Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 22864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Getting out of Alaska was my only option. I didn’t even tell my family my final destination. I told my parents I took a traveling nurse job and that I would be in Houston for at least six months. I’ll tell them the truth, but only after I’m safely married. They didn’t even question it, as I love being a nurse. Being able to help people who need it makes me feel great.
What doesn’t make me feel great is Gary. I never should have gone out with him in the first place. I knew better. I really did. I tried to force the magic, and magic can’t be forced.
I’m leaving my home, the only home I’ve ever known, in Anchorage, Alaska, in order to go to West Virginia, where I’ll immediately marry a stranger. It might not be the best idea I’ve ever had, but it's the only thing that will take me four thousand miles away from Gary.
I finally board the plane, and as I get buckled in, my thoughts turn to my future husband. Looks mean nothing to me, but I pray he’s at least a nice man. I could handle anything or anyone thrown at me as long as he doesn’t hurt me.
After an uneventful flight, I get into an Uber and make my way to my new town. My new life.
I can’t wait to see what’s in store for my future.
Prologue
Fletcher Blake
Holy shit! When Lloyd told me he had matched me, I wasn’t worried. I mean at forty-five years old, if I want a family, I am not going to be discerning. I figured my old friend knew me and wouldn’t match me with someone I was not at least compatible with.
With that said, never in a million years did I think he would find the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I use the word woman loosely because she doesn’t look a day over twenty, but dear lord, her hair is the color of a wildfire. The curls bouncing around her pale face, mixed with her green eyes, make her look exotic but also angelic. When I saw her walk into the church, I about came in my pants.
“Welcome everyone to the union of Fletcher and Florence,” Alton says, starting the ceremony. I know I should be listening to him, but there is something in her eyes that I find myself hypnotized by. I see a deep sadness in them and I can’t help wondering what is causing it, but also silently vowing to end it. “We here are all familiar with the inner workings of this type of arrangement, so explanations are not needed. Both parties have opted for traditional vows said by me.”
I smile at her, hoping to reassure her that everything will be alright. She gives me a smile back, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. I want to pull her into my arms and give her the reassurance and care she obviously needs, but I feel as if she needs time.
I am so tuned out of the service I hear nothing until Alton clears his throat and repeats that it is time to exchange rings. Pulling them from my pocket, I hand her the titanium black band for myself, watching her eyes inspect it, probably never seeing one before. I chose it because it will withstand my line of work and remain pristine. I never intend to take this off once she puts it on. “Florence, please place the ring on Fletcher’s finger and repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.” My heart begins an unsteady staccato, an irrational nervousness of her suddenly changing her mind. I haven’t spoken to her and already this possessive flame has lit up inside of me, and I need my diamond on her finger and the bind to signify she belongs to me, to stoke something.
“With this ring I thee wed.” My chest loosens when she says the words and slides the ring on my finger. It feels right, like the beginning of the puzzle I was missing. She looks at me so meek and reserved when she puts it on, but there is a spark of hope that flashes so quickly if I wasn’t staring at her, I would have missed it.
“Now Fletcher please place the ring on Florence’s finger and repeat after me. With this ring I thee wed.” I know she is only expecting a wedding band, but I had decided that whoever I marry, they would wear my grandmother's ring, the one my grandfather gave her when they wed at eighteen. His family came from old money; the ring has been passed down for generations, and I would be no different.
I place the four-carat blue emerald on her finger and the accompanying platinum diamond band. My eyes close as something settles inside of me. The gasp that leaves her lips compels me to open my eyes and gaze upon her shocked face. Her pink, unhidden lips fall open, and she stares at the bindings on her finger like they are the most precious things she has ever seen. “With this ring I thee wed.” Instantly her body seems to release a tension I can sense she has been carrying for some time.