I love marriage of convenience stories. It's always fun to watch two people who are stuck together go from bickering to bantering to falling in love. The idea for this story came when my husband was flipping through channels and said something about romantic comedies. He said he liked the ones that didn't rely on the two people immediately hating each other to provide conflict.
So, I imagined a young bride who is prepared for a loveless arranged marriage being surprised on her wedding day when the groom is actually happy about the scheme their fathers pushed them into. I won't give any more away. ;-) Hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Blurb:
Victoria cannot even muster a smile on her wedding day. Her
groom is handsome, titled, and wealthy, and her marriage will save her family
from financial ruin, but she is still saddened when she contemplates the long,
loveless years ahead of her.
Bastian never intended to marry, but he gives in to his
father’s scheme because the more he thinks about the bride, the more he wants
to capture her heart. He sweeps her into his arms at the reception, determined
to make her smile and laugh, though he only manages to make her blush and stare
at him incredulously.
Was he wrong to believe he could turn a marriage of
convenience into a love match? Or does another man already hold the heart of
his reluctant bride?
Excerpt:
Victoria tried very hard to avoid
Bastian’s gaze during the reception, but every time she turned around, she
found him looking at her. She felt as if he were circling the room, purposely
trying to stay in her line of sight. She looked down at the rings on her left
hand. So now they were married. She sighed.
She’d always been given her older sister
Isabella’s hand-me-downs and cast offs, but she’d never expected to be handed
down a husband. However, she’d been given very little choice. Her father, a
bankrupt baron, needed the Earl’s money, and the marriage to his only son had
been the security the Earl had wanted for the loan. The Earl and his wife wanted
grandchildren, and since they only had one child, the Earl had been obsessed
with marrying Bastian off.
The engagement had been announced, and
the wedding set for two months later. However, her sister had been unable to
fit into her wedding dress two weeks before the ceremony because she was very
obviously with child. And it was not Bastian’s, as he had only returned from
four months of visiting family in Italy two days before the very revealing
dress fitting. Isabella had been sent to a cousin in Wales to have the baby,
and Victoria had been literally ordered to prepare herself for married life.
The Earl had insisted that Bastian was
pleased because he had said upon returning from Italy that he would have “been
happier with the sweet, pretty sister.” The well-meaning Earl had reported this
with a smile moments before Bastian had entered the room the day the new
wedding plans had been settled. He’d obviously thought sweet and pretty were
high compliments, but she’d been called sweet and pretty all of her life. The
words fell flat on her ears because her sister had always been called
beautiful, enchanting, captivating, and breathtaking. Her sharp tongue and
fiery temper had earned her both a reputation and an eager train of suitors.
Obviously, though she’d treated most of them with disdain, one of those suitors
had been to her liking. Her sister still hadn’t said who the child’s father
was, but if they were in love, as Isabella insisted, Victoria believed he would
reveal himself when he learned Isabella had left London.
“My lady, would you care to dance?” came
a whisper in her ear.
She turned, clasping her hands together
to dispel the shiver that had gone up her spine. She nodded and slid her hand
into Bastian’s. She couldn’t refuse her new husband a dance at their wedding
reception with two hundred people watching, no matter how wary she was of him.
She hardly knew him, and his quiet intensity had always intimidated her.
He led her to the center of the room, and
then the music began again. “Am I so unattractive you can’t even stand to look
at me as we dance?” he teased.
She raised her eyes, his light and
playful tone surprising her. “I’m sorry.” He wasn’t unattractive at all. He
towered over every person in the room, and his healthy complexion and dark hair
and eyes had more than enough appeal. His lean, muscular form left little to be
desired as well. “Can you blame me for being uncomfortable?”
He frowned. “Why are you uncomfortable?”
he asked as they spun amidst the other couples coming onto the floor with them.
“What can I do to remedy it?”
She couldn’t keep from furrowing her brow
and letting every ounce of her confusion show. “I don’t think you understand.
I’ve been sold to you, to your family, all because my father needs money, your
father wants grandchildren, and my sister is foolish.”
His frown deepened, reaching his eyes. “So
you aren’t simply shy or nervous? You truly didn’t want this.”
She felt her face flame. “May we discuss
this in private? I shouldn’t have said anything. I let my frustration get the
better of me. I’m all nerves today, my lord.”
“All right. And please call me Bastian. I
don’t want to be ‘my lorded’ by my own wife. Will you allow me to say one last
thing though?”
She nodded.
“I’m sorry this has made you unhappy, but
I was relieved to learn I wouldn’t have to marry your sister. I couldn’t stand
her.”
“So you were forced into this as well?”
He shook his head. “No. My objection was
not to getting married—it was to your sister. I told my father I would marry
you gladly.”
“Marry me?”
“Yes.”
“But I was not the original bride.”
He smiled and leaned close. “I had every
intention of running away, my dear. I have a fortune of my own, and I don’t
like to be told what to do. I was thrilled to learn your sister was no longer
qualified to seal this deal.”
“What?” she whispered, darting looks
around to see if anyone was listening.
“My father and I get along very well in
public, but in private we are constantly at odds. I refused to marry your
sister. He kept insisting I had no choice. He told me all the details of the
deal, and I told him I would agree if I could marry you instead. He told me to
forget you because Isabella had to marry first. I was already making plans to
flee. But then, fortune smiled on me.”
“What man would choose me over my sister?”
she said before she could stop the words. Then she gasped at her forwardness
and lack of manners, and her face flamed again.
He actually laughed. “A man with a brain.
Your sister is a shrew, but you are charming.”
They’d known each other for years, but
until today, they had only had half a dozen conversations. “Oh.”
“Is that the best reaction I’m going to
get?”
“Yes.” She gathered her thoughts, wanting
to change the subject to hide her embarrassment. “Where would you have gone?”
“Some place exotic.” The dance ended, and
he led her to the balcony. “We can still go, if you like. Would you like an
exciting honeymoon, Victoria?”
She felt a strange flutter in her stomach
at his words. “Whatever has been planned for us is fine.”
“Nothing has been planned. I told father
we would both be exhausted, so we’ll stay in a hotel here in London until you
decide what you want.”
She pulled her arm from his and just
barely made it to a bench.
“I suppose I’m overwhelming you.” He sat
beside her.
“I’ve been beyond overwhelmed for the
past two weeks.”
“However will you make it to the morning
then?” he whispered, his voice warm and seductive.
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