A Real Keeper: Arranged Marriage Romance

by Rocklyn Ryder

  "It's about time I started getting some credit for my true talents...."

  My phone buzzes with new notifications and breaks me out of my memory. Shame too, that memory was about to get good.

  Text messages from Raven.

  Shit.

  I haven't heard from her for so long, I'd kinda forgotten about her.

  "I'll be back in town in a few days. My client wants to meet in person to discuss some new developments. I'd love to catch up with you after I have the details. Will you be available to meet with me next weekend?"

  Indecision knots my stomach as I re-read her message.

  Everything with Logan is still so new. There's still so much that could go wrong, while Raven essentially offers a sure thing. That's the thing that keeps Raven in business.

  I hear voices out front, and a moment later I get that feeling that someone's staring at me. I look up from my phone and turn to see Logan smiling at me from the doorway of my office.

  "Hey gorgeous," he says, crossing the room in long, confident strides till he's standing next to me and bending down to catch my lips with his, "you're coming by the house tonight, right?"

  His eyes focus on me and I'm helpless to argue, "I'm grilling," he kisses me lightly again, "burgers and a movie. You, me, and the kid. I think Mari's looking forward to hanging out with Dad's girlfriend Kendra instead of her boss Kendra."

  My stomach does some sort of insane flip flop that feels like it's trying to turn itself inside-out. He called me his girlfriend.

  "Of course I'll be there," I promise as I lean into another warm kiss, "just gonna run home and shower first."

  "Or you could shower at my place," his voice goes low and seductive with innuendo.

  "While your daughter listens at the door to see if we're 'doing it?'" I laugh, the horror in my voice genuine, "I don't think so."

  There's a twinkle in his eye that tells me he's still picturing me in his shower. It sends a bolt of electric fire through me so strong I gasp in surprise at my body's response.

  Logan sees it, he recognizes the way my eyes go unfocused and my breathing shallows, "Don't look at me like that," his voice is a soft growl up against my ear as his hand brushes casually over my hardened nipples and drops between my legs, "It makes it too damn hard to walk out of this office."

  His hand catches mine and presses it to the fly of his slacks so I can feel what he means by "hard."

  "Dad! Are you ready to...." Mariah runs down the hall and skids to a stop in my office doorway, "Eww, gross! are you guys making out?" She sounds genuinely distraught at what she sees, even though she gave us enough warning of her arrival that we managed to have our hands off each other before she found us.

  "See ya later." Logan wink as he gives me another kiss. Not the hungry, claiming kiss I know he'd like it to be but open-mouthed and deep enough to make his daughter groan in disgust and stomp back to the front lobby to wait for him.

  I'm left to stare at Raven's texts and try to figure out how to answer her.

  Logan

  It's been easier having Kendra here this week than I expected.

  It just feels so right for us to all be together. Sitting at the table for dinner like a family, watching TV, playing games and helping her and Mari put together a new aquarium for Simon the depressed fish. Staying up after Mari goes to bed, sitting on the sofa with my arm wrapped around Kendra while we watch a movie with her curled up against me. Taking her to my bed and enjoying her body every night.

  There's no doubt in my mind that Kendra needs to get used to the idea of sharing my roof and, eventually, my name.

  I'm just not sure she's ready to hear how serious my plans for her are yet.

  I find myself wandering into the jewelry store while I wait for Kendra to meet me downtown. She said she had to meet up with someone this afternoon to wrap up some business and then we're heading to dinner someplace with cloth napkins and real candles on the tables.

  I guess the 50/50 custody agreement is a pretty sweet deal after all. It'll be nice to eat a meal out at a place that doesn't have a bottle of ketchup on the table.

  The rings in the case sparkle under the specialty lighting and I wonder which one Kendra would choose. Should I even be in here looking without her?

  Shit. Suddenly I'm nervous. The last time I got married I wasn't exactly all starry eyed over the idea. I couldn't afford a nice ring, I didn't put any effort into getting the proposal just right.

