Accidental Mail Order Bride by J. S. Cooper
Chapter Nine
Austin burst into laughter.I turned and went into the bedroom, closing the door firmly behind me.
Heart still racing, from the kiss and from the surge of annoyance at the way he laughed at me, I walked over to the bed, sat down, and took out my phone. I almost started crying when I saw that Olivia had texted me that she was now available to talk. I called her quickly. I needed to hear my best friend’s voice.
“Oh my gosh, Lucy, I was just about to call the police!” Olivia said as she answered the phone.
“Why?”
“Because I texted you 20 minutes ago and you haven’t responded.”
“Oh, sorry. I have been through so much in the last hour. You will not even believe it.”
“So tell me everything, girl. I am absolutely dying to hear.”
“Well, I’m at the house in my room.”
“Ooh, you’ve got your own room. Girl, this ranch is like a McMansion, a mansion ranch, if there’s such a thing.”
That made me smile a little. “It’s so big and so beautiful,” I said as I looked around my room. “I have my own queen-sized bed, and I’ve got a rocking chair in the corner and a TV, and when I look outside my window, I have a view of the mountains. The actual mountains.”
“Wow, that sounds absolutely amazing.” Olivia sounded impressed. “I mean, it’s not New York City, but it still sounds pretty cool.”
“You have to come and visit me … Well, at least if I’m still here.”
“So, tell me everything. Have you met your guy?”
“Oh, my gosh,” I groaned. “You don’t even want to know the half of it.”
“I do, Lucy. Now tell me everything!”
“Well, so I get here, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And I told you I went to the bar, right?”
“Yeah, you got the address at the bar.”
“Yeah. The part I didn’t tell you is about one of the guys at the bar.”
“Oh, boy …”
“What’d you mean, oh, boy?”
“I mean, why are you telling me about some random guy that you met at the bar?”
“Well, he kind of kissed me.”
“You kissed some random guy at the bar?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh please, God, don’t tell me that’s the dad? Please tell me you did not make out with the dad. Oh my gosh, this sounds like a telenovela.”
That got a laugh out of me. “No, Olivia, I didn’t make out with the dad. But it’s kind of almost as bad.”
“Oh gosh, don’t tell me you made out with the granddad?”
“Ew, no, of course I didn’t make out with the granddad. Who do you take me for?”
“I take you for a woman that left the city to go to Montana to marry a man she’s never met before in her life.”
“That’s cold, Olivia.”
“Just a little bit,” she giggled. “Now tell me more. I’m dying here.”
“So I met this guy, and in fact, he was actually very good looking—though, I would never say that to his face because he’s an asshole.”
“Whoa, sounds like there’s feelings there already.”
“Oh hell no, girl! There are definitely no feelings there. But let’s just say he gave me a quick kiss and I maybe kissed him back for like two seconds, that’s it. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again.”
“Okay, but I’m guessing there’s a twist to this story.”
“Of course there is, Olivia. Of course there is.”
“Well, get on with it, Lucy!”
“Fine. So anyways, I drive to the house and I go up to the ranch.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And the dad answers.”
“Oh my God, and it was the guy that you kissed?”
“I already told you I didn’t kiss the guy. I mean, I didn’t kiss the dad. Don’t get it twisted, Olivia.”
“Don’t talk to me about twisted. You’re the one that’s kissing random guys in bars before driving up to meet your fiancé.”
“He’s not exactly my fiancé. Do you see a ring?”
“No, I don’t see a ring, but maybe you’ll be getting one soon.”
“Trust me, I don’t think so,” I laughed. “Anyway, I get there and the dad, Ranger, really nice guy, has no idea who I am.”
“Oh, no way. Are you joking?”
“No, I’m not joking. He has no clue who I am, and I’m just standing there on the doorstep like a fool and I’m thinking, okay, do I have enough money to get a flight to go back to New York City?”
“Okay, and I’m guessing the answer was no because you’re still there?”
“No, I have enough on my credit cards, but then I kind of said, ‘Look, I was speaking to your wife, Amelia, about coming to get married.’ And there was this strange look on his face and he suddenly remembered, I guess. His wife had some crazy idea a couple of months ago.”
“Oh man, this is juicy. So she never told her husband?”
“I guess not, I don’t know. She said she told him, and he said he didn’t remember, but you know how guys are.”
“Oh yeah,” Olivia groaned. “Trust me, do you know how many stories I’ve told my dad and my brothers and boyfriends and they don’t remember a word?”
“I know, I guess guys just do not listen. It’s a universal thing.”
“I think so,” Olivia said. “So tell me more.”
“He gets Amelia, who is the mom, the lady I was emailing with, and she greets me and she’s so sweet and so nice. I just think you’d absolutely love her.”
“Well, I don’t really need to love her, but as long as you like her.”
“Yeah, she was cool. So anyway, I come inside and I have some lemonade and some cookies.”
“Lucky. I want lemonade and cookies.”
“Olivia, stop interrupting me. Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?”
“Well, of course I do. That’s why I’m on the phone.”
“So listen to me.”
“Fine.”
“So then anyways, two of the sons show up.”
“Ooh, they have two sons, huh?”
“Girl, they have seven sons.”
“Seven sons, no way! Well, hook a sister up.”
I started laughing. “Sure, I mean, none of them have girlfriends. Well, maybe Wyatt.”
“Who’s Wyatt?”
“Wyatt’s the youngest son, and supposedly he has some best friend called Sadie that is maybe the love of his life, but he doesn’t realize it.”
“That sounds like drama.”
“Yeah, but aside from him, it seems like the others are completely single.”
“Then hook me up, girl!”
“I’m trying to look myself up first.”
“So did you meet the guy yet?”
