by Cora Seton
She was angling for a city life—one brimming with excitement. She wanted to throw events for the stars. Never mind she had no idea how to get from here to there. She was positive moving to New York was the first step. Moving to Montana and letting Kai blow her self-esteem to smithereens?
Not on the menu.
“Fake weddings,” Felicity insisted. “I know what I’m talking about; I’m the one with friends in the industry, right? Nothing you see on those episodes is real.”
“But—” Addison wasn’t sure Felicity was right. The couples on the show lived together, slept together, got up in the morning together. She didn’t think it was fake. Heck, Savannah and Jericho were having a baby.
“Besides, your month is up in twenty-four days. You can bail on the show well before the wedding. Think of it; by the time you get to Base Camp you’ll have less than three weeks left. Less than three weeks to flirt and play with Kai Green! Then, poof! You disappear, they scramble around to find another fake bride and it’ll be great television. You’ll be doing them a favor!”
“What about me?” She didn’t think Kai would consider being dumped a favor. She remembered how Curtis had acted when Harris had stolen his bride. He’d been crushed.
Or had that been an act, too?
“What about you? You’re saying yes to life, remember? You’ll be able to put ‘actress’ on your résumé. People in New York will love that. Come on, Addison, you haven’t done anything exciting in years. Not since you came home from the Cordon Bleu. This is your chance. Quit your job. Throw all your cares to the wind. Give up your lease. Sell your stuff. Store the rest of it at my place. I’m making a big change; isn’t it time you made one, too?”
“But—”
“Come on. Say the word. I’ll arrange everything. Remember my penthouse…. It’s waiting for you. Will you do it?”
It was like standing at the edge of a precipice, Addison thought, and the one person in the world who was supposed to love you wasn’t handing you a lifeline.
She was pushing you off the cliff.
But Kai Green was waiting at the bottom of it—whether to catch her or watch her fall, she didn’t know.
That was the risk. Was she willing to take it?
Addison took a deep breath.
“Yes.”
Chapter Three
‡
“Kai, you know all we’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy,” Wanda said.
“I know. I’m trying. Like I told you, I’m working on getting a cooking show.” Kai was perfectly sure his adoptive mother wanted things to work out for him, but sometimes he wondered if happiness was hereditary. Everyone in the Ledbetter family seemed to be born knowing what they wanted and how to go about getting it. Wanda and Eric were medical researchers. His brother, Gary, worked for the Red Cross. Celia was married now with three children who took up almost all her time. She was going to night school to finish her teaching degree, however.
Grace, his biological sister, was happy, too, he reminded himself. She had been working for Child Protective Services since she graduated from college. A job she’d chosen because she was determined to protect children in circumstances like the one she and Kai had once been in. Now she had Tom to share her life with. Maybe genes had nothing to do with it.
“Being a television star is an interesting aspiration, but is it really all you want to do?”
He knew what she meant. The Ledbetter motto was Service, with a capital S.
“I’m cooking for a bunch of SEALs right now,” he pointed out. “Who are building a sustainable community.”
“But think of the thousands of people you could help feed if you joined Gary in the Red Cross.”
Kai sighed. Somehow Wanda couldn’t understand his vision, and he remembered the days when he’d first signed up with the Navy. One of his more zealous friends had organized a protest on his lawn, and even his family had joined in. His parents were proponents of non-violent communication, a system they believed could solve every problem even when opponents took up arms. In Kai’s eyes, they were naive. But then, he’d been naive, too. He’d gone into the service thinking he’d be able to right every wrong he came across. That hadn’t been the case. Now he was trying something new.
“I want to teach thousands of people to be able to feed themselves, Mom,” he said. He wished she could get on board with his plans for his future. When a Ledbetter supported you, it was like money in the bank.
“But there will always be people who can’t feed themselves.”
“I’m glad Gary’s helping with that.” His passion was different, though. And just as valid.
“I watched this week’s episode of Base Camp,” Wanda said.
Kai bit back a groan. “Mom—”
“It’s your turn to get married, and you don’t have a woman in sight. A wife-wanted ad isn’t going to end well. You know that, right?”
“It’s—”
“There has to be some way out of this mess you’ve gotten yourself into. I’m sure if we get someone to look at your contract…”
This was worse than he thought. Ledbetters didn’t break contracts. If Wanda was suggesting it, she must think he’d really gone off course. “I don’t want to get out of it,” he told her, which was true. Things were going according to plan for the most part. He’d known all along his turn to marry would come, and if he was having doubts, too, that was his problem, not his mother’s. Besides, Boone had already found him a bride.
Kai had been thinking about Addison all afternoon. That exasperated look she’d sent someone off-screen. Her curvy body in that wet bikini. Knitted surf caps. Who thought of things like that? He loved her hair—she was obviously artistic. In fact, he liked the whole package. It had been several months since he’d had anything like a girlfriend, and his body was letting him know he missed being close to a woman.
He’d like to get close to Addison.