  This time is different. Kendra is different. This time it's the real deal and I want to make sure everything is perfect.

  The sales girl pulls out the tray of rings I'm looking at and stares at me with dreamy eyes, "Have you been together long?" she asks as I draw my finger over on of the solitaires.

  "Uh," I think about it for a minute. It feels like I've known her my whole fucking life, but Kendra always laughs and reminds me we've only been together for a few weeks, "No, I guess not really," I concede to the girl behind the counter.

  She sighs, "Love at first sight," she tells me.

  "Heh," I grunt at her romantic suggestion, "Maybe. Which one would you choose?"

  Her eyes widen and she breaks into a broad grin, reaching for a huge rock on a wide band covered in even more stones, "Definitely this one," she tells me with absolute certainty.

  I nod, "Nice," I agree but I pick up the one that looks the most like my mom's. Very traditional looking with a center stone that flashes under the jewelry store lights, set in a gold, with smaller stone on the sides.

  "That's pretty too," the salesgirl tells me, not exactly hiding the disappointment in her voice that I don't have the same taste as she does. Whatever, I'm not planning on proposing to the girl behind the counter, "That's a cushion cut. They're pretty popular right now. That's one's only one point two carats but the setting will take up to 3 if you want to upgrade. The baguettes are chocolate diamonds, and the other stones are garnets."

  It's pretty obvious it's not her style but I've seen Kendra's jewelry, I've been in her house, I think I have a good feel for what she likes.

  After double checking the store's exchange policy-- in case I'm wrong-- and the time limit on it-- in case I chicken out and wait another 6 months-- I sign the receipt and slip the box in my pocket.

  Stepping out onto the sidewalk, I expect to be hit with panic over what I've just done but when I look up and see Kendra's smiling face as she heads down the block toward me, I feel nothing but right.

  Kendra

  It doesn't matter how good Raven is at what she does, after spending this last week with Logan and Mariah I know she'd never be able to find a better match for me.

  I could have emailed Raven but after all the time she's already spent with me for this case, I decided she deserved to hear it from me in person.

  "Kendra!" Raven jumps up from her seat at one of the cafe's outside tables and pulls me into a friendly hug, "You look wonderful!" She steps back and gives me a long look from head to toe. The smile that spreads across her face seems to say she approves of whatever she sees.

  I laugh at her praise and promise to meet her back at the table as I run inside and order my latte.

  "OK," Raven's still beaming at me happily as I take a seat across from her, "Tell me what you wanted to see me about."

  It doesn't escape me that she was the one who wanted to meet up with me when she got back in town, but at any rate, she's right; I did want to see her.

  "Raven," I take courage from the condensation forming on the outside of my iced coffee, "I really want you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me," I launch into my practiced speech.

  "I know you were willing to waive your usual fees for me because you thought I might be a good fit for the client you've been working with," I put up my hand to keep her from interjecting, "and I understand that what you do takes time, but..."

  Raven sits back in her chair and sips her drink silently while she watches me with that look that makes me feel like she already knows w
hat I'm going to say.

  "I can't go through with it." I want the look I give her to be apologetic, but I think it might be a dopey, lovestruck expression instead, "I met someone. On my own. I-- I kind of think he might be the one."

  Yup. Definitely dopey and lovestruck. I can't hide the way I feel about Logan.

  I hold my breath and wait for Raven's expression to turn to anger. Or betrayal. Or whatever a professional matchmaker might feel when she just found out she's back to square one.

  Raven's broad smile spreads across her face again and in this moment I would almost think we were best friends. She seems so genuinely happy for me.

  "Kendra!" She leans forward and grabs my hand in hers, "That is wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

  I'm a little surprised and it must show because Raven's hand tightens on mine and her eyes soften with genuine emotion as she looks at me, "Sweetie, I deal in love because love is the single greatest accomplishment that any person can hope to achieve...and it just so happens that I have a talent for helping people find it. It doesn't matter how you find love, it only matters that you admit it to yourself when you do."

  Her words strike a cord with me.

