by Lacey Wolfe
Wanted: Wife
Lacey Wolfe
Dedication
To my husband.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Beachwalk Press for all their faith in me. My wonderful editor Pamela Tyner who continues to make my work shine. I love all the authors at this press, and their support is amazing.
Thank you to Tamaria Soana and Ella Jade for helping me in the process as I took this story from a short story to what it is now. Darcy and Steven had a whole lot more to share.
And of course, to my readers. Each day one of you reads my work, you continue to help my dream come true. This is one of the best journeys of my life.
Chapter 1
Darcy stared at the classifieds, hoping today something new would appear. With a red sharpie in hand, she read each and every ad, waiting to find something to circle. Frustration bubbled and with a loud sigh, she dropped the marker. If she didn’t find work soon, she wouldn’t have rent money—again. Last month her landlord had been understanding and let her pay what she could. This month, however, she knew she wouldn’t have the same luck. She’d be on the side of the street with an I’ll work for food sign by next week.
She couldn’t give up. Glancing back at the paper, she grabbed her marker. The tip was pointed at an ad written in bold letters. She read the first line and almost fell over laughing. Someone out there could be more hopeless than she was. As she continued to read it, she thought it was something you would see in a cheesy romance book, or a horror movie.
Wanted: Wife
$1,000 weekly and all expenses paid
Contact Steven for more details
[email protected]
Darcy stared at the words in disbelief. What was wrong with this man that he needed to put an ad in the paper for a wife? Only someone desperate would ever take a job like that.
Desperate…I’m desperate.
She laid the paper down and then found herself pacing around her living room. One thousand a week and all expenses paid. Her rent would be paid, that was for sure. All expenses? Did that mean cellphone, hair appointments, and such? Darcy stopped and took a quick look around her living room, which revealed a stack of unpaid bills that sat on the coffee table. Would he take care of those bills for her? If not, within a few months, she could have her credit cards paid off just with the weekly pay.
This was insane. Should she even be contemplating this? How could she pretend to be married to someone? This Steven guy was probably pimple-faced and weighed eight hundred pounds. But he had money—lots of it.
Taking a seat back on the couch, she fired up her netbook. She could at least ask for a little more info. There was no harm in that. After she logged into her email, she composed her message:
Steven,
I saw your ad in the paper regarding a wife. I’m currently between jobs and would like some more information on this position you’re offering. Please contact me at this email at your convenience.
Regards,
Darcy White
Her heart raced as her fingers shook. She scrolled the mouse over to the send button. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath and pressed the button on her mouse to send the message. Darcy left her computer open and took off to the kitchen to see if she could find anything to snack on. She was going to be sick.
Opening the cabinets, she wished food she didn’t have would appear. All she found was a package of instant noodles and crackers with imitation cheese. She needed to go to the grocery store, but was conserving the gas she had in case of a job interview.
Something had to give soon. Moving home to her parents was the last thing she wanted. Both her parents would love to see her groveling at their doorstep, admitting that she needed them and their money. The last time she’d seen them, a year ago, she vowed to not return until she could prove them wrong. And in her current living situation, she wasn’t at that point.
* * * *
Another day at the office, another day of hell. Steven hoped things would run smoothly today. Since his grandfather started preparing for retirement, it seemed like nothing went right. And it didn’t help that his grandfather had put such an ultimatum on him.
Steven laid his briefcase down and took a long drink of his cappuccino, thankful he had the barista add an extra shot of caffeine this morning. He took a seat at his desk and started his day the way he always did, by checking his email. Outlook loaded, he ignored his work email and went to the account he’d set up for his ad in the paper. He waited for the new messages to come down from the server. He was sure today he would find more subject lines like the ones he’d been getting the last few days Ready for your baby or I like it rough. Instead, he found only a single email titled no subject.
He clicked the email and first looked to see who it was from. Darcy White. The name caught his attention and a bell rang in his head. His curiosity piqued. In high school, he knew a girl named Darcy White. She had been gorgeous with her long blonde hair and sapphire green eyes. He’d had a crush on her, but never acted on it. Darcy was quiet and kept to herself most of the time. She didn’t run with his crowd.
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. What were the chances that this was the same Darcy? Pulling himself back up to the computer, he logged into his Facebook account and searched for a Darcy White in his area. After scrolling through the results, he grinned. There she was, just as beautiful as ever. She sat on a chair with a beer in her hand and a smile across her face, and she appeared to be having a good time. He scrolled quickly through her info, and then matched the email address listed on her page with the email address in his inbox.
It was her.
This day just got better. He had to handle this carefully though, scaring her off was the last thing he wanted. As he began to write back to her, he wondered why she would be responding to his ad. Even though they were never friends in high school, she came from a prominent family like he did. She couldn’t be hurting for money, could she?
