Finding His Mrs. Right (Mending Hearts Series)

by Harris, Cyndi

  Finding His Mrs. Right

  Mending Hearts Series Book 1

  __________

  Cyndi Harris

  Finding His Mrs. Right

  Copyright © 2013 by Cyndi Harris

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

  ISBN-13:

  978-1490311517

  ISBN-10:

  1490311513

  Printed in USA by Createaspace

  Contact Info:

  Email: cyndiharrisauthor@yahoo.com

  Website: go to my website, www.angryprincess.weebly.com.

  Dedication

  Thanks to my family for support. This one is for you guys

  Especially my mom

  Table of Contents

  Prologue 7

  Chapter 1 8

  Chapter 2 14

  Chapter 3 24

  Chapter 4 31

  Chapter 5 41

  Chapter 6 49

  Chapter 7 59

  Chapter 8 69

  Chapter 9 86

  Chapter 10 98

  Chapter 11 108

  Chapter 12 116

  Chapter 13…………………………………………….124

  Chapter 14 132

  Chapter 15 144

  Chapter 16 152

  Chapter 17 160

  Chapter 18 170

  Chapter 19 176

  Chapter 20 184

  Chapter 21 195

  Chapter 22 207

  Chapter 23 217

  Multi-Millionaire Landon Brooks has it all. The cars, the money, and the occasional fling.

  Until Her.

  Tessa Winters enters Landon's life with one goal.

  To find him love.

  Owning her own matchmaking business, Tessa hides behind her profession to protect her own heart.

  But working with Landon Brooks, the over confident, arrogant, playboy, throws her off balance.

  Secrets of Landon's past, will crash into Tessa's present, and dredge up demons she has longed to forget. Maybe being together is exactly what they need to heal…

  Will he have courage enough to claim his Mrs. Right?

  Prologue

  My lungs burned, as the icy cold water invaded them. The water had been murky, and tasted like death. My air had long run out, and I reached for the surface, but my body couldn’t seem to fight the current. The more I struggled, the more the water seemed to get heavier, and push me down. I wanted to scream for help, but again, I was already swallowing too much of the dreaded water.

  I was becoming disorientated, and became even more afraid for my life. The water pushed me down from all sides, and I had nothing to anchor myself with. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.

  I was drowning.

  I’m sure I was only in the water for a matter of minutes, but to me it had felt like hours. I had held my breath for as long as I could, but there was no use. The pressure on my lungs had been crushing, and I eventually tried to suck in air, only to get the unwelcome taste of death. Now, I knew this was it. There was no need to fight it anymore. I was done for.

  My life was over, and it wasn’t fair. The blanket, known as darkness swallowed me as I let myself go.

  One

  “We need to muddle over that in the meeting.” I reassured, as I spoke to Adriane, the head honcho over at a publishing company I was looking to buy.

  Listening for a few moments more, my attention was grabbed by a knock on the door. My door slid open, and Valerie, my assistant popped her head inside. She was a blonde, and had crystal blue eyes to match.

  “Your ten o’clock is here, Mr. Brooks.” She whispered.

  I put a finger up as Adriane yammered on about his points. I get that he was nervous about me narrowing in on his company, but it was something I wanted. In the end, the company would be mines, no questions asked.

  “Adriane, I have to get going. I have someone here waiting.” I interrupted curtly. Yeah, it was rude, but I had other things to do. After saying a brisk goodbye, we hung up.

  “You can send them in.” I reassured, and she immediately disappeared.

  Fixing the papers that were scattered on the desk, I heard a light tapping on my door once more. Looking up, I saw it slightly open again, before a fiery red head strolled in. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, and a white blouse. Her hair was frizzy; she was wearing glasses, and holding a notebook. Walking over to my desk, she held out a hand as I stood. Taking her hand, I shook it as she smiled at me briefly.

  “Hi, I’m Tessa Winters.” She said, introducing herself to me.

  “Landon Brooks, CEO of Brooks Enterprises, but you already knew that. Please, take a seat.” I offered, and she nodded before sitting down.

  Following her lead, I sat in my leather chair. Folding my hands on the very large desk in front of me, I watched her drink in my office. The building was made of glass, and modeled after my favorite comic book superhero’s office, Tony Stark. As a kid, I was consumed by his drive and wanted to be like him. My father had ditched my mother when I was a kid, leaving her to have to work hard to provide for me and my younger sister. So, I had been determined to do everything in my power to ensure she never had to want for anything.

  “So, you called me here to set you up with your perfect match?” Tessa asked, grabbing my attention.

  “Yes, I figured I’ll be twenty seven in a few months, and it’s time to find that perfect girl for me.” I said rehearsed. I nearly gagged as the words left my mouth, but this was a must.

  “Okay, tell me your likes and dislikes.” She replied opening her notebook, and slipping out a pen.

  “She needs to be smart, beautiful, driven. A mirror image of me.” I answered.

  By the look she was giving me, I could tell Tessa thought exactly what everyone else thought of me. Yeah, I knew I could come off a bit thick headed and conceited, but if I was really going to settle down, Tessa needed to know this. If she couldn’t help find me the right girl, then I was hopeless because apparently she was the best matchmaker in the country. All the celebrities used her, and she was only twenty four. So that showed me, she had worked just as hard as I had, at getting her business to the top.

