Accidentally Met Her: An Accidental Marriage Romance

by Lauren Wood

  Calling for Ralph, I didn't hear him, and I got out of the bed, gripped with fear and anger. I was afraid that I was never going to see her again and I was mad that she had done it again. Of all the women and all the things, it was the fact that she would just take off at the drop of a dime that bothered me most. In a strange way, I got to feel what the women felt that I sent home every morning. And I can't say that I like the feeling all that much.

  I called out to Ralph again and stopped when I heard Candy behind me

  “You do realize that you're hollering through the house naked right?”

  I looked down at myself and it was the first time that I realized I was actually naked. I hadn’t been thinking about that at all. All I have been thinking about was the fact that Candy was gone, and I wanted to know if I had time to find her. I wasn't going to let her run away again. Because I really didn't want to wait another several years to see her.

  It was obvious that she was just getting out of the shower and though she was dressed, she was still drying off her hair. While most men would like a painted face, I loved the way she looked when she had no makeup on, her hair was messy, and she had this fresh face look.

  “Yeah, I was trying to find Ralph.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  She looked at me a little like I was crazy and shook her head to one side.

  “What exactly you are going to do with your butler, dressed like that?”

  She was making light of the situation, even though I didn't feel like joking around. This fear had gripped me so completely and even though she was standing in front of me now, my heart was still racing in my chest. It was going so fast that it hurt, and I realized then that I was in deep. I had never felt this way about another woman before and I wasn't sure what happened next. Candy had asked me a couple of times what would happen next if we were together, but I still don't have an answer. We were already married, what more was there?

  “Are you okay Colt? You look a little panicky.”

  If she only knew what was going on in my head. I was close to having a heart attack moment before.

  “No, I am fine.”

  It was about that time that my trusty ass butler showed up and he was looking at me like she was, like I’d lost my mind. I had to remind myself that this was my house and I wasn't going to be ashamed.

  “So, what's up boss?”

  Ralph kept cutting his eyes over at Candy and I could tell that he liked what he saw. I didn't really get a feeling of jealousy, more a feeling of pride that she was mine. She was my wife.

  Of course, I didn’t need Ralph now. I had panicked, and I was trying to figure out where Candy had left to. Now Candy was around, and it had me look like I was an Alzheimer's patient and I didn't really know how to get out of it.

  Eventually I just said something about having to speak to Ralph about some business and I took him into the bedroom. I covered myself up as soon as I got in there and he asked what the hell was wrong with me.

  “What is going on Colt? Are you sure you're okay?”

  I was starting to get perturbed that everybody kept asking me that same question. If he knew what I had going on in my head, he would know that I wasn't okay at all. Candy was messing around with my head, like no one else could and I was not a man that was used to it. I was one that always got my way. I was never the one that got attached. Now I was one that was attached and of course, it was to a woman that I couldn't actually have. There was no happy ending in this scenario and I didn’t like setting myself up for failure.

  “No, I'm not okay. She is about to leave, I thought she'd already left, and I was trying to figure out how long she had been gone and where she had gone. Candy tends to leave in the middle of the night while I'm sleeping, so I thought that's what had happened today.”

  “I thought you said she was leaving today anyways?”

  “Yeah, that is the plan. That is her plan, but that doesn't mean that it's mine. She was here to get divorce papers signed and I was here to convince her otherwise.”

  Ralph brought up the fact that it was tables turning and I wasn't in the mood to hear it. I know that this was some kind of poetic justice, but at the same time, I still didn't want to live it.

  I wanted her, and I didn't want to sign any papers. I was hopeful that she hadn't brought it up, but the fact that she was dressed, and she had this certain look at her face, I was starting to think that I was wrong on that account. Candy was most likely waiting for a better time to ask, annoyed that I was going to make it harder for. What bothered me the most, was that she was most likely right.

  “Well, what're you going to do Colt? You can't keep her locked in your bedroom for the rest of your life.”

  I told him that I wouldn't mind trying and he just shook his head like I was hopeless.

  “All the times that I have seen you send woman after woman out of here every morning, without a second thought. Why is this one any different than all of the rest?”

  It was the same question that I'd asked myself many times before, but I still didn't have an answer.

  “I don't know.”

  “So, what do you need me to do?”

  “I don't know, I need her to stay little bit longer, convince her that she needs to stay in tonight. Maybe you can make one of your specialties for dinner? That will keep her here.”

  “You haven't asked me to cook anything in a long-time Colt.”

  “No, I guess I haven’t. I haven’t wanted to impress anybody this bad in a long time and I know that you're the man to do it. You always did have a talent for cooking.”

  “You don't have to butter my biscuit, to get me to help you. I will be starting something soon. Dinner will be in about an hour.”

  I smiled at Ralph and told him that once again, he was saying my life, this time I actually meant it.

  “I don't know what I would do without you.”

  “Isn't that why you took me from your parents?”

