“I can give you four hundred thousand of them,” said Pamela.
Paige felt her chin drop. She practically scraped the floor with it. “Are you kidding me?”
Tina nodded, still patting Paige’s shoulder absently. “It’s true.”
Paige let out a low whistle. Four hundred thousand dollars! I do believe even I am not blind enough to miss this opportunity, but thanks for making it so obvious. “I’m in.” She set the bottle of water on Pamela’s desk, her hands surprisingly steady.
With that much money, her business could be up and running faster than you could say cha-ching. And she’d be able to afford stable fees for Annie May in the meantime. And she could buy her own house and barn. And her dream guy would still be there in a year—he wasn’t going anywhere. And, and, and there were too many good reasons not to do it. A year was nothing compared to a lifetime of living her dream.
“Really?” Tina looked incredulous. “I thought she’d take a little more convincing …” she muttered to Pamela.
Paige laughed. “I could have stalled or pretended to consider it a bit more. But in all honesty, I have had some interesting twists in my life in the last couple of days, and for the first time, the road has straightened out.”
Pamela and Tina exchanged one more surprised look. Pamela recovered first. “In that case, let’s get you in the computer.”
Paige shifted to the edge of her seat and smiled for the digital camera attached to Pamela’s computer as she took the photo. Tina excused herself from the room with a shake of her head.
After that, things went quickly. Paige handed over a cancelled check for a direct deposit, signed a few more papers, and was back in the elevator by one-forty-five. Pamela said she’d call her in the next couple of days to arrange a meeting with her future groom and a prenup.
Paige drove back to camp with visions of ponies dancing through her thoughts. This whole thing might not be conventional, but it was exactly what Paige needed. It wasn’t until she pulled into the barnyard that the doubts started to creep in.
One major concern was her horses. She didn’t want to leave them behind or be apart from them for even one night, yet she couldn’t take the twelve- to fifteen-hundred-pound animals with her—talk about bringing baggage into a marriage.
Then there was the groom. What if he was short, bald, and had a hairy back? Or what if he laughed loud—like, embarrass-a-room-full-of-people loud? He could be anybody. He could be the guy she saw pumping gas, the auctioneer with the nasal voice, or someone old enough to be her grandpa. What in the world had she gotten herself into?
Her final concern—and this one was a doozy—was her own lack of skills. She began to wonder what she could do that was worth four hundred thousand dollars, and a knot formed right under her sternum. She couldn’t see herself as a surgeon’s wife, and she was much too country to be a trophy bride. Unless there was a man out there who needed his stalls cleaned and his horses trained, she was going to be a sorry excuse for a partner in this marriage.
Chapter 6
“Come in. Come in,” said the woman Cody assumed was Pamela Jones.
Cody’s eyes took in the plush office and the lovely woman behind the desk. A thick set of pearls hung around Pamela’s neck and her blond hair had enough volume to make her look younger than she probably was.
Pamela rose from her chair behind the desk, straightened her cream-colored jacket. “Who is this?” she asked, turning her welcoming smile on Addison.
“I’m Addison Marie Walker.”
Pamela came around and offered her hand to Addison. “It’s nice to meet you, Addison Marie Walker. This must be your dad, Cody Walker.”
Addison shook Pamela’s hand. “Yep. He needs a bride.”
If Cody’s hands weren’t full of crayons and coloring books, he would have clamped his hand over Addison’s mouth. Instead, he stood there, his face flaming and no words in his mortified brain.
“It’s a good thing you brought him in. We specialize in brides.”
Addison’s eyes grew large.
“Why don’t we set you up on the corner of the desk to color while your dad and I have a chat? Shall we?”
“Sure.” Harrison moved a chair for Addison, and Cody set her things on the desk. “I’ve got paperwork to file.” Harrison smacked Cody on the back as he left. “I’ll see you at the ceremony.”
“Yeah.” Cody truly hadn’t thought about what type of wedding ceremony there would be, and his stomach rolled over at the idea of a church and pastor.