“But marrying a stranger? Someone you find in an ad? That doesn’t make any sense. What I’d suggest—”
Kai knew he had to stop Wanda before she said too much. He was in this for good. He wasn’t going to let his friends down. Nor was he going to lose this opportunity to get his lucky break. There were far worse women he could marry than Addison Jones. He’d poured over her website and social media accounts. She was quirky, interesting, down to earth, with a loopy sense of humor. She believed in fate.
So did he.
His gut told him Addison could be the one.
“Take what you’re given and make something great out of it, Mom. Remember?”
“Sometimes fate needs a helping hand. Sometimes it’s taught you a lesson several times over and is going to keep teaching it until you learn some sense!”
Her words conjured up the doubts he’d just managed to squash, and Kai’s temper flared. Didn’t she realize how much he wanted this?
Kai stilled. He himself hadn’t realized how much he wanted this until just now. He’d known he’d need a wife since he joined Base Camp, and some part of him had felt agreeable to that, but this was the first time he’d understood it went further than that.
He wanted a partner—for life.
Kai made himself sit with that, even as his mother continued to talk on the other end of the line. He wanted someone permanent.
And Addison had stepped forward.
Now everything within him yearned to give a relationship with her a try. He would meet her halfway. Give it his all.
“Mom, listen. It’s too late to break my contract. I’m all in on this.” He braced himself, knowing the storm was about to hit.
But, as usual, Wanda kept her cool. He could almost imagine her taking deep, calming breaths. “Kai, you’ve proven time and time again you’ll go your own way, so I’m going to give you one piece of advice and then I’ll keep my own counsel.”
“What’s that?” he asked weakly.
“Just don’t pick your usual type.”
Too late, Kai thought as he said his
goodbyes and hung up.
Besides, Angus had asked for drama.
Kai had a feeling he was going to get it.
“You can leave in seventeen days. Remember that,” Felicity said as she looked over everything Addison had packed for her trip to Montana. For once Felicity looked nervous, and Addison thought it had finally sunk in what she’d done. Dispatching your sister to marry a stranger was pretty drastic, even if you were trying to shake things up in her life.
“I know.” She was almost two weeks into her month-long experiment, and so far saying yes had gone better than she’d expected. Except for the fact one of the other women at work had figured out she was being particularly agreeable these days and kept asking her to write extra reports for her.
All that was over now, though. She was back at Felicity’s place getting ready to leave. The show had given her one week to report to Chance Creek, Montana, and the past seven days had gone by in a flash. Yesterday had been her last day at work. Meanwhile, she’d sold most of her possessions in whirlwind of tag sales and online ads, and packed the rest in boxes to be stored in Felicity’s guest bedroom. Her suitcase held only her new, flowy, abandoned-waif clothes and a few extras—including some knitting needles and yarn, which Addison could now use in an elementary way thanks to the online instruction videos Felicity had forced her to watch and practice to.
“You don’t want to be caught out on the first day,” Felicity had pointed out.
Addison was pretty sure she’d be caught out in the first minute. She had to admit she was intrigued by the thought of meeting Kai, though. What kind of guy went for a woman who knitted surfer caps? Surely other women had applied. Women with real life skills. Who wore real clothes—had real jobs.
Or maybe not. Maybe she was the only one with a sister who wanted to ruin her life.
Remember the penthouse, she told herself. The beautiful penthouse. She was changing her life. All she had to do was make it through the next seventeen days—have a bit of an adventure. A lark. Something to tell her grandkids about. This was all fake. She’d meet Kai. Let him know she was in on the joke. They’d have a few laughs, take long walks around the ranch. Look at the bison. Swim in the creek. Pretend to flirt on camera.
And if he hated her, she’d pretend none of it fazed her one bit. Then come home and hide in Felicity’s penthouse until it blew over.
I’m going to live in Manhattan. I’m going to find a job as an event planner until I earn enough to open my own business.
Addison’s Events.
She could see it now.
But on the way down to the lobby to await their ride to the airport, Addison’s heart was in her mouth. She’d given up everything she’d known for this. And in just a few hours she’d meet the man who’d picked her to be his wife. It had occurred to her that despite her fears the show had never set up a woman to be dumped on-screen. So maybe there was hope this would go well.
Maybe Kai had taken one look at her video and fallen head over heels in love with her.
Get real, she told herself. Kai doesn’t want you. He simply needs you to play a role. He’s a nice guy. You’re a nice girl. Go to Base Camp and have a nice time.
If only she thought there was any hope of that.
Kai wished he’d been allowed to drive to the airport alone to pick up Addison, but of course that wasn’t an option. Ever since the cooking show revelation, Renata hadn’t left him alone for a minute. There’d been extra interviews about his aspirations and more film coverage of all the ways he folded sustainable practices into his cooking. At least it had kept him busy. And kept her from noticing the way he was stretching the food they had to cover the vegetable deficit. So far the film crew hadn’t noticed their new patterns of patrolling at night, although he’d heard the crew commenting on the number of naps people were taking during the day.
Still, he’d had plenty of time to overthink this meeting.
As he stood in the waiting area of the Chance Creek Regional Airport—the closest he could get to the plane Addison was due in on—he couldn’t help wondering if he really had what it took to make a marriage work. His track record with women was abysmal so far. Why did he think this time would be any different?
