Marry Me, Right Now : (Marriage of Convenience Romance, Toronto)

by Haley Travis

  Jacob smiled, curling those full lips up in a thoroughly distracting way. “It’s your first day here. She really loves cooking. What’s your favorite lunch ever?”

  The giggle bubbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. “Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.”

  He grabbed his phone and sent a quick text. “Done. Lunch will be at twelve-thirty. Do you want help unpacking?”

  “No, thanks.” I stood up, realizing that I was likely keeping him from work. “Thanks for staying home from the office today to let me in.”

  “No problem. I often work from home one day a week. It keeps people from popping in with ludicrous little details. I can focus a lot better in my home office with headphones on.” He waggled his eyebrows crazily. “It also makes me seem mysterious, I hope.”

  Jacob stood up and enveloped me in a huge hug. “I’m glad you have a real place to live, Mia. I didn’t realize how horrible the housing market was for…” he hesitated.

  “Poor people,” I finished.

  His large hands pressed against my back, and I felt my body instinctively moving against his. “People with less money,” he said gently. “The thought of you having to live somewhere small and dirty, or in a bad neighborhood, or with creepy roommates.” He gave me a little shake before releasing me. “I can’t stand the thought of that. You deserve so much more.”

  I didn’t want to explain how everyone deserved better. “Thanks,” I said, smiling as I headed to my gorgeous new bedroom. The thought of his lovely condo cluttered up with my stuff made me feel like an intruder, so I unpacked as quickly as possible.

  After organizing the contents of my suitcases, I heard a few soft thumps in the hallway. Poking my head out, I saw three delivery men carrying in my boxes, setting them along the hallway two high, treating them all as if they carried the Queen’s best china.

  “Thank you so much,” I called out to them, as they finished. I heard Jacob thanking them from the hallway, and hoped that he tipped them well. I was embarrassed to realize I didn’t have more than five dollars cash on me.

  This new life was going to come with new rules and obligations. Would it be strange if I asked Jacob to go through the details of my new daily life?

  Unpacking and stashing as much as I could, by the time it was nearly twelve-thirty, I had emptied four boxes, and designated three more to long term storage in Jacob’s basement room.

  Brushing my hair and adding a little lip gloss, I scrubbed my hands in my new lavish private washroom before squaring my shoulders and getting ready to meet my new housekeeper. The thought was so odd I wasn’t sure where to mentally file it, so I’d have to just wing it.

  As I walked toward the dining room area, Jacob jumped up from the couch, absolutely beaming. “Mia, I’d like you to meet Carol.”

  A petite woman with soft features darted out of the kitchen to shake my hand. “Welcome, Mia. It’s so nice to meet you.” She was likely only in her late-thirties, yet had a gentle, motherly way about her. She shook my hand gently, but with genuine warmth.

  “Great to meet you,” I said. “I hope I don’t create extra work for you while I’m here.”

  Jacob shot me a hard look. “I mean,” I sputtered, “Now that I’m here.”

  She looked into my eyes kindly. “You’re tired from running around all morning, aren’t you? Here…” She gestured for me to sit down. “Take a break. You deserve it.”

  There was that word again. Since when was running errands and unpacking for an hour a full day’s work, worthy of reward?

  Jacob joined me at the table, and Carol poured us each a glass of white wine. “This is a Chianti,” she said proudly. “I found it in Jacob’s infinite wine stash, and it’s said to go perfectly with cheese and tomato.”

  Jacob held his glass to mine. “Welcome to our new home, sweetheart.”

  The twinkle in his eye was obvious amusement at our little show, but for half a second I wished that it were real. I needed to control my stupid feminine urges better.

  “Thanks. It’s lovely to finally be here. And to have found you.”

  He gave me a little wink, as we sipped the strangely dry, rich wine.

  Carol served our lunch, and I nearly laughed out loud. Perfectly toasted fresh herbed bread with two kinds of amazing cheese, and lightly spicy rich tomato soup, worthy of a five-star restaurant.

  “You have got to be kidding,” I exclaimed. Carol looked worried until I added, “This looks incredible. Thank you so much!” She beamed, then disappeared down the hall.

  “You seem surprised,” Jacob said. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

  I laughed a little too loudly. “I’m used to canned soup, and plain white bread with one of those plastic tasting cheese slices. This is heaven.”

  He grinned, those magical eyes sparkling at my amusement.

  JACOB

  <<< 11 >>>

  MOVING IN

  I knew that all of these changes were a lot for Mia to take all at once, and that the stress of moving was more intense for women. Men rarely seemed as connected to their homes, whereas women seemed to have a deep connection to wherever they were sleeping, and where their possessions were.