Cody cringed inside. The first time around, the engagement and ceremony had felt larger than the ocean. Buying the ring, writing his vows, renting a tux. Big. Big. Big. This time, it almost didn’t feel real, and Cody was clutching to that suspension of reality like a lifeline. He would not and could not compare this marriage to his first, or else he’d run out the door with Addison over his shoulder and never look back.
He looked down at Addison’s chubby fingers and heart-shaped face. He was doing this for her. She wanted a mommy, and Cody needed someone to guide her through the next year. She had a hard enough time with children making fun of her attempts to read and teachers pegging her as underdeveloped. Maybe if he’d gotten married a couple of years ago, she wouldn’t have these problems now. There were programs out there that could help her, but between his dealerships and investments Cody was barely keeping his head above water, and everything suffered. The business could fold and he’d be fine, but his daughter deserved the best he had to offer. Under the guidelines Harrison had shared only moments before, there was no reason not to move forward.
Cody especially loved the one-year limitation. Whoever this woman was, she was only signing on for a year, not for life, and Cody was doing the same. If, at the end of twelve months, it wasn’t working out, they could go their separate ways. Plus, the bride got a bonus at the end, which would be an incentive for her to stick it out. No more three-month females with romantic aspirations. Only one solid, professional woman who would hold up her end of the bargain. By the time Harrison had given him the orientation speech, Cody was hooked on the idea of a professional bride.
Pamela offered her hand. “It’s good to meet you, Mr. Walker. I understand you are a friend of one of our clients.”
“Gabe Russell,” Cody offered.
As they shook hands, Cody had the strangest sensation, like he’d been put in a copy machine and scanned. His eyes snapped to Pamela’s, and her lips slowly lifted into a broad smile. “I have a good feeling about you, Mr. Walker. Let’s get started.” She released his hand, and Cody blinked before taking his seat. Pamela handed him a folder. “Inside this you’ll find rings. Please choose one.”
Cody looked down at the folder in his hands.
Pamela typed away for several seconds.
A ring? He glanced at his left hand. There was already a ring on his finger.
“It won’t bite.” Pamela watched him.
Cody shook himself out of his stupor. He opened the folder and skipped the pages of women’s rings, which were first. Landing on the men’s, he glanced over them all. Most were too ostentatious for his preferences. There was one, a thinner one in platinum. He was pretty sure he could wear it with the ring he already had; then he wouldn’t have to take it off.
“I think this one.” He pointed to the page.
Pamela wrote a few numbers on a sticky note.
“Who’s that?” asked Addison, pointing to the computer screen Cody couldn’t see.
“That is Paige Baker. She works for me,” answered Pamela.
“Can Daddy hire her? She’s pretty.”
Addison’s words sent a chill up Cody’s spine. The last thing he needed in a bride was pretty.
“She is very beautiful,” agreed Pamela.
Even worse.
“I like her hair,” added Addison.
“Me too.” Pamela gave Addison a little shrug and a smile that only girls can give girls, a smile that implied they were in cahoots.
Cody cleared his throat in an attempt to remove the discomfort he felt at the idea of marrying a beautiful woman. Someone with buck teeth would be fine. Maybe a hump on her shoulder, a goiter … “I’m sure there are plenty of qualified women.”
Pamela turned her gaze on him. “There are. However, I believe Paige is the one for you two.”
He coughed. “Why is that?”
Pamela leaned back in her chair. “Paige comes from a large family. She’s the third child of eight.”
Cody let out a low whistle. Eight kids? He had a hard enough time keeping up with Addison. Although, at one point, he and Kylee had talked about having five children.
Pamela continued, “Her family owns a summer camp, where she has done everything from lifeguarding to counseling. She has a degree in business as well as certification from several youth coaching organizations. If you want someone who has experience working with children, then this is the bride for you.”