Chapter 2
Darcy fidgeted around her living room, feeling as if butterflies were about to burst out of her. Not long after sending the email to Steven, she got a reply. After exchanging a few messages during the morning, they decided to meet at a local popular restaurant so she could feel comfortable meeting him and know he wasn’t going to grab her, kidnap her, then leave her dead. Once she arrived at the restaurant, she would look for a man seated at a table with a red rose. Now all he needed to be was tall, dark, and handsome. How much more cliché could this get?
In her kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Twisting the top off, she gulped down half of it. What she really wanted was a shot of whiskey from her liquor cabinet. Not only to calm her nerves, but she began to think she was going to have to be completely drunk in order to go through with this. Was this what cold feet felt like?
She set the water down on the counter. This was crazy. Who the hell puts an ad in the paper for a wife, and what kind of person answers it? Running her fingers through her hair, she reminded herself that she was the whack job who would respond to it.
Glancing at the clock, she saw it was time to go. She checked her appearance in the mirror in the foyer. Darcy hoped her outfit spoke wife and not single twenty-seven-year-old woman who’s desperate.
She grabbed her iPhone and decided to text her best friend, Allison. She hadn’t even thought about letting anyone know what she was up to. Hell, she spent so much time in her apartment worrying about whether she’d have a home or food by next week that she sometimes forgot other people existed.
I’m meeting a man for a business proposition. If you don’t hear back from me by late this evening, he killed me.
Darcy was about to set the phone in her purse when the screen lit up and vibrated i
n her hand. She forgot Allison was always glued to her phone.
WTF?
Darcy laughed and typed Will explain later. Love you!
She dropped the phone into her purse then turned and looked at her apartment, taking a deep breath and hoping like hell she’d see this place again. And if tonight went well, and he wasn’t a psycho, her life might change for the best.
* * * *
Steven arrived at Bo’s Diner, one of the most popular burger joints in town, early to make sure that he was there before Darcy. Since the owner was a good friend of his, he had a table reserved for them in the back so he and Darcy wouldn’t be out in the open and have to scream over the jukebox.
He glanced around the restaurant. Nothing had really changed in years. It was a typical, classic restaurant, with its tables covered in red-checkered tablecloths and chairs scattered all over. The customers all had smiles on their faces, drinks in their hands, and monster-size burgers in front of them. He’d hung out there a lot as a teenager since his friend’s father had owned the place at the time. Bo’s was the place to go after a football game. He spent many Friday nights there with everyone who was anyone. Darcy never came there, though. But he’d always hoped she would. Maybe then he would’ve had an excuse to talk to her and get to know her. Instead, he’d been stuck with girls who only wanted to date him for his quarterback status. Sadly, he still saw women with superficial reasons for dating him. Now it was more complicated, though. This time it involved money.
From the corner of his eye, a flash of white caught his attention. She was there. Darcy stood in the doorway, drop-dead, Marilyn Monroe gorgeous from her dress to her blonde hair, which was slightly curled and bounced just above her shoulders. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered.
His heart rate sped up as he watched her glance around, obviously looking for the rose. Would she remember him? His palms were sweating as she made her way through the crowd, headed his way. He stood, wiping his hands on his jeans.
“Hi, you must be Steven.” She put her hand out as she greeted him.
“Darcy.” Her hand felt soft in his.
His gaze met hers, and he looked for any sign that she might know him. Was that a flicker of recognition?
Releasing her hand, he stepped around and pulled out her chair. She thanked him and sat. After pushing her forward, he took his seat across from her. A smirk crossed her face.
“Are you Steven McDonald?” She was blunt. He liked it.
“Yes, and you’re Darcy White.”
She threw her head back in laughter. “How crazy is this? How have you been?”
“Decent. How’s life been treating you?”
“I think I’ll stick with your word, decent.”
A waitress arrived and handed them a menu and took their drink order. Darcy opened her menu and skimmed through it. Steven already knew what he was going to order, the same thing he always got—an Angus burger and fries.
When the waitress returned with their drinks, he ordered his meal. He could see the hesitation on Darcy’s face.
“Order whatever you want. This is my treat,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
“It’s a tax write-off. This is a business dinner, after all.” One that he hoped would end very well.
Darcy ordered the mushroom burger. She took a long drink of her beer. She didn’t appear to be nervous, unlike him.
She set the bottle down on the table. “So, you need a wife, huh? I must say, I’m surprised. Why does someone who looks like you need to hire a woman?”
He liked how she implied she found him attractive. “No small chit chat—you just want to get to the point. I like that.”
“Well, we are here for what I believe is an interview,” she countered.
“You’re right about that.”
“So tell me, why would a guy who had all the girls in high school dropping to their knees have to hire someone to be their wife? Don’t you still have a line a mile long of girls wanting you? Why not just grab one of them up to be this wife you need?”