  I didn't say anything to that and he left the room. When I got back out in the hallway, Candy was finishing drying her hair and I just stopped in the doorway and stared at her. I don't think she realized how beautiful she was. I don't think any man had ever really known her worth. I found myself thinking of her fiancé and wondering if he looked at her the way I did. Would he fight for her?

  “Why are you staring at me like that?”

  “You’re just beautiful, that's all.”

  “You really know how-to blow-up a girl’s ego. You know, that right? “

  “It should be sky high, that's all I know. Why do women never realize how beautiful they really are?”

  She waved me off like I was just joking, but I wasn’t. I was transfixed by her and it wasn't because of her physical appearance. I mean, it was in the way, but there was so much more to it. There was like a light that came out of her and anyone that was around could see it. It was why so many people were trying to her capture it and I was no better than the rest. I wanted Candy and her inner light all to myself. I didn’t want to share her.

  I mentioned something about how I couldn't take my eyes off her and she just smiled. There was something about seeing her this way, reminded me that she was all that I ever needed.

  “You are starting to make me self-conscious.”

  “Why?”

  “I don't know, you just keep staring at me.”

  I didn't really have an answer for her, because I wasn’t sure why I was looking at her this way. I was afraid that she was going to leave, and it was like I was trying to get enough of her so that it would stick in my mind. I wanted to burn the memory of her into my brain forever. The way she looked in my bathroom, brushing her hair out with my brush and looking up at me with those innocent blue eyes.

  “I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare. Last night was...”

  I wasn't really sure what to say about last night. Or what to say about today. I loved this time I had thought about her and wondered if all that I had remembered of her was real. Time had a
way of altering memories, but that had not been the case this time around. She was just as magnificent as I remembered.

  “Yeah, it was really good for me too. I should have never done it, but I will try not to regret it.”

  “You shouldn’t regret it at all Candy. Last night was not something to regret.”

  I didn’t like to hear her say that what happened last night, shouldn’t have. I didn’t want to hear that at all. I didn’t regret it and I didn’t think she should either.

  “Why would you say that you regret it?

  “Did you forget that I am engaged? “

  “How can I forget? I know that we had talked about it, but I was hoping that maybe your plans had changed. I mean, I thought that what happened between us, what was between us would maybe change your mind.”

  By the look on her face I could tell that it hadn't changed her mind at all. She wasn't gone when I woke up, not yet, but she was leaving soon.

  Chapter 18

  Candy

  By the crushed look on his face, I had a feeling that he really had expected things to change. It was expression that I was trying to avoid and more than anything, I didn’t want to have this conversation. When I first thought about coming here, or rather when he forced me to come, I didn't think that it would be that hard to ask him for the signature that was the whole reason I was there. Now I was starting to see that I was wrong.

  “I had a great time Colt, but nothing has really changed. We got married on a fluke and while I don't remember what all happened, I do know that it wasn't meant to be forever. It would be silly to think that it was.”

  His face changed when I called him silly. I hadn’t meant it like that, but it was clear to see that he had taken it that way. I was getting frustrated and I didn't know what to say, or even how to say it.

  “If you didn't want to get married for good, why did we get married at all then?

  He was getting angry and I was at a loss for words. I didn't want him to be mad at me, and I certainly didn't want to have a bad taste left in my mouth after the great weekend we had together. No matter what happened, nobody could ever take that away from us. Two of the best nights of my life were with the man in front of me and the last thing I wanted was for Colt to be mad at me. But I didn't see how it could be any other way. We had two very different agendas and I was sure that this sort of thing, bad news, was better if it was just said quickly and gotten over with. Rip it off like a bandage, and not prolong it any longer than we had to.

  “You know why we got married. we were both a little drunk and in a strange place. “

  “I wasn't drunk, and either were you. I wasn’t in a strange place. I am now, but back then, I didn't even see you coming. When Ralph told me that you were on the line a few days ago, I wasn't prepared for you.”

  “I wasn't either. I expected to come here, hate you and get you to sign the paper, so that I could leave as quickly as possible. I have already missed two flights out of here, and I'm trying to find a way to justify staying a little bit longer. I don't know if I can, because I’ve already extended it more than I should have. I forgot why I was here and now I have to go.”

  “Why do you act like you don’t get a say in your own life? It’s your choice if you want to stay here with me or not. I don’t understand what you are talking about. We are both adults.”

  “I don’t know how to explain it Colt. I’m just sorry.”

  “If you want to be with me, then why are you leaving?”

  “I have to. I don't really know how to explain it. My family really like Colt and they wouldn’t let me break up with him. Jax did some legal work for us and helped my cousins a lot. That is how we met and being married to you just happened. They won’t let this happen.”