Cody couldn’t disagree with her on that point. Paige sounded more than qualified to handle his one little girl. He wondered why Paige had signed up for BMB, but then remembered the hefty paycheck and decided the less he knew about her personal motivations, the better. Keeping this on a strictly employer/employee level would be best.
“If you’re ready, I don’t see any reason why we can’t set a date for the ceremony.”
Cody couldn’t either, and it darn near killed him. He felt like he was standing on the cliff of this decision, waiting for a reason to chicken out and step away. Any reason. Any half-baked, stupid reason would be enough to send him out the door. If only someone would hand him a reason.
Realizing the panic he was sending himself into, Cody took a deep breath and plowed on. “I’m free on Wednesday.”
Pamela jotted down the date and a couple others that would work for Cody, and promised to get back to him. It wasn’t until he and Addison were in the elevator that he realized he hadn’t seen the picture and had no idea what his fiancé looked like, except that she was beautiful. The thought terrified him.
Chapter 7
Tuesday afternoon, Paige was in the barn with her brothers Noah and Matthew. Camp Buckeye needed a good cleaning before the first group of campers arrived. Until she was off to her new job—Paige couldn’t bring herself to say married—she intended to do as much as she could to help her family. When she thought about leaving, her emotions mixed together until she wasn’t sure if she was coming or going. Leaving the shelter of her family’s love was scarier than mounting a green-broke horse. At least the horse could only throw you off, maybe break a bone. Leaving her family could break Paige’s heart.
They had started to divvy up tasks for a deep clean in the barn when her phone rang. Paige sucked in a mountain’s worth of air. She knew, she just knew it was BMB.
“Ya gonna answer that?” asked Matthew, glancing at her jacket pocket, where the phone rang again.
Premonition raised the hair on the back of Paige’s neck. They have a match. Paige’s leg bounced. Could she do this? Could she really get married?
The phone rang a third time. Paige moaned, torn between her dream and what she had to do to get it and her feelings of unworthiness. Who was she to—?
“For the love.” Matthew slipped his hand inside her pocket and retrieved her phone.
“No!” Paige dove at him, but Matthew, a running back on the high school team, rolled away from her grab.
“Paige Baker’s phone,” he said with a wink Paige did not find at all endearing. Okay, maybe a little; Matthew was her youngest brother, after all.
“Hold, please.” Matthew pressed the mute button and held out the phone. “Pamela Jones,” he said quietly.
Noah punched him in the shoulder. “Why are you whispering if it’s on mute?”
Matthew cuffed him back. “Because.”
Noah hooked Matthew in a headlock.
Paige took the phone before it ended up on the cement floor under their wrestling match. “I think I’ll take this outside.”
“We are outside,” called Matthew. From the way he was hunched over, Paige had the feeling Noah was about to be flipped onto his back.
“Hey, take it easy on the old man, will you?” Paige said over her shoulder.
“Who are you calling old?” Noah’s voice followed her into the barnyard. There was a lot of grunting, and she supposed the wrestling match was well under way. Boys!
Paige walked clear to the other side of the arena, taking deep, calming breaths along the way, before she pushed the talk button. “Hello.”
“Hello, Paige. How are you doing?” Pamela’s voice came over the line.
Full of doubts and falling to pieces. “Fine. And yourself?”
“I’m well. Thank you for asking.”
There was a heavy pause that made Paige want to scream just tell me already!
“Things have progressed rather quickly here, and we’d like to sign the prenup tomorrow.”
“To-tomorrow? As in Wednesday?”
“Yes. Mr. Walker finds himself in need of your expertise rather quickly.”
What expertise? Paige wanted to ask. She wasn’t a life coach. Heck, she couldn’t get her own life under control. Case in point: she was now engaged to a man she’d never met. How was she going to help anyone pull their life together?
“Paige, can you hear me?”
Paige realized she’d been quiet for so long Pamela thought they’d been disconnected. “Sorry. Tomorrow will be fine.”
“I’ll have Tina email you the information and a list of documents you’ll need to provide.”
