Accidentally Met Her: An Accidental Marriage Romance

by Lauren Wood

  So, when he went off to get the phone, I didn't think anything of it. It was only when he came back, holding the phone, telling me that I need to take it, that I cared.

  “Who is it?”

  Ralph had been with me and my family for a long time, but I had never seen him look at me quite the same way before, as he was now. It was as if he had heard something or finally knew something that he didn't know about me. The man had known me since I was a baby, so it was hard to think of anything that he didn't know. Who can make him look that way?

  “Well Sir, the woman says that she is your wife. I told her that you don't have a wife, but she insists that you talk to her. Her name is Candy.”

  I was about as stunned as my butler was. I hadn't heard that name in a very long time, but I knew immediately who it was. Candy was a one-night stand that turned into something else and she was one of the only women that I was with, that I actually remembered her name the next morning. But instead of showing her off, she had been gone when I woke up.

  Moving to take the phone, he pulled it back and covered the speaker.

  “Explain.”

  I chuckled at him and told him that I wasn't telling him shit.

  “Just give me the phone and there won't be any trouble.”

  The man had me by one hundred pounds and about six inches, even though I was over six foot tall myself. He just shook his head and held the phone up a little higher, but I refused to jump for it.

  “I married her. It was a very long time ago and I haven't talked to her since. Now give me the damn phone Ralph!”

  He lowered the phone and gave it to me, but it became clear that he wasn't going to leave the room. It didn't matter if I wanted privacy or not, he was there to hear it and there was nothing I could do about it. Ralph was more than a butler, or I would have fired him a long time ago.

  I took the phone and said hello, not realizing how badly I wanted to hear her voice until then.

  “Hi, is this Colt Marks?”

  “Yeah baby, it's been a long time since I heard from you. I was wondering when I was going to hear from you again.”

  “So, you remember me?”

  I agreed that I did, and I have to say that I was a little peeved that she didn't remember me as well. It was not so fun when I was the one that was forgotten.

  “So, what can I do for you wifey?”

  “If you could kindly divorce me and sign these papers I need to send you, that would be great.”

  It wasn't like I was surprised by what she wanted. I knew that a lot was different than when we said, ‘I do’ and we got married. Our minds were in a different place, but at the end of the day, I still thought about her and I had to wonder if she thought about me as well. I didn't want to get divorced. I wanted to see her again and figure out why in the hell I still thought about her. Why out of all the people I had dated, why her?

  Chapter 3

  Candy

  “Well is that any way to speak to your husband? I haven't seen you in how many years? I think that you should at least ask me first how I am doing. I have missed you Candy.”

  While I didn't remember him at the moment, there was something about his voice that seemed very familiar. I don't know why but I remembered it from my past. At some point, we had been together, or I wouldn't be having this trouble now. But I really wasn't sure what to think about it. This wasn't a joke and the man on the other line sounded like he was smiling. I didn't have to see his face to know it to be true.

  “Considering that I didn't even realize I had a husband, I figured that my introduction was as pleasant as it could be.”

  “If you didn't know about me, why are you calling me now?”

  “Because I was in the middle of getting married when a lawyer came in to tell me that I was still married, and I couldn't marry Jax, the man of my dreams. Apparently, we got married when we were drunk in Las Vegas I take it?”

  “That was a mouthful. I am a little hurt that you don't remember me, I sure remember you. And you weren’t that drunk.”

  “I tell you that you ruined my marriage and you're the one that's hurt?”

  “Look, I can tell that you're a little upset right now, but I assure you that I wasn't trying to ruin your marriage. You can't marry anybody else because we are married. And no offence, but you haven't been a very good wife. I don't think I've had one home cooked meal since we've been married.”

  I couldn't believe the audacity of this guy. He didn't know me, but he was talking to me like you did. We had met one time, a long time ago and even if it did get hot and heavy, which I imagine it did, I didn't want to deal with him now. And that night must not have been that special because I didn't even remember him or it.

  “Well I haven't gotten one birthday gift, not one anniversary gift, or a present for any other holiday for that matter. I think that most wives would be a little upset, but I'm not.”

  “Touché”

  He was now openly chuckling, and I don't know why the sound of it was driving me so crazy. I wanted him to take this seriously because I certainly was. The last thing I wanted to do was be married to some joker, or any other person for that matter. I was supposed to marry Jax. It was destined and whatever I had to do to get rid of this guy, I would do. Maybe he wanted money or something, I don't know. But whatever it took. That's what Jax said.

  “So seriously, we need to get divorced. It is bad enough that I didn't get to marry him last week, but I don't want to put this off any longer. I will send you the paperwork, my lawyer has already drawn it up for me, all you have to do is sign it.”

  “And if I don't?”

  I sighed out loud and asked him why the hell he wouldn't. He had no reason to stay married to me. I’d tried to keep my cool, but it was going to be impossible.

  “Don’t you ever want to get married for real?”

  He just laughed at the idea and said that he was already married, so he didn't want to try again.