“I don’t recall you ever dropping to your knees around me.” He smirked, now picturing her in front of him. She’d have on that white dress that just barely came down in a V to show cleavage, her pink mouth parted in a perfect O as she took him.
Shit, that was inappropriate thinking.
“You never would’ve noticed me, even if I had,” she replied.
“You’re wrong about that.” He winked at her.
* * * *
Chemistry radiated between them. Darcy worried she might find herself crawling under the table before long to show him how gladly she would have dropped to her knees, both then and now. This was Steven McDonald! She and Allison used to spend hours fantasizing about him. Every girl dreamed of him in high school, with his ice-blue eyes and dark hair that wasn’t too short or too long. He still wore it that way, and he still made her wet between the legs. In fact, she was moist now and regretted ordering this beer. She was liable to say something stupid before long.
“Okay, so back to this interview,” she said.
“Basically, my grandfather is going to retire. My dad never showed any interest in the family business, but I always did. I’ve been working with grandfather for years, and I love the place. The Apple Orchard is my life. My grandfather wants it to stay in the family, but he wants me to have my own family, or at least the beginning of one, before he’ll leave it to me. That’s where the wife comes in.”
“If you don’t have this wife, then who gets the company?”
“Another prominent family in the area has offered to buy it and for a hefty price. So this has to be believable. If I grabbed one of those admirers you’re referring to, he would see through it. I need someone he’ll like and won’t think is just after my money. Someone who he believes would make the perfect queen for his apple orchard. That’s what he used to call my grandmother. She passed away a few years ago, and he hasn’t been the same since. I need my own queen of The Apple Orchard.”
“So, let me get this straight, you need a regular girl, someone who’s not too out there to make your grandfather believe that you have a girl who can be queen of The Apple Orchard?” Steven nodded, and Darcy continued. “Well, I guess I’m about as plain as they come.”
“You’re anything but plain.” His eyes darkened with passion.
“If I was anything but plain, you might’ve noticed me long ago.” She regretted saying that immediately.
“You probably won’t believe me, but I had a crush on you in high school. You were the one I always hoped would show up here on a Friday night. I wanted to get to know you so bad.”
Her heart beat so hard she could hear it drumming in her ears. “Oh, please. You were Steven McDonald, Quarterback. You could’ve talked to me if you wanted and nobody would’ve cared. You would have lost no popularity points. Instead, you went through high school with either Mandy or Sarah on your arm. Hell, sometimes you had them both there.”
She sat back and placed her beer to her lips, taking a long sip. Before either spoke again, the waitress came to the table with their food and another beer for each of them. Darcy’s eyes widened as she stared at the massive burger in front of her. She couldn’t believe the size of this meal—it could feed her for a week! The French fries were thick and there were two slices of a pickle waiting for her. Pickles were her weakness. It was nothing for her to devour a whole jar in one sitting.
Steven cleared his throat. “Everything looks good.”
Taking a bite of the juicy pickle, she leaned back in her chair. “So if I take this job, how soon until we marry? Am I moving in before or after the wedding?” She paused. “Wait, how long is this pretense for anyway?”
“I figured we would date a few months. You’ll go ahead and move in, that way we look established. And then if you want, for whatever reason, you can run out on the wedding or something.”
“Run out on the wedding! This is a small town, Steven. I would ne
ver live that down. No one would ever want to really marry me for fear that I would run out on them too.”
“Okay, good point. We’ll figure something out.” He took a long swig of his beer. “All expenses would be paid if you take this on. Plus, I’ll pay you a thousand a week and get you out of any lease or whatever you’re in right now.”
Darcy had no idea what to say. Taking a moment to let it all sink it, she took a few bites from her meal. She would be looking at four thousand a month, plus expenses. She would get out of that rathole apartment, have regular meals, and probably be treated like a queen. All she had to do was pretend for now that they were getting married. She didn’t even need to worry about how it was going to work; in a few months they would figure out how to break it off.
It sounded easy, but she wasn’t sure she could keep her hands off him for the rest of the night, let alone a few more months. He was even more mouthwatering now than he had been in high school. Now, he looked distinguished as well as handsome. She could definitely still spend hours fantasizing about him. She could start by thinking of his mouth on hers. He would be a good kisser, she had no doubt.
And if she did this, she wouldn’t have to return home to her parents. And the thought of her marrying a McDonald would probably make them very happy. “I need some time to think about it.”
His gaze burned through her as though lost in thought. “Can I ask why you answered the ad?”
“Like I said, I’m between jobs and need the money.”
“What about your parents?”
“I’d prefer not to talk about them at the moment. After all, this is an interview, let’s not get too personal.” She hoped that would appease him for now.
Steven nodded and returned to his meal. A moment later he set his burger back down and said, “Well, since you know I’m not a mass murderer, would you like to go for a ride with me to see the place you might possibly be living? No one is living there right now. It was my grandparents’ first home together and has stayed in the family all these years.”