  It was not my reason two weeks ago when I was walking down the aisle to marry Jax, but I could see now that it had a lot to do with it. I had been pushed towards him when we first started dating and my family hadn’t let up since. They were far more upset about the wedding mix-up, then me or Jax had been. I knew that my mother and father wanted to get close with his family, so they would not see why I would be leaving him. They would never allow me and Colt to be together.

  “I don’t get it, so you are with him because you have to be? I thought he was ‘the one’ for you?

  “Please don't make it any harder than it has to be. It's just complicated. I do care about Jax, and for a long time I thought I loved him, maybe I still do, but things have changed. Ever since I came here, things have changed. Seeing you again and feeling the way I do, makes me wonder if it was ever real with me and Jax. This is the first time in over a year, that I've been able to back up a little bit and just breathe.”

  “So, what are you saying?”

  “I don't know what I'm saying, but I know that I can't figure it all out right now. I have to get back to work and I have to go home eventually. I have a lot of people waiting for me and they are going to want that paperwork signed.”

  He just didn't seem to get it and I didn't know how to explain it. I could tell when I asked for the signature though, that he wasn't too enthused too give it to me. He was still under the assumption that we were going to be together and everything was going to work out. I knew from the start that it wasn’t going to be the case, but now I questioned it I was going to find what I needed from Jax. It didn’t help that I was doing a thoroughly crappy job of trying to explain myself and the situation that I was currently in.

  “So, you want to divorce?”

  “That is why I came here. That is what I mean by not making it harder than it has to be. The marriage was a sham from a long time ago and it needs to be ended.”

  “Then what about what we have now?”

  “I don't know. I just need time and you making it impossible to think when I'm around you. If you don't want to sign the papers, then I will go the other way and my lawyer will do what needs to be done. I'm not going to argue with you about it. You know what I came here for. I did what you wanted me to do, so now I am just asking for you to keep your end of the bargain.”

  “Then you have to tell me that you want to divorce.”

  He was going to make me do it and I knew that I was going to resent him because of it. The last thing I wanted to do was have this conversation and argue with him. I was tired of being the bad guy, when it was he who wasn’t able to think straight at the current moment.

  I took a deep breath and looked him square in the eyes. His green depths told me that he was not going to make it easy at all. It was rather clear that he was trying to make it harder on me, and he was.

  “I want a divorce Colt. I care about you...”

  He stopped me, and I stop talking. I was just going to make it worse if I continued and I didn't want to do that. I really did care about him and even though it wasn’t ending the way he wanted it to, it certainly wasn’t the way I had expected it to end either. I hadn't expected to feel this way, to question everything that I was doing now.

  It was all because of one weekend, whether he knew it or not, it was all because of him.

  Chapter 19

  Colt

  I didn't want to hear anymore. It was the words that I feared, and I didn't want to hear it all the way through. So, I stopped her mid-sentence and told her that everything was fine. She didn't have to explain herself.

  “Just give me the papers and I will sign them now. I wouldn’t want you to miss another flight.”

  “I'm sorry, Colt.”

  “Don’t be, you’re right. I should have realized that this was a long shot. I know that it seemed silly to think that I had somehow, that we had somehow found true love in one night. It won't happen again.”

  “I don't want you to be mad at me Colt.”

  “I'm not. It is good to know where I stand.”

  She sighed loudly, and I could tell that my words were bothering her a little bit yes. I did back way the fuck off or I wasn't going to be able to make it through. I told her that I was going
to get Ralph to get her a driver to the airport.

  “Why don’t you want to talk about this?”

  “I don't think there's anything else to talk about, Candy. Do you?”

  She must have seen that I was bothered because she finally just dropped it and didn’t say another word. She actually started to get her things together and walking away from her killed me.

  I went into the kitchen and told Ralph that he could stop.

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “She is going to go, and can you just call Ernest and tell him that I need him to gas up the car and take her to the airport as soon as possible?”

  Ralph was not usually good at holding his tongue down, but tonight he was, and I was thankful for that. I didn't want to have to explain myself anymore, I didn't think I could take it. The weekend had been an emotional rollercoaster and now I was coming back to earth, and I can't say that I liked it very much.

  “Will do boss.”

  “Thanks Ralph, I don't know what I do without you.”

  This will be one of the times that he would have something smart. It was usually sarcastic as hell, but not today. I hated to think it but, it seemed like he could feel my pain is well.

  I started walking out of the kitchen and he startled me with his voice.

  “It is all going to work out the way it's supposed to Colt. Just remember that and you will feel better.”

  Because of how he was, he threw me off guard because he wasn't really into the hippy, dippy, bullshit like that. We didn’t believe in fate or destiny. That’s what I told myself anyways. The fact, that I've been holding out for seven years for a girl that I'd met once, was more than a little ridiculous. If I didn't think that we were fated together, then why the hell would I waited so long?

  I went back to the hallway and knocked on the door of the room that she was using. It felt weird all of a sudden to be around her and I didn't want to impose. How quickly things have changed in the blink of an eye.