  “Is that a problem?” I asked, and she shook her head, no, as she jotted something down.

  “Do you have a specific “type” that you go for?” She asked curiously.

  “No.” I said curt, leaning back in my chair as I watched her nervously jot something else down.

  I had no intention of actually answering her questions about my “type” of girl. That would make things too easy for her. After all, wasn’t I paying her to find me what she thought I wanted? I wanted to see just how good she was, but by the looks of things, it didn’t look too promising. By the looks of it, my new matchmaker had never been on a date herself, and if she had, it had been a complete disaster. So how in the hell was she going to fix me up?

  “I’ll have a date ready for you by tonight. Be at Vincenti, tonight at eight. No later.” Tessa ordered, getting up. I watched her as she scurried out of my office. This date was definitely going to be interesting.

  Arriving at the restaurant, I searched the place briefly before I spotted my date. My matchmaker had called me with the rest of the specifics on what to look for. Apparently my date was supposed to be carrying a red rose. I saw her from afar, sitting at the table in the dimly lighted area. She was a brunette, and her hair was pinned up properly.

  Adjusting my suit, I strolled into the room and all eyes were on me. It was something I was used to. Being the wealthiest guy in m
y small town, it was a thing I had to get acquainted with. Besides, being the most talked about person was better than being ignored. Making it to the table, I flashed my perfect smile at her, and smiled back. Her face lit up as I sat down.

  I wasn’t going to lie, she was gorgeous, and I mean naturally gorgeous. The fact that her face wasn’t plastered with makeup was an instant turn on.

  “So, you’re Landon Brooks?” she asked with a wry smile.

  I could immediately see where this date was going. My status was a thing every girl loved. She’d be an easy lay, and I’d move on to the next one. So far, this was strike one for Ms. Winters. I guess weeding out the gold diggers wasn’t in her itinerary.

  “In the flesh.” I shrugged.

  “So, what’s a guy like you need a matchmaker for? Can’t you just grab any girl you wanted?” she asked, playing with the rose she brought.

  “With work, I don’t have time to sit through date after date. So, I figured why not let someone do it for me.” I said truthfully.

  “But in the end, you’re still sitting here with me now.” She answered, and she was right.

  “You seem pretty nice, do you want to hit the bar and get out of here.” I offered.

  “How about I just get out of here?” She replied as her smile immediately turned into an annoyed frown.

  Had I insulted her? She seemed like the type to be down for a good time.

  “Excuse me?” I asked watching her grab her things, as she got up from the table. Being left alone wasn’t something I was used to. Women never walked away from me. I was Landon Brooks, for Christ sakes.

  “You failed, Mr. Brooks.” She said, staring down at me.

  “Failed?” I asked confused.

  “Yes, you failed my first test. There’s no way you’re ready for a girlfriend, let alone a soul mate.” She scoffed.

  “You know nothing about me. You were sent here by an agency.” I protested a bit amused.

  “Wrong, my name is Tessa Winters. The woman you met earlier was a friend of mines, named Gwen.” The real Tessa informed me.

  “Either way, I didn’t do anything wrong.” I insisted smiling up at her.

  “You did nothing wrong? For starters, you never once asked me my name. The whole conversation was based on you and your money. Then not even five minutes into the date, you ask to get me drunk and take me home with you. If that’s how you do dates, Mr. Brooks, then we have a serious problem.” She pointed out.

  If I weren’t so up my own ass, I’m sure I would’ve felt embarrassed, but there was no way I was about to give her the satisfaction. So instead, I leaned back in my chair as I watched her continue her rant.

  “Mr. Brooks, you only have me for four weeks. You better get your act together before I even consider sending you on a real date.” She snapped before sauntering off.

  Two

  “So, let me get this straight—” my best friend, Tyler, started as he handed me a beer. “You paid a woman to find you a girlfriend?”

  Hearing it coming out of his mouth had made me sound pretty pathetic. Tyler had been my best friend since elementary school. We’d played football together in high school, but branched off, after graduating. Tyler had gotten a scholarship for football, and we ended up going to different colleges. I became overly successful, and Tyler settled down early. Not by choice though.

  Tyler had gotten his high school girlfriend pregnant, and put his life on hold. Giving up his scholarship, he did what he had to do. Working regular jobs to get by had become his everyday life. Even through all of that though, we’d remained close. When I started my company, I gave him a job immediately.

  Nodding, I sipped my beer as Tyler sat in the chair beside me at the bar. I had informed him about what happened the night before. He of course found it amusing as I thought he would. Looking down at my watch, I saw I only had fifteen minutes before I had to be at a charity event. Yeah, I was dressed in my best at the bar before I had to go to a charity event, but so what? I made it my business to take every Friday night out and put it to the side for Tyler. We’d had drinks every Friday night for the past 6 years, and no charity event was going to stop that.

  “Landon, you know you could practically have any girl you wanted. You just don’t try.” Tyler insisted, taking a drink.