  And where have I heard that advice about admitting it to myself before?

  Raven looks at the fashion watch on her wrist with a start, "Sweetie, I have to go. I need to meet with my client." She stands up and kisses me on the cheek, "I'm thrilled to hear it's working out for you," she tells me, "It was wonderful getting to know you."

  Raven gets to her feet and I stand up so she can give me a hug, "I really mean it, Kendra," she tells me, "you're a beautiful woman, you deserve this."

  I watch Raven walk down the street and realize I'm suppose to meet Logan a block away around now.

  He's standing on the sidewalk looking a little lost until he looks up and sees me headed toward him. His face lights up and warmth spreads through me.

  He meets me half way when he sees me walking toward him and he catches me in his arms. Pulling me into him and claiming my mouth with a deep kiss that tells anyone looking at us that I belong to him.

  I love it. I love that he wants me, that he wants people to see that I'm his. I melt into his embrace out here on the street and when Logan's lips finally pull away from mine he asks, "Isn't that your friend?"

  I follow his eyes up the street to the next block and see Raven rounding the corner a block away.

  "My friend?" I ask.

  "Yeah," he says, his arm still holding me against him, "the redhead that was with you at Josh's bar?

  I remember back to that night, the first time with Logan when he took control of our instant attraction and locked me in the womens' bathroom of the old Millhouse pub with him.

  "Raven," I tell him.

  "I owe her a big thank you," he says as he tugs me in the direction we saw her headed, "if it wasn't for her I'd have never met you."

  "What?" I wonder what he's talking about as he pulls me down the sidewalk.

  "Yeah, if she hadn't shoulder-checked me, I wouldn't have run into you," he tells me, "and if I hadn't run into you I might not have--" He stops on the sidewalk and pulls me against his chest given me a heated glare, "I might not have had guts to introduce myself."

  Introduce himself. I laugh. That's one way of putting it.

  I don't know why it never dawned on me before. He's right. That night, I was walking Raven to the back door of the pub, still nursing my something-eth glass of wine when I ran into Logan. I vaguely remember talking to Raven as we made our way through the corridor that led to the rear entrance of the pub.

  I never bothered to wonder how it was that Logan had ended up directly in my path, I'd been so focused on my collision with him. On spilling my wine down the front of his jeans. On everything that happened after that.

  I never even thought about the fact that if she hadn't bumped into him first, he wouldn't have ended up in right in front of me.

  "I don't think she knows we ended up together," I tell him. After all, she's never asked about him or mentioned the incident.

  "Are you kidding?" He laughs, "I always thought she did it on purpose, she gave me a high five when she saw you get in my car."

  I'm flabbergasted, "She what?"

  "Yeah," he laughs and pulls me closer to the corner where we last saw Raven, "She watched me put you in the Suburban, she was out on the balcony of her hotel room on the phone and she totally waved and gave me a high five."

  Curiouser and curiouser, I'm trying to add it together as he pulls me after her, Raven knew about Logan all this time?

  "Yeah," Logan stops to look at me, "I guess I should have asked about your friend but I was too busy falling in love with you."

  We're standing on the corner now, across from the old fashioned malt shop at the end of Main Street and I can't be bothered to worry about Raven anymore or what role she played in me meeting Logan.

  "You're in love with me?" I stop in my tracks and watch Logan turn back to face me.

  He turns back toward me. His beard is growing in, somewhere past stubble but not yet to the point where Mariah calls him furry. Just where I like it. He needs a haircut, his hair is messy, refusing to fall into a neatly combed style, giving him a look that says he makes his own rules.

  Pulling me into his arms he catches my lips and tells me, "I knew you were the one as soon as you bit into that pizza with the extra jalapenos and the ghost pepper sauce without wincing."

  He seems so serious, it feels mean to laugh at him, "You didn't even know that was me till we'd been hooking up for 6 weeks already." I slap him on the arm.

  Logan shrugs,"Well it was love at first bite for the girl that liked peppers on her pizza," he tells me, "I guess you're just lucky that turned out to be you."