“Documents?”
“Your driver’s license, birth certificate, and such. It’ll be in the email.” Pamela paused. “Are you okay, honey? You sound upset.”
Paige might have her doubts, but Pamela seemed sure, and Paige wanted to keep it that way. “I’m great. Looking forward to tomorrow.”
“Wonderful. I’ll see you then.”
Paige hung up the phone and leaned her head against the coral fence. The cool metal felt good on her fevered forehead.
“Bad news?” Noah asked from right behind her, causing Paige to jump.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
Noah held out his hands. “What sneaking? I just walked over here.”
Paige gave him the once-over. His auburn hair was mussed and his shirt had a tear. “Matthew kick your sorry butt?”
“Nah.” Noah waved her off. He arched his back. “Okay, he flipped me pretty good.”
Paige chuckled. “Next time, don’t pick a fight in the barn. Come out to the sand. You’re landing will be softer.”
“I should take you down for that old man comment. You’re only two years younger than me, you know.”
“And I always will be.” Paige sighed.
Noah copied her posture and leaned against the fence, shoulder to shoulder with Paige. “Guy troubles.”
“What?” Had Noah heard Pamela mention a prenup? She glanced down at her phone.
“I was kidding, but that look on your face makes me think I was on to something.”
“There’s not a look on my face. I don’t look like anything.”
“Denial—the second sign of guilt.” Nathan bumped her with his hip. “What’s his name?”
Paige let out a high-pitched, crazy giggle. “Mr. Walker.” She’d only just heard that from Pamela. She’d just heard her fiancé’s name from another woman. Paige could feel herself coming undone but was at a loss as to how to stop it.
“His first name.”
Paige had no idea, and the world was topsy-turvy. Cracking up and doubling over, Paige barely got out, “I don’t know.” She laughed so hard, her eyes started to water.
Noah scowled. “What’s so funny?”
Paige righted herself and swiped under her eyes. Oh, she needed that release. Looking around quickly, Paige determined they were alone. “I’m gonna tell you something, and you have to swear you won’t tell anyone in t
he family. Not Mom, not Dad, and especially not Neveah.”
“Why would I tell Neveah?”
“I don’t know, I was just covering my bases. In fact, if you can’t promise to not tell anyone, period, then I can’t tell you.” Paige held up her right hand like she was going to make him swear on a stack of Bibles.
“What am I, twelve?”
Paige dropped her hand. “When you were twelve, you told the whole school I liked Peter Harris.”
“I was twelve!” Noah defended himself.
Paige sized him up out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah, I’m not telling.”
In one swift move, Noah tackled her and sat on her belly.
“Get off!” Paige yanked her leg up, but he dodged the knee aimed at his kidney. She wasn’t going to hit him hard, just hard enough to get him off.
“Not until you tell me.”
“You’re such a jerk,” she said, but she was laughing. Where else in the world would someone love her enough to tackle her to make her talk? “You’re getting sand in my hair and I have to meet my fiancé tomorrow.”
“Fiancé? What the …?”
Paige took full advantage of his shock and rolled right out from under him and onto her knees. Breathing heavy with the effort, Paige decided she was rather proud of that move.
Noah’s face clouded. “Paige, are you in trouble? Oh, shoot! I shouldn’t have knocked you down. Did I hurt the …?” He looked down at her stomach.
“I’m not pregnant,” Paige hissed. Looking over her shoulder to make sure no one had heard that, she quickly added, “It’s not like that.” Dropping to her seat, she pulled a weed out of the sand and rolled it between her fingers. “It’s my new job. I’m a bride for this brokerage—”
Paige stopped, remembering the painful signing of the confidentiality agreement. There was a small something about telling family, but Paige had been so sure her family would never find out that she hadn’t worried about it then. One look at Noah’s face told her she’d have to lay it all out or be locked in her room and under brother guard for a year. Just call me Rapunzel.
The Country Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book 4 Page 4
