Page 14 of Puck, Marry, Thrill

Did he save her? Yes, and she would be forever grateful. Could he bail her out of her financial messes? Again, yes. Did he have an adorable son? Yes – and she wanted snuggles galore.

Was Kenneth hotter than Hades?Whoa-my-gosh-yes. Okay, so maybe this one was a little more superficial, but looks were a thing for anyone – not just her. If he was ugly with raging ear hairs, a fur-neck-collar over his T-shirt, or had a bunch of rotted-out teeth, she would have said ‘no’ – period.

‘Husband’ meant he had certain ‘expectations’ eventually because he was a man – and most guys thought with ‘man-things.’ She wasn’t stupid. It was the way of the world, and she’d had enough guys hit on her in the past, including dating some real losers who only had one thing on their mind.

Amanlything.

Kenneth said he wanted to build a friendship, and that he wouldn’t push her into that in case things didn’t work out. That was really nice to hear, honestly. She was an optimist. Of course, she hoped things would fall into place with them – what girl wouldn’t want some incredibly brooding hot man lusting after her? After being hit with repeated doses of reality, it was hard to keep that positive attitude without it becoming tainted over time – and she knew better than to get her hopes up.

Becauseyeaaaah…

Kenneth was scorching hot.

The man had deep brown eyes and silky black hair that was layered and slightly choppy and, heaven help her, there was a slight curl to it making the ends flip up. When had five-o’clock shadows or chin-dimples become her thing?

That straight nose, those cheekbones, and lips… oh yeah, he was model material all right – and a daddy. Why was it that there was something so intrinsic, so swoony about seeing a man put aside his pride and play with his kid or carry them? It gave off such strong, protective feelings that just screamed to her girly-genes that were currently panting after him.

And today, she was marrying him.

As a convenience.

“Ouch,” she hesitated, pausing with her eyeliner to look at herself in the mirror. Why was she bothering with makeup when the gorgeous man was only doing this to secure a different job with better benefits? It wasn’t like he ever gave her the time of day before now. She shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t be making a big deal about this – but he had seen her at her ultimate worst, and something in her wanted to present ‘her best’ or whatever that looked like. Finishing up, she swiped on some lip gloss just as there was a knock at the front door.

“Please, no disasters today,” she whispered to the ceiling as if her guardian angel could hear her. “Yesterday was plenty.”

Opening the door to her condo, she hesitated, hearing an audible ‘whah-whah-whaaah’ horn in her head. Kenneth was dressed in black jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black hoodie. His son was standing beside him in jeans and wearing a Hot Wheels T-shirt, looking completely bored.

“Hi,” she began, almost questioningly and then felt a sinking feeling as it hit her that this was not a man who was about to get married. “Oh,crayon…”

“Hey…” he began warily. “Are you ready?”

“Are you?” she blurted out and then paused, composing herself. “I meant, are we getting married this morning?”

“Yeah – and I think I owe you an apology.”

“Oh?”

“My suit is at the cleaners and won’t be ready for another two days, but I don’t want to wait. I need to turn in a copy of our marriage license to get the ball rolling. There’s paperwork that is being rushed, my work VISA, and I’ve gotta set up movers for both of our places… and yeah. I need a bit of time on my hands, so this is me…” he said openly, looking at her with almost a ‘Take it or Leave it’ expression on his face - but his eyes?

They told another story.

Kenneth was putting on a brave front. The eyes weren’t called the ‘Window to the Soul’ for nothing. He looked worried, scared, and nervous, and she understood that so much.

“We both can’t be scared,” she whispered softly, looking at him. “Let’s go get the paperwork done, grab lunch because we both like to eat, and maybe get a cupcake to celebrate or something with Zachary. Remember, it’s all about getting to know each other and making memories that are positive for him to look back on someday.”

And Kenneth’s breath escaped him with a nervous laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair, giving her a slight smile. She stepped out of the condo, shutting the door behind her, almost like she was signifying that she was closing off her past to make this leap and held out her hand.

Waiting.

He stared at her hand, and she realized that the man had so many ghosts haunting him if he couldn’t do something as simple as holding hands.

“Kenneth,” she said softly, feeling slightly alarmed because this was something so basic no matter what status they held. “I’m going to want to hold hands, so if this is not something we can manage before we get married… maybe we should delay things and talk… or back out of this completely.”

He looked completely flummoxed, and then put his hand in hers.

“I’ve never had anyone want to hold my hand – except Zachary.”

“Well, that’s all behind you… and your new wife is weird like that. She’s absolutely going to want to hold hands -a lot- and become friends,” Jamie said bravely, her heart aching for this poor guy before her. “New team, new job, new city, new wife, and new habits to get used to. Are you up to the challenge, mister?”

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