  Logan loves me.

  The thought is pure adrenaline in my veins, making my heart skip every other beat. He loves me.

  We stopped chasing Raven. OK, I stopped. My feet kind of refused to move after the L word.

  Logan holds me, his arms wrapped around me tightly. I can feel the bulge of his biceps caging me in as he pulls me against his chest right here on the sidewalk.

  He drops his mouth to mine and kisses me. It's a sidewalk-appropriate kiss, but just barely, and the message is clear. He's staking his claim right here in front of anyone in our small town that might be happening by on a late Saturday afternoon.

  I belong to Logan Marshall and he won't be letting me go anytime soon.

  And I'm OK with that.

  I'm OK with that a lot.

  "You're in love with me?" I ask again, still incredulous, but also maybe I just like hearing him say it.

  I get a smile that's just for me, "I love you Kendra Hayes." His voice is warm and low and even though the way he says it is for my ears only, there's a conviction to the words that tells me he'll scream it to the town if I ask him to.

  I don't need that.

  "And you love me too," he tells me with half a grin like he's so sure of himself.

  "I do?" I laugh, not the least bit in denial, but still, that's pretty ballsy.

  "You do." He assures me simply.

  "I do." I agree.

  A new smile lights his features, "Remember those words."

  We're still standing on the corner when familiar voices reach us from across the street.

  I look over to see Mariah and Raven leaving the malt shop, both laughing and looking like old friends. Mariah gives Raven a warm hug and then Raven turns the corner and walks out of sight while Mariah unlocks her bicycle and starts peddling in our direction.

  "Hey!" Logan lunges after her in full dad mode. Mariah looks up at him and comes to stop beside him, "What are you doing down here by yourself?"

  Mariah looks around the quiet downtown street with a confusion that is mostly genuine and still all teenage defiance, "Uh, Dad?" She spots me approaching and breaks into a wide grin, "Kendra!"

  "Does your mother know where you are?" Logan demands.

 
"Duh," Mariah rolls her eyes. It's kinda cute when she does it to someone else. She pulls out her phone from her back pocket, "Pretty sure there's a tracking app on this thing, right? Besides, Dad, I'm 14. I've been riding my bike to school since the 5th grade and that's way farther than Main Street."

  I hide my grin behind my hand as Logan grumbles in reluctant submission, "I just want to make sure you're safe," he mutters.

  Mariah gives him a big toothy smile that only girls with great dads know the secret to, "I'm fine, Dad," she huffs out, "You do know I'm going to be driving soon, right?"

  "Don't remind me," Logan seems defeated.

  I can't help but ask, curiosity-- and suspicion-- are burning me up, "Mariah," I point in the direction that Raven went, "how do you know Mrs. Swann?"

  Mariah's eye go wide as saucers and for a split second her face is lit up with the corn-flower blue shade that she shares with her dad, "Umm," her eyes dart between me and Logan and then back toward the malt shop before settling on me again, "I, umm--"

  She rolls her eyes, this time I think it's at herself though, and heaves a dramatic sigh before giving her dad one more glance and just a little cringe, "I hired her to find Dad a wife."

  I choke.

  Logan looks at me, obviously confused as hell.

  "You hired Raven Swann?" I have some doubts to say the least.

  "Well, she said I could hire her on consistency?" Mariah looks at us each, waiting to see if she has the right word.

  "Contingency?" I suspect is what she means. Her head bobs.

  "But since Dad found you on his own, she says I don't owe her anything...even though you guys aren't married yet."

  It all makes sense suddenly, in my mind all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I can't stop laughing.

  Logan takes a less-than-confident step backward and shoves his hand in his pocket with a puzzled look on his face before he turns toward me, "This makes sense to you?"

  Stepping up beside him I rub my hand over his back, "Oh buddy," I tell him, "I think you got played."

  Wiping a tear from my eye, I shake my head and ruffle Mariah's hair as she looks at me like I've gone crazy, "We both got played," I correct.