Maybe it was better he had an entourage with him; otherwise he might hop back into the truck and take off.
He glanced back and took in the crew members who’d ridden along with him to the airport. At least Curtis was here, too, for moral support. He wondered if the man was remembering the time he hadn’t gone to the airport to pick up his bride—and Harris had stolen her.
Kai turned to face the bank of windows looking out over the tarmac, wondering for the millionth time what Addison would be like. What kind of a woman blithely promised to marry a man she hadn’t met? Addison must have watched Base Camp—must have watched him.
And liked what she saw enough to want to spend the rest of her life with him.
That took courage—or a kind of thoughtlessness that boggled the mind.
He supposed he’d find out which it was soon enough.
“I see the plane,” Curtis said. “Only a few minutes now.”
Those minutes stretched out endlessly, but finally the plane touched down and taxied to park near the terminal. A few moments later, the door to the plane opened and passengers began to file out and down the stairs onto the tarmac.
“There she is,” Curtis said, but Kai had already seen Addison. How could you miss the lovely waif among the soccer moms, businessmen and couples with young children?
Just as before, his pulse picked up when he caught sight of her. It was a breezy day, and her dress clung to her body, revealing a figure that set fire to his imagination.
Addison said something to the stewardess at the top of the stairs, and they both laughed, the stewardess looking as charmed with Addison as Kai felt. There was that sense of humor he’d glimpsed at the start of her video. And there was that bohemian fashion sense that had caught his fancy, too.
“I hate to say this, buddy,” Curtis interrupted his thoughts. “But she’s not going to make it a day at Base Camp. Look at her. A strong wind would blow her away. What does a woman like that know about hard work and primitive conditions?”
Kai understood what Curtis was saying—Addison wasn’t dressed for ranch life. She was wearing some sort of flowy, gauzy number that looked as substantial as a spiderweb. But he liked the way she looked. Hell, he’d gladly shoulder her workload as well as his, if it meant she’d stick around.
Addison was beautiful, her face alight with interest as she descended the stairs. Then something caught her gaze, and Kai watched as she stepped off the bottom tread and darted forward to catch a toddler who’d swayed on his feet and nearly sat down hard on the tarmac. With a smile and a laugh, she returned the child to his father, who’d let go of the toddler’s hand for a moment to adjust the carryon he was juggling, along with an umbrella stroller under his other arm.
A second later, she helped a woman retrieve a silky, bright-red scarf that had slipped from her shoulder. Addison was the kind of woman who paid attention, Kai decided, more attracted to her than ever. Someone who took care of the people around her. She was slim, but athletic rather than delicate, he noticed, and he thought Curtis was underestimating her. She was still keeping an eye on the errant toddler ahead of her, and Kai could tell she was making sure the little boy reached the door safely.
Then her gaze lifted—
And caught his.
Kai’s mouth went dry.
He took in the mischief lighting her eyes, her delight in the antics of the toddler swinging on his father’s arm and the way her smile spread into a conspiratorial grin when she saw him. Every nerve in his body woke up, sending the alert it was time to make this woman his. Then her gaze slid to the cameramen behind him, who were filming every second of her approach. Her smile faltered, faded, and Kai’s stomach sank. If she didn’t like cameras, Curtis was right; she wouldn’t last a day—
But t
he next moment a smile tugged up one corner of her mouth, and she glanced back at him. The mischief was back as she lifted a shoulder and almost rolled her eyes. That gesture encompassed the absurdity of the moment and included him in her desire to laugh at it. Kai held his breath. She wasn’t fighting it; simply acknowledging it, as if to say, “Well, all we can do is put up with this circus.”
Kai was hooked.
He moved forward to greet her as she came through the door, wanting to be closer to her. “Addison? I’m—”
“Kai,” she said, and her smile lit up her eyes. “Of course. You look just like you do on TV.” Color suffused her cheeks, and Kai’s breath hitched again. She was attracted to him, and he felt an answering surge in his blood. “Now I sound like a groupie,” Addison added.
“Nah,” he said, wanting to set her at ease. “I’m glad you watch the show. It means you know me.”
“Do you think so?”
When their gazes met, Kai was utterly sure she did. He wished he could reach out and touch her—
And then he did.
Her skin was soft under his thumb, and as he stroked it down her jaw, her eyes widened.
He dropped his hand to his waist, suddenly conscious again of the cameras filming all of this.
“You’re beautiful,” he managed, hoping like hell he didn’t sound like an ass. She was, though. It seemed important to tell her.
“Th—thanks.” She watched him warily, as if unsure whether to believe him.
Could he kiss her?
No. Not yet.
Soon though.
He realized his gaze had dropped to her mouth and that she’d noticed. She was holding her breath.
“I guess… we’d better get your baggage.” His voice was husky. He hoped she knew he would have said a lot more if they weren’t being filmed. “You must be tired.”
Hell, if he’d wanted to keep his head, he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. He was falling for Addison. Had fallen halfway already. He might be cool under pressure and know how to harness meditation to find his way to being one with the world, but when it came to women he was binary. He was either all-in or all-out where relationships were concerned. With Addison, he was all-in.