  But Mia seemed quite casual about her possessions. It was truly strange how much money and extravagant displays of wealth upset her. I felt a bit ashamed and awkward that I really didn’t relate to some of her concerns, and vowed to be more sensitive to this. I didn’t want to upset her at every turn.

  Making her feel at home and relaxed was a top priority for me. On some level, I was aware that her energy and performance for our weird arrangement would be better if she felt more grounded. But really, I just wanted her to have a nice home. I wanted her to feel cared for, and I wanted to be the one to do it.

  Somehow unusual instincts were stirring that I’d never acknowledged before. I felt protective of her. I wanted to know where she was and what she was doing. I wanted to help her, to make her daily life easier. For her comfort to be constant and easy.

  These feelings had never occurred when I was dating other girls. Maybe it was because they were wealthy, and still living with their families. Their fathers were the men in their lives, and in charge of their care. But Mia didn’t have anyone.

  My subconscious screamed that I was now the man in her life, but I had to squash that thought. This was a temporary arrangement. Yet for the next year, I could care for her. Perhaps I could build her up so that she knew what a divine treasure she is.

  Watching her grin at her soup bowl filled me with a vortex of feelings that were brand new for me. Pride that I was able to give her everything she needed, at least regarding material goods and basic needs. Satisfaction that I’d managed to convince her to go through with this marriage. Hope that her life could be elevated with the things she’d learn and the money she’d earn this year. Lust. I couldn’t allow myself to think about the lust.

  She licked a stray drop of soup from her perfect bottom lip, and I quickly looked out the window. “I’m glad your things arrived before it rains,” I said casually.

  “Thank you so much for taking care of that,” she smiled. “I really appreciate it.”

  “You’re very welcome.” I sipped my wine, trying not to look at her mouth again. “I know that you’ll be busy with your friends tonight. Can we do another round of planning tomorrow?”

  “Sure,” she said. “I’m completely yours now.” She cocked her head and shot me a grin. “You know what I mean.”

  I chuckled. “Now that you have your own cozy bed, we don’t have to crash on the couch like college drunks.” The words were out before I could stop them.

  The blush touched her cheeks, pink and fresh. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. I’ll try to be more careful of the time, and when you start looking sleepy.”

  She nodded, taking another bite of her sandwich. I couldn’t help wondering how much of that night she remembered. Holding her so close, spending hours snuggled togethe
r, had been the best sleep of my entire life.

  M I A

  <<< 12 >>>

  GIRLS NIGHT

  I realized the only way I could possibly sell this entire situation was to carefully behave as I would naturally, while still selling our story. I was also impossibly curious as to what my friends would say about my dazzling new life. I invited my best friends Rayanne and Lauren to my new home, and they were both surprised and confused when I texted them the address. They both double checked it with me, assuming that I had made a mistake.

  I’d known them both for at least five years, and we’d all been through crappy jobs, lousy apartments, and loser boyfriends.

  They arrived together, and I ran to answer the door when I heard them tap tentatively.

  “Ladies!” I screeched, hugging them hello. “It’s been way too long. I’m sorry that I suck. Come in.”

  They both came in slowly, looking around as they slipped off their shoes on the marble tile of the foyer.

  Rayanne’s shaggy shoulder-length hair had recently been dyed purple, which looked smashing with her usual all-black outfit. Lauren was more of a hippie, and her dirty blonde hair glowed from the yellow and orange swirls on her blouse.

  “What the actual hell?” Rayanne asked. “You live here?”

  “Did you become a princess and didn’t bother to tell us?” Lauren laughed loudly.

  Jacob came down the hallway, and both of their mouths fell open. “She is certainly a princess to me,” he said sweetly, wrapping his arm around me in a little half-hug as he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  He looked back and forth at the two of the. “I’m going to take a wild guess… Rayanne?” He extended his hand, and she shook it while nodding, obviously amused.

  “And I’m Lauren,” she said with an almost girlish tone as he shook her hand.

  She turned to raise her eyebrow at me. “Well, this explains why we haven’t seen you very much over the past few months.”

  “I know, I’m terrible,” I said. “Come on in.”

  I led them to the huge couches, where snacks were already laid out.

  “May open a bottle for you ladies?” Jacob asked. “We have everything, pretty much, so what would you like to start with?”

  They both shrugged. “We’re fine with anything,” Rayanne said as we all sat down.

  Jacob snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. Do you all like slightly sweet white wine?”

  “Of course,” I said.

  He opened a bottle that looked very expensive, old, and French. “This is something that my friend Logan gave me. He bought a case of it, but it was too sweet for his girlfriend.”

  He brought three extremely full glasses to sit down in front of us.

  “So, Jacob,” Rayanne asked, “This is your place?”

  “Our place now,” he said, shooting me a little grin.

  “And what do you do for a living?”