  “What kind of husband would I be if I was out looking for another bride?”

  “You would be the sort of husband that was not really married. I know that there is paperwork that exist that has my signature on it, but that doesn't mean anything.”

  “If it doesn't mean anything, then why are you calling me?”

  I had to take a deep breath and close my eyes for a minute. This was not the way that the conversation was supposed to go, and I didn't know how to talk to him. I had no idea where he was coming from, but it seemed like he was just trying to be a pain and I didn’t understand what his reasoning was for doing so.

  “It means something because I can't marry Jax. That is all it means to me and I would really appreciate it if you would sign the papers, so that we can both move on with our lives.”

  “If you want to divorce, then you have to come up here for a little while. It has been a long time since we saw each other, and I wouldn't feel right signing them without at least seeing you again. Do you really want to do this before you see me again? It has been a long time. Things change.”

  “Yes, yes, I do.”

  It was his turn to let out a frustrated noise and I wasn't sure why that was. Why did he get to be upset about this? Apparently, he knew about it and could have changed it at any time. Why he didn't, I have no idea, but that didn't matter now. All that mattered was that I broke the connection with him so that I could move on with my life with Jax. I didn't feel like that was too much to ask.

  “If you want me to sign the papers, you have to come here. It is just that simple. Whether you want to see me or not Candy, I really want to see you again. Come up for the weekend and if you still want them signed at the end of it, I will sign them. That is the best I can do and there is no negotiations.”

  It was his tone of voice that reminded me of something about him. Apparently, I did know a little bit about Colt and what I remembered wasn’t good.

  “You're a lawyer, right?”

  “Yes, I am Candy. See, I knew that you remembered me
.”

  “No, I just figured by your attitude that you were. If I agree to go up there, what would be the point? We are pretty much strangers and we both have a life. Why would you want to do that?”

  His request with strange at the best, and I had no idea what he had going on in his mind. Surely, he had to see that this was a bad idea. How could he not?

  “I just have to see you. Isn't that enough?”

  It was something that I wanted Jax to say to me, not a man that I had gotten drunk with seven or so years ago. I was getting a headache just talking to him and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to fix this.

  Jax had pushed me to call him, but I had tried my best to get it done without my estranged husband. My lawyer said that it would take up to six months to do it that way and I didn't want to wait that long. The only way that was going to get me divorced right now and marry the man that I loved, was to get him to sign the papers. His signature was the only thing standing in my way and I wasn't going to let that happen.

  “What I mean is, I want to know what you expect out of me Colt. I am supposed to be married to someone else, so there is no way that I'm going to go up there and sleep with you. I don't know what you have on your mind but if this marriage isn't consummated, I am sure not going to start.”

  “Oh, it was consummated alright. Many times. I even got you to come so hard you passed out a couple of times, but you refused to believe it. You said that it had never happened before. Does the man that you are about to marry, make you so the same?”

  I couldn't believe that he had said that out loud and sadly it made me shiver inside. I was starting to have a few flashbacks of my night with Colt and I can't say that it was bad memories. I would never admit to him that Jax never made me come that way. It may not have been perfect in the bedroom, but we had something more, we had love. He had close ties to my family

  “Well, whatever happened that night is not going to happen again. As long as you understand that and agree to that, I will meet with you.”

  “No Candy, I want you to come stay with me for the weekend. I can get you a flight out of there in about an hour. You are still in Southern California, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  I wasn't going to ask him how he knew that. He already knew too much about me and it made me uncomfortable. All I know for now, was that I had to tell Jax about this and he wasn't going to be very happy.

  When I got off the phone with Colt and we had decided to meet up, I went to the bedroom to see if Jax was awake from his nap. I don't know how I was going to tell him this, but surely, he had to see that this was the only way. He was going to like the idea of it, about as bad as I would have if I was in his shoes.

  I couldn’t believe how much one night of drinking had screwed up my life.

  Chapter 4

  Candy

  The last thing that I wanted to do was talk to Jax, so when I went into the bedroom and he was laying down, I tried to leave as quietly as I came. I didn’t want to argue with him and he was going to be pissed about me catching a plane to spend the weekend with Colt. There was no way that Jax was going to let that happen and I wasn’t sure how the hell I was going to tell him about it. Maybe I could just leave a note…

  “Candy, what’s going on?”

  I stopped at the door and groaned out loud. The last thing that I wanted to do was to talk to him and he seemed to think that I had all the answers. I didn’t, but I was going to have to come up with something fast. He wanted me to tell him that everything was okay, but it wasn’t.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you up baby. I just thought that I would talk to you a little bit.”

  “Did you call him?”

  I told him that I had, and he waited for more. I didn’t know if he was going to like the more, but I knew that I had to say something to him. I had to let him know that I wasn’t going to let this guy get the best of me, but at the moment, he had us over a barrel. Surely, he could see that this was all just a last-ditch effort on his part.

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “And…?”

