Page 10 of Claiming His Wife
Just what I need, my wife being taken away by a wimp,he thought.
“And Finn,” Lucien called out.
“Yeah?”
“This one is all on me,” he offered. “I know how it was when she left town and I know it hasn’t been easy.”
“Thanks, man.” To reject the offer would be an insult, Lucien was not overly emotional, no doubt a by-product of the upbringing he had from his soldier father.
“Catch you later,” he called over the phone and Finn dropped the call.
“I cannot lose her again,” he declared to himself a while later. He needed to make a foolproof plan to sweep her off her feet and have her head spinning so fast that she would not even remember the name of the man she claimed to love. He needed to remind her why she had fallen in love with him in the first place, and why the two of them were meant for each other.
It was not going to be easy with the odds stacked against him, but he was craving the challenge already. His heart jolted whenever he thought of her, even if she didn’t believe it. No matter how many reasons she laid down and how many times she stared at him with her spitfire eyes, he would show his wife what happened when he gave a project his undivided attention. Saving this marriage and preserving their love story was indeed a project – a very personal project.
CHAPTER 4
OWEN OPENED THE REAR DOOR TO THE TOWN CAR and Kalilah easily slipped inside.
"My parents’ house, please, Owen." She handed him the address.
"Of course, Miss. I take it you had a good meeting then?" her driver prompted.
"It was productive," she returned with a forced smile. She thought back to being so close to Finn and having his body rub against hers. It aroused her immensely and she clenched her thighs at the memory. She told herself that it was a perfectly acceptable reaction to meeting the man she once loved, a man who happened to be her husband even if in name only.
“That's all we can ask for, Miss," He said lightly as he set all his attention to navigating through traffic.
She agreed. She had expected a long, drawn out argument, with Finn pulling rank and throwing the family agreement in her face. However, he never mentioned the agreement. He only talked about the marriage. The last time she was in that office she had caved under her father’s threats, because she couldn’t imagine a life without the comfort her father’s wealth afforded her.
Now life had taught her that money brought a lot of things – things like brand name clothes and servants that took care of her every whim – but it did not buy joy, peace of mind, or time. In fact, it had served as a reminder of what she had lost. Loving a man with all your heart was no guarantee that you wouldn't get hurt. Because it had hurt, badly.
When she had found out the truth behind Finn’s interest in her back then, she had felt like running away from the entire situation, but she knew they would find her. Therefore, that idea had quickly flown right out of her mind as quickly as it flew in. Giving in and doing what they wanted had seemed like the path of least resistance. Her father had told her, in no uncertain terms, that if she didn’t go through with the marriage that he would cut her off financially, and that she would, in effect, be dead to him. Being young, naïve, and afraid of losing all the comforts she enjoyed, she went through with the wedding. Since her father never specified that she needed to reside with Finn, or even live in the same country as him, she had fled Quebec on the first flight out, before the ink on their marriage paperwork had dried.
***
The first two years away from home had been an uphill climb, and Kalilah had fallen to the bottom several times before she found things she was passionate about. She enjoyed kickboxing and volunteering, passions that she may have never pursued if she’d stayed under her father’s watchful eyes. It was through her passion for feeding the homeless that she’d met Jonathan.
On the day she met him, it was frustratingly hot and humid. She’d been trying to haul ten bags of groceries up to her building. The two-bedroom apartment she had leased while in Seattle didn’t have a doorman, so she’d struggled to open the building’s front door, which was only the beginning of her problems since she lived on the third floor and her building didn’t have an elevator. As she was attempting to carry all the heavy bags up to her building, one of them ripped open, spilling some of her groceries onto the sidewalk. She gasped and let out a cuss as she wondered how she was going to retrieve the fallen items without letting go of all the bags she already had.
“They don’t make those plastic bags as strong as they used to, but no worries; I got this!”
She turned around, slowly and inquisitively, as she watched a tall, blonde guy crouch over to grab her fallen items. He was handsome, but not as handsome as Finn… but who was comparing? She watched as he gathered them all in his hands, in addition to taking a few bags from her now shaking hands. She’d seen him before. He lived across the street from her apartment, but they’d never shared words before.
“No, they don’t,” she responded after her arms were free.
“Are you planning on cooking for a small army?” he asked as he felt the weight of the bags in his hands.
She chuckled at his observation and told him about the meals she prepared for the homeless in the community. He seemed impressed with her philanthropy. Carrying her groceries up three flights of stairs, Kalilah stalled once they reached her apartment door. She didn’t want to invite a stranger into her home.
“Thanks for all your help. You can place everything down here and I’ll carry them inside. I don’t know how I would’ve managed without your help.”
“Well, it was no trouble at all helping a beautiful lady such as yourself.” He smiled and placed the bags down, and she noticed his teeth were perfect.
“I’ve seen you around the neighborhood. Are you a student?” He asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “My name is Kalilah, by the way”.