  He sat down beside me. “Getting straight to the point. Making sure that I am good enough for your friend. I get that. Basically, I run an investment company. I crunch numbers and move money around as best I can to help it grow.”

  Lauren nodded. “A financial wizard.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know about the wizard part, but everything is going pretty well so far.”

  We all took a sip of the wine, and Lauren looked especially impressed. “This is fantastic.”

  Jacob positively beamed. “Very glad you like it. I’m so sorry I can’t stay, but it would certainly mess up ladies night if I did. Help yourself to everything in the wine fridge and cupboard, and I think Carol made oatmeal cookies the other day.”

  “Who is Carol?” Rayanne asked.

  “She’s our housekeeper and cook,” Jacob said lightly. “She just works a few hours a week to keep things running smoothly around here.”

  He put his finger under my chin, tipping my face up to his for a tiny kiss. “I won’t be too late. Text me if you need absolutely anything, or can’t find something here yet.” Turning to the girls, he said, “Lovely to meet you both. Welcome. Have a wonderful night.”

  He left quickly, and I turned back to my friends to see them absolutely staring at me.

  “I would like to ask once again…” Lauren started. “What the actual hell?”

  I laughed, taking a big sip of the fruity French bliss. “So, yeah. That’s my fiancé.”

  “Wow. I thought a boyfriend was a big deal for you. I thought moving in with a guy was a big deal for you. You are fucking engaged?” Rayanne looked like she didn’t know whether to hug me or slap me. She looked pointedly at my hand.

  “Yeah, we picked out a ring, and I think it will be ready soon.”

  “So, what does Jacob really do for a living? Some sort of money guy?”

  “He runs his father’s company now. His dad passed away, but Jacob was already primed to take over.”

  “What sort of company?”

  “He’s the CEO of Stoneburrowes Investments.”

  They looked at each other strangely. “I’ve seen that logo downtown,” Lauren said. “On Bay Street, I think.”

  “Yeah, it’s a huge money-management corporation.”

  “So he’s rich?” Lauren asked tentatively.

  I nodded reluctantly. “Yeah.”

  “You don’t like rich people,” Rayanne said flatly.

  “Um, well, I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “How far would you go?” she laughed.

  “There are a lot of rich people in this world who hoard their money and do evil things. Jacob’s family does a lot of charity work, and employs a lot of people.”

  They nodded, sipping their wine, but were both looking at me a bit oddly.

  “Everyone uses the opportunities they’ve been given. Should I judge him for using his? If I were born super tall, I might use that to become a basketball star. If I were born into a family of chefs, I might use that to make connections in the restaurant industry. More doors would be opened for me because people knew my family. But that wouldn’t be my fault.”

  They looked at each other quite seriously, and nodded. “Okay, I guess that’s fair,” Lauren said.

  “So how are you going to use your newfound wealth to help the world?” Rayanne asked.

  I gasped. “Oh, damn.” They looked at me like I was losing my mind, until I grinned. “I just realized how I want to do the wedding!” I poured another round of wine while the idea continued to form.

  “Spill it,” Lauren demanded.

  “The info, I assume. Never the wine,” Rayanne said with a laugh.

  I took a sip, setting my glass down emphatically. “What if I used my ridiculous wedding budget to help small, indie folks? I could hire that new bakery near your place in the east end. I could hire an indie florist. People who would really appreciate the business, and don’t get huge orders very often.”

  Lauren cocked her head. “Well, yeah, but could they handle it?”

  “The only way to know for sure is to give them a chance. And with the great photos and reviews, they’ll get more business.”

  “How big is this budget?” Rayanne asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “It’s basically whatever I want it to be,” I admitted. “Jacob’s family make a really huge deal out of life events like weddings, anniversaries, and baby showers. It’s positively insane.” Looking at both of them carefully, I took a deep breath before asking, “Could you help me with this? I need to start a list of suppliers. And Jacob said that his mother will assume I’m hiring a wedding planner, so we’ll see what happens there.”

  “You’re going to have a wedding planner? Geez,” Lauren said, slamming the rest of her wine as if she needed the fortification. “Fancy ass.”

  “You have no idea,” I said, taking a huge swig myself. “She doesn’t want me to be too stressed and look tired in the photos.”

  Rayanne giggled wildly. “How stressful would it be pointing to photos of flowers you like, and making demands like, ‘No onion i
n the salad or off with their heads!’”

  “Well, that’s the other thing,” I began. “The wedding is happening really fast.” Rayanne gasped and grabbed my hand. “I’m not pregnant,” I said quickly.

  She sighed loudly. “Whew. Oh, thank god.”

  I laughed like crazy. “But that’s good to know you’d both fake being happy for me if that were the case.”

  Lauren nodded. “He sounds great, but you know, that’s a bit much, a baby and a wedding around the same time.”