“Yes. So anyway, the two sons show up, Beau and Wyatt.”
“Okay, so Wyatt’s the one that you just said was kind of dating his best friend or something?”
“Yeah, I don’t know exactly what’s going on there, but he was really cute and really friendly. He actually kissed my hand.”
“Oh, wow, he sounds like a real southern gentleman.”
“Well, they’re not southern, remember? I’m in Montana. We’re close to the Canadian border.”
“Oh, yeah … For some reason I always felt men from Montana were southern.”
“They’re not southern just because they’re cowboys.”
“Yeah, okay. So tell me more.”
“So Beau is the eldest, and he’s the one that I’m supposed to marry.
“So you met him? Is he really cute? Tell me what he looks like!”
“Well, he’s tall. He’s got this dark blonde hair and big blue eyes. He’s very striking, very handsome, and—”
“Ooh, he sounds dishy. Just my type.”
“Yeah, I think you would really like him. He’s definitely very handsome. But then—”
“Oh gosh, of course there’s a but then.”
“I’m sitting outside, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And guess who shows up?”
“I have no idea.”
“The guy from the bar.”
“Oh shit, don’t tell me that the guy from the bar is Beau’s secret gay lover.”
“What?” I asked her in astonishment. “Where’d you get that idea?”
“Like maybe there’s some Brokeback Mountain going on up there?”
“Oh my God, Olivia. Can you hear yourself?”
“What? I don’t care what they’re doing, but that would be kind of crazy.”
“That’s not what happened,” I laughed. “The guy showed up, Austin—”
“Ooh, Austin. Sexy name.”
“Yeah, it’s quite nice, but it was the guy from the bar.”
“You just told me that.”
“And he’s Beau’s brother.”
“Oh snap!” Olivia screamed. “You kissed your fiancé’s brother!” She giggled. “You are such a slut.”
“Well, he’s not my fiancé. I mean, we’re not technically engaged. We never even met before like an hour ago. And yeah, I know it’s absolutely crazy, isn’t it?”
“This sounds better than a daytime drama.”
“It is not better than a daytime drama because that guy, Austin, is such a trouble-maker. He basically let Beau know that I was there to marry him, and Beau had absolutely no idea.”
“Well, you already knew that the guy didn’t have any clue, right?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t expect him to find out this way.”
“How did this Austin guy find out anyway?”
“Because when I was at the bar, I kind of let it slip that I was going to meet my boyfriend’s parents.”
“Oh shit, you told Beau’s brother that you were going to meet the parents and Beau had never even heard of you, huh?”
“Exactly,” I groaned. “No one had heard of me, and there I was blabbing my mouth at the bar.”
“So what’s going on now?”
“I don’t know. I’m in my room. It seemed like it was all going down in the kitchen, but we’re going to have dinner later and everyone wants to find out why I came.”
“Well, what are you going to say?”
“I mean, I’m going to tell them the truth, that I felt like I didn’t have many options, and about my mom.”
“Are you going to tell them about Mikey?”
“I don’t know. What would I say?”
“Tell them that you got a crazy ex-boyfriend that’s harassing you and that’s another reason why he wanted to get out of the city.”
“Yeah, but will anyone believe that I have a crazy ex that’s in the mafia?”
“Girl, you’ll be okay. Just tell them, you might as well.”
“I don’t know. I already feel like the situation is out of hand. I don’t want them to think I’m a complete and utter psychopath.”
“Yeah, I guess you don’t want that. So do you think you’re going to go through with the wedding?”
“I don’t really think that’s up to me.”
“It’s a little bit up to you,” she pointed out with a laugh. “Are you attracted to this Beau?”
“I mean, he’s definitely very attractive.”
“Who’s better looking, Beau or Austin?”
“You can’t ask me a question like that. I mean, they’re brothers, they—”
“Tell me the truth. Who do you think is better looking?”
“I don’t know,” I whined. “I can’t answer that.”
But as I lay on the bed, eyes closed, it was Austin’s face I saw in my mind. Beau was definitely very attractive, maybe even more classically handsome than Austin. But there was something about Austin that I found so sexy—his dark hair, his twinkling mischievous green eyes. The way that he smiled at me, the way that he glared, the way that he kissed me. I could still feel the pressure of his lips against mine.
I had a little bit of a crush on Austin.
What a mess this was.
“Sounds to me like you don’t like the answer,” Olivia said softly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It sounds like you kissed one brother, but you’re engaged to the other.”
“Stop saying I’m engaged. I’m not engaged to anyone. I don’t even know if Beau thinks I am attractive.”
“Girl, you know he thinks you’re attractive. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you, Olivia. But I’m sure there are plenty of beautiful women here in Montana.”
Yeah, but not with your sass and vitality.”
“Oh my god, Olivia,” I started laughing. “Do not crack me up.”
“I just hope you’re okay,” she said. “You can call me at any time of the day and night, and I will do my best to pick up. You know that, right?”
“I miss you so much. I wish we could go for drinks or something.”
“I know, I miss you too. And Lucy?”
“Yeah, Olivia?”
“Just follow your heart. Do what you want to do.”
“I’ll try, I guess. It’s been so great speaking to you. You always make me feel better.”
“No worries, love. But,” she started yawning, “I should get to bed. It’s late here and I’ve got an early start tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I guess I should start getting ready for dinner. I don’t know that I can wear jeans and a sweatshirt.”
“Yeah, girl, go to that dinner looking hot, hot, hot, hot. You want every single brother at that table to be like, ‘I wish Mom had hooked me up with her.’”
“I don’t think so,” I laughed. “I think they’re all going to be staring at me like I’m some sort of loser.”
“There’s no way, Lucy. Trust me on that. There’s no way.”