  “I don’t have enough time.” I shrugged.

  “So, why even try to get a girlfriend? If you don’t have time for one now, what do you think will change that?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

  “I don’t know.” I said, truthfully.

  Looking at my watch again, I sighed.

  “You’ve been looking at that thing all night. Go on and get out of here, before you’re late.” Tyler shooed.

  “Alright, give Danny a kiss for me.” I replied, getting up from the stool.

  Danny was Tyler’s 6 year old son. Tyler named him after me for some reason, even though I begged him not to. His whole name was Landan, but we called him Danny for short. I was his godfather, and for good reason.

  Pulling out my wallet, I pulled out two twenties, but Tyler refused. He was like that, and that was the reason I knew we were truly friends. He hated taking any type of money from me, even when he truly needed it. Not that he needed anything nowadays. I made sure his paychecks were enough to support his family, and then some.

  “I got it.” He smiled, finishing his beer.

  “See you tomorrow.” I replied, fixing my tux, before grabbing my black pea coat, and umbrella.

  The blonde female bartender, who was eyeing me the whole night, slipped me a napkin that I had no doubt bore her phone number. I flashed her my award winning smile, before crumbling the number, and throwing it in my pocket.

  “See? All you have to do is try.” Tyler said, sarcastically.

  “Yeah, yeah.” I chuckled before leaving the bar.

  Standing at the door, I was greeted by a cold gust of wind, and unwelcomed rain. Thunder crackled as lightening filled the sky. Opening my umbrella, I put it over head and started walking to the parking lot. My red and black Bugatti was sitting so prettily, as I walked towards it. Pulling out my keys, I unlocked the door, before climbing in, and sliding into the leather seat. I shuddered as a chill ran down my spine. Being cold wasn’t something I liked. It was a thing that always triggered bad memories for me.

  Starting up the car, I cranked up the heat, and put my seat warmers on. I didn’t have time to waste, so revving up my engine I tore out of the parking lot, before turning on my radio. ‘Linkin’ Park’ blared from my speakers. It was the last song I’d been listening to that morning before work. Driving down the barren street, I stopped at a red light. The hard rain pounded on my windshield, as I tapped my thumb on my steering wheel.

  If I was late to this event it wasn’t going to look good on my part. I was after all the founder, and guest of honor. I was already going to have to show up alone. The tabloids were going to eat that up. I’d barely been seen in public with female companions because dates weren’t my thing. I wasn’t the romantic type. I didn’t do flowers and candy—I guess that was due to the lack of a positive male figure growing up. Who knows?

  The light turned green, and I zoomed off. Rounding the corner, I spotted a woman standing beside her stranded car. Her violet dress was clinging to her body, and her dark hair was pinned up. The hood of the car was popped open, and smoke was clawing its way to the dark sky. The unforgiving rain had drenched her, and I felt compelled to stop. After all, it was dark out, and anything could’ve happened to her. Slowing down, I stopped in front of her and rolled my window down a bit. A smile immediately teased my lips, and I couldn’t contain it.

  “Funny seeing you out here, Ms. Winters. Car trouble?” I asked sarcastically.

  Rolling her eyes, she folded her arms across her chest, annoyed. Even in this light, she was pretty. Not that I would tell her that. I was sure she got it all the time.

  I couldn’t believe out of every person living in Colorado Springs, the person who stop
ped for me, was none other than multi-millionaire, Landon Brooks. He was the most eligible bachelor in town, who happened to have great looks, all the charm, and money to match at a young age. He’d built his empire from nothing, and was at the top of his game. But, after meeting him the night before, I only came to one conclusion. Landon Brooks was nothing more than a jerk. Staring at his car, I could see he liked to splurge his money on nothing but expensive things.

  The only thing that was missing was his gold digging bride, which I assumed was the reason he’d hired me. At least I knew he wasn’t gay because he had made a play for me. So, that meant I had to find him a woman. I wasn’t sure before meeting him because there were rumors that he might’ve been batting for the other team. Those rumors were circulating because Landon has never been seen out with a woman, unless it was his sister. Finding a woman for him definitely would be easy. Landon was gorgeous. He had a head full of luscious auburn hair, and striking crystal blue seas for eyes to match.

  Not to mention, he towered over six feet and had a very athletic build. Sighing, I realized I was profiling him, like I usually do for every client that walked through my door. It was a habit of mines that I have yet learned to break. Shaking off the thoughts, I realized I was getting drenched in the rain while Mr. Millionaire was nice and warm in his car.

  “Can you help me?” I asked, ignoring the banter that he was trying to have between us.

  “Sure.” he nodded, pulling his car over and getting out.

  I couldn’t believe he had been so chivalrous. It was something I definitely didn’t expect from him. So, I made a mental note of it for later. Shivering, I couldn’t believe my bad luck. The car had sputtered and stopped in the middle of town, just as I was heading back to my hotel.

  I watched Landon get out of his car and open his umbrella. Walking across the street to me, he handed me the umbrella, before looking into my car. I held the umbrella over us as he peered at what was under my hood. I knew nothing about cars, so I wouldn’t have known where to start.