  The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t manage to get them out. I wanted to tell him the truth, but it was impossible for me to tell him the truth. He was never going to forgive me if I lied though…

  “I have to go down there and meet with his lawyer. I don’t know what it’s all about, but I guess the guy has money and he wants to make sure that I don’t take it. I didn’t talk to him long, but hopefully we can get this all wrapped up this weekend and we will never have to think about him again. I don’t know who is going to come to round two with the wedding, but we can always just get the certificate. We already had a wedding after all.”

  “I don’t know if that will work on the wedding part. We will see. On the idea of you going there, I don’t like it. I want to come with you to make sure that this guy isn’t going to take advantage of you.”

  I told him that it wouldn’t be necessary.

  “You have that client meeting and deposition on Saturday. You get the weekend rate. You’re not going to pass that up, you can’t. If you want to make partner…”

  Jax waved me off and I could tell that he knew I was right, whether he wanted to admit it or not. I was rather afraid that he would insist. There was no way that I could stay the weekend with my husband, with my fiancée in tow. It didn’t even make sense and the more I tried to wrap my mind around it, the more impossible it all seemed. Why did Colt want to do this?

  “I know, shit Candy. I just don’t like the idea of you there in Vegas by yourself. There is no telling who this guy is.”

  I was offended by the way he was saying it. I know that I had messed up, but he didn’t need to take a tone with me that sounded like he was talking to a child. I knew that I’d made a mistake, but the last thing that I wanted to do was hear about it. I had ruined our wedding, I knew that, but I didn’t want him to act this way anymore. I wanted him to stop acting like he was never going to forgive me. It was getting old quick, and it had only been about a week. Jax wasn’t feeling so perfect anymore and I was thankful that I would get a few days away from him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

  “He can’t be that bad. I will have Kelly run his name at work and see what comes up. You know that she won’t mind it. I will call her now and get the verdict.”

  “So, you are really going to go through with this?”

  I shook my head that I was.

  “It’s the only way that we’re going to be able to get married. I know that it’s a pain, but it won’t be long at all. You’ll see. Everything will be back to normal before you know it and our lives will be back on track.”

  He didn’t look so sure and I walked away as my smile fell. Why was I feeling so differently about Jax now? I knew that it wasn’t because of Colt, but it was hard not to see that things had changed rather dramatically the last few days. I was ready to get away from one man, even if it meant being around another. At least Colt wouldn’t make me feel bad. I was done with the guilt and rather looked forward to some freedom. Me and Jax had been hot and heavy for a year. It was time for a break from each other.

  ***

  I packed up a few things out of the closet and avoided going back into the bedroom for a time. I know that I had to go back and face Jax, but it wasn't going to be easy and I wasn't too enthused to do it.

  After getting out of the shower and changing into something more appropriate for travel, I went back into the bedroom to find Jax in about the same position as when I’d left him. I could tell it was bothering him, but I didn't know what to say to take away his nerves. This was something that he was going to have to wrap his head around, and the worst part was that he didn't even know the half of it. Just the little bit that I had told him had blew his mind and I just wanted to make sure that I didn't let anything else slip. It was already hard enough.

  “I am going to miss you Jax.”

  He opened his arms and I moved into them. I was going to mi
ss this the most and I felt the guilt rack my body that I wasn't being completely truthful. I had never lied to him before and I didn't like that feeling at all.

  “I'm going to miss you too, Candy, but this has to be done. When you come back, we can get married and start our lives together. I just don't want to lose you. In the middle of the wedding I wasn't even worried about all the people watching us, I was just worried about the fact that I wasn't going to have you as my bride. We should be on our honeymoon now, but we will get there after this weekend is over and everything is set. I know that the partners will have no problem letting me go.”

  I agreed with him and told him that they would agree more if they knew that he was billing as many hours as he could until then. Jax was almost partner, but at the moment he was just like the rest of the associate, billing as many hours as he possibly could for the company. That was with the firm on it and I knew that Jax didn’t want to backtrack. It was bad enough that his boss was at the wedding and had seen it all.

  “I can't wait for us to go on our honeymoon. I know that this is a nightmare for you, but I am going to go take care of it. Then we will never have to worry about him or anybody else again.”

  He kissed me again before I left, and it was a lingering kiss that said more than his words had. The man may not be able to make me squirt, but he sure as hell tugged at my heart strings. He always knew the perfect thing to say and do. I left a lot lighter than when I had first entered the room. Jax somehow had me thinking that everything was going to be okay, even if that damn knot in my stomach was still present. I was going to ignore it this time around.

  Chapter 5

  Colt

  “Why do you look like you're about to puke Sir?”

  I looked over at Ralph and told him to shut up. I don't know why I was nervous. I was never nervous, but the idea of seeing Candy again had my nerves wracked. I had somehow weaseled a weekend with her, even though I had plenty to do at work, I called my boss and told him that I wasn't going to make it in. I told him that I had a family emergency and he didn't ask any more questions. He didn't want to know, and I didn't want to tell him.