lot out by now, but not that part. I didn’t even know what was going on any more.

  I doubted my instincts. No man worth his salt would’ve ever done that.

  I took my towel and dried off. Even the bathroom felt lonelier without her. When I went into my bedroom to get dressed, the resolve to get her back overcame me with a sudden urgency.

  That was my woman, my wife to be that was carrying my son or daughter.

  I sat down and dialed her number one more time. She didn’t answer.

  No, I wasn’t going away until she slapped me with a court order. I was ready to tell her I loved her, and tell her why I was so apprehensive on saying it last night.

  The wounds I suffered that were still open were going to be addressed and finally closed.

  I called my head manager at my company and he picked up on the first ring.

  “Sir, good morning,” he said in his stern voice, “how may I help you?”

  “Westley, take charge of the ten o’clock O’Hara meeting for me. I’ll be back in the office in another week. You’re in charge until then.”

  His voice quivered. “Are you sure, sir?”

  “Yes. I trust you.” There was a new word I was beginning to use.

  “Thank you sir, I will not disappoint.”

  “I know you won’t. Good day.” I hung up and grabbed my wallet and my keys.

  I remembered one more place I could look to find Stacy, and if I hurried, I could catch her on the way to school.

  On the way to her studio, I had stopped at a store to buy something special for her, a surprise. I had it put in a good case and flew back to the car.

  The traffic was terrible in the city this morning. Usually I braved it, but there was a ticking clock, and I didn’t feel like waiting another fucking second. My hands gripped the steering wheel as I counted down every second. The lights turned green and I made sure to butt every damn car I could to get to where Stacy lived.

  There was an alley opening ahead of me, and my GPS was one of the best. Top of the line and very exclusive. If there was a way to dodge traffic, even if it were through an alley, it’d tell you, just like it was telling me now.

  It automatically re-routed and led me down an alley and a few turns.

  In fifteen minutes, I was rolling up to Stacy’s small apartment complex. She better be okay, or else I wouldn’t forgive myself. I’d live in agony and hell for the rest of my life. And instead of being a God, I’d be Satan all the way.

  Angry and miserable.

  I found her door number and did a few breathing techniques. I knocked calmly and waited to hear her floor creak as she walked the door.

  No answer.

  So I knocked three more times. Firm, but nothing too pushy.

  “Stacy?”

  I placed my ear against the door to see if I could hear anything inside. Not a peep. Not a creek, crinkle or scrape. Stacy went to school in the morning. She didn’t drive, so she had to be at least at a bus stop.

  I jogged down the stairs and threw myself in my car. Flooring it, I checked all the nearest bus stops.

  One after the other.

  Now there was only one stop left to check. That was when I saw her, standing under the bus shelter with her phone. A man walked up to her and she took her attention off the phone.

  “I said leave me alone, creep!” Stacy hissed. I parked my car where it was and bolted out of the car.

  That piece of shit was trying to touch my woman.

  “Come on baby!”

  “I said, no!” Stacy shouted.

  I butted in, grabbed the man’s dirty wrist, and flung him across the street. I may’ve been a CEO, but I still spent a good time in the gym.

  “Grant?!”

  I turned around to Stacy and kissed her forehead. “Stacy, forgive me. I’ve been so worried about you and the baby. I love you, I love you so much,” I admitted, holding her waist.

  “Grant…”

  “Are you okay?” I asked her. “That guy…?”

  “Oh, that guy’s just a moron,” she said. “He knows better than to mess with me. My reputation
and past history precede me. And now he knows better than to mess with me.”

  “Okay.” I placed a finger over her pink lips and hushed her. I kind of wondered what she meant by ‘reputation and past history’ but I decided not to pry. “Listen to me, please. I was afraid to admit my feelings to you. They are real, I can guarantee that.” I smoothed back my hair and exhaled. “My father was married once, he was very in love. But my mother was the money hungry one. She cheated, tore his heart and money apart then left. Seeing my father in pain for such a long time destroyed me and my perceptions of finding a real romance.”

  “I understand. I was afraid too. I’ve seen life go to shit so many times, that I was afraid that it’d be the same with you too. I love you too, Grant. I have one more thing I need to tell you, though. You may already know, since you’ve figured everything else out. But I can’t go forward without coming clean about something.”

  I inhaled, bracing myself. Here it comes. She’s going to tell me she’s been dancing, grinding up on some guys in the VIP room, giving them lap dances…

  “I used to dance,” she said, looking at me in the eyes. “Exotically, I mean.”

  I stare at her.

  “I mean, I guess some people call it stripping. I really don’t think it’s as big of a deal as some people do. But I thought you should know…”

  “Used to?” I asked her, relief washing over me. “As in, in the past?”

  “Yes,” she nodded, looking at me as if wondering what else I could have thought. “As in, right before you met me.”

  “Before I even met you,” I repeated. “I see.”

  “Yeah, like, that was the whole reason I needed a job. The club I was dancing at closed down unexpectedly.”

  I chuckled.

  “Well, that’s what I get for looking at your tits in a photo that your friend texted to me, instead of at a resume I never even asked for.”

  She threw her head back and laughed with me.

  I could hardly judge her for something she had done before we had even met. I guess Tara had dug up some rumors about it but didn’t know whether they were in the past or present. Or maybe she did and just wanted me to think the worst, so I was glad her plan didn’t work, if that had been her plan.

  “So, are we good?” she asked.

  “We’re good,” I told her. “I mean, I can’t say I love the fact that men used to see you naked. And I can’t even imagine it. You’re so innocent and sweet.”