Page 2 of Help Wanted: Wife

“Not if you word your ad carefully and be clear about what you’re seeking and offering.”

He had nothing to offer. “No human woman will travel all the way to Caradonia to work in a bakery.”

“Well, not if you don’t advertise!”

Adar had an answer for everything. Larth refused to listen to any more painful nonsense. “I know you’re trying to be helpful, but I can’t imagine anything Iwould desire less than to be locked into marriage with a woman I don’t love.”Go back to your happy life with your wife. The only thing preventing him from forcibly tossing Adar back into his booth was that the man had done him a lot of favors, keeping an eye on Larth’s booth when he needed to step out.

“Okay. I won’t say any more. You’ve worked so hard. I hate to see your endeavor fail because you can’t get help.” Adar started to return to his booth then stalled out. “One more thing—”

The man can’t shut up.

“It doesn’t have to be forever. There’s an escape clause. Cosmic Mates marriages are probationary. You have a year to decide if the marriage is going to work. At the end of the period, if you recommit, that’s when it becomes binding. Otherwise, you go your separate ways. A marriage of convenience would buy you more time to find the right worker.”

Enough!His scowl sent Adar scurrying back to his booth.

Wanted: Temporary human wife for a marriage of convenience. Must be good with people and know how to bake. Room and board provided. Long hours. Low pay. No benefits. Position to terminate at the end of a year.

No woman in her right mind would go for that.

He’d keep advertising on Caradonia and hope the right candidate turned up.

Chapter Two

Prudence’s father slipped into the dressing room. “You look beautiful, honey.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

He hugged her, taking care not to wrinkle her gown, and kissed her cheek. “You remind me of your mother on our wedding day. You look so much like she did.” He glanced at Pru’s mother with a loving smile.

“Our little girl is all grown up and getting married to her childhood sweetheart!” Pru’s mom said.

“Hard to believe.” His eyes misted.

Pru and her mom chuckled. Her dad was the biggest softie. It wouldn’t be her mom who shed tears at the wedding; it would be her father.

“She’ll always be your little girl,” Hope, her maid of honor, chimed in. “A son’s a son till he takes him a wife; a daughter’s a daughter all of her life.”

“Thank goodness for that.” Her father wiped his eyes. “I popped in to tell you everything is all set to go. As soon as William gets here, the wedding will start.”

“William’s not here yet?” Her jaw dropped as irritation flared. William’s chronic tardiness was his sole flaw, and one she usually overlooked, but not on their wedding day!He promised to be on time.I should have known better.

She took a deep breath and exhaled to release the tension.Let it go. Let it go. She would hate to mar the happiest day of her life by getting pissed off or, worse, getting into a fight. She could picture herself stomping down the aisle in a snit and then smacking William over the head with the bouquet rather than tossing it to one of the single women.

“Technically, he’s not late,” her father amended. “The wedding isn’t supposed to start for another five minutes. I’ll go watch for him. Try not to get too mad at him.”

“I’m trying.”He promised!

Her mom kissed her cheek. “There will be plenty to fight about after you’re married.”

Despite her irritation, she chuckled. “You’re right.” Except for the tardiness, William was a great guy, the great love of her life. There had never been anyone for her but William. She’d never dated anybody else. Having known him practically all her life, sheknew what she’d be getting by marrying him. There would be no ugly surprises.

Her mother followed her father out of the room.

“Men!” Hope shot her a sympathetic smile. “If it’s any consolation, Krogan arrived late to pick me up when I landed. All the other brides had been met by their grooms. He left me waiting in an alien spaceport all by myself, wondering what the heck I was going to do—what the heck I’d gotten myself into.”

Hope had married an alien through Cosmic Mates, a space-age mail-order bride program. Planet Caradonia desperately needed females after many of their own had perished in a viral pandemic.

“Krogan had a good excuse. He’s governor-general. He was dealing with the pandemic. William loses track of time. I didn’t want him to see me in my wedding dress before the ceremony. Bad luck, you know? I shouldn’t have paid any attention to that old wives’ tale. If we’d gotten ready together, he would be here.”

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