Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
"No. Not like that. She was his late older brother's wife."
Charlee-Mae's brows arched up. "Wow."
"The brother died seven years ago—-"
"Did they hook up right after his death?"
"I have no idea how long they've been together, but he did mention she's now his mistress."
"Mistress, huh?" That was quite the label for one's sister-in-law. "And not girlfriend?"
"His words, not mine."
"Oh my."
Charlotte had been hoping Charlee-Mae would finally see the light about Mr. Red Folder, but instead the other woman actually sounded thrilled, and her amber eyes were actually sparkling with excitement.
"I can't believe how perfect this all is, Char!"
Charlotte wondered if it was too late to back out of her secret deal with heaven. She wanted to have Landon back, even in just her dreams, but was it worth risking Charlee-Mae's heartbreak? Her future mail-order groom did not see their marriage as a permanent thing.
"This is exactly what I was hoping for!"
And yet here Charlee-Mae was, acting like the hundreds of letters she had dropped in the prayer request box had finally been answered.
"There's just so much baggage, so much drama!"
Indeed, there was all of those, so why was Charlee-Mae speaking of these things like they were stuff that romantic dreams were made of?
"I love it, Char," Charlee-Mae said dreamily. "I absolutely love it." She beamed at Charlotte, adding, "You know I'm a huge fan of Dynasty, right?"
"Uh..." Wasn't that a soap from decades ago?
Charlee-Mae gave her a solemn look. "And the greatest lesson it's taught me is that every grand romance needs a grand obstacle—-"
"What about a grand heartbreak?" Charlotte broke in. "Because another thing he told me was that he intends to keep seeing his sister-in-law-slash-mistress even while he's married."
"He only thinks that's what he wants right now," Charlee-Mae said breezily, "but I'll make sure to change his mind."
"He wants it in writing, Cha-Cha."
"I'll sign whatever he wants, it's fine. Things always work out best for me when I just follow my heart and let God take over—-"
Charlotte groaned. "Please stop making it sound like your crazy plans are God's plans."
"I'll stop," Charlee-Mae bargained, "if you promise to stop worrying."
"I can't help it," Charlotte grumbled, "since you're not worrying enough."
"It's going to be fine, Char. Really."
Charlotte was badly tempted to give the other woman a hard shake at this point. "I know I can't stop you from getting yourself a mail-order groom at this point, but are you at least absolutely sure it has to be him?"
"With all my heart."
"He'll want to know why you agreed to this type of arrangement," Charlotte warned.
"Then..." Inspiration struck, and Charlee-Mae's eyes sparkled with excitement. "You can tell him that in my line of work, being married to a man like him will be tremendously helpful. That should keep him from suspecting me of any ulterior motives," Charlee-Mae said impishly. "By the time he realizes I'm up to something, it will be too late, and I'd have stolen his heart for good."
Although Charlotte made a few more attempts to change her mind, Charlee-Mae was not to be dissuaded, and instead badgered the other woman to expedite the paperwork. In just five days, the final draft of her mail-order-marriage contract was approved, and another week after that, Charlee-Mae, with a lovely diamond ring on her finger, went on to board a plane as a newly-married woman.
The plan was for Charlee-Mae to meet her bridegroom at a luxurious resort-style theme park, but as soon as a limousine picked her up from Jackson Hole's airport, what Charlee-Mae met instead was a near-fatal accident.
Chapter Two
All of the nurses at Stanhope Medical Center's surgical department started nudging each other behind the counter as soon as the elevator doors opened, and out came a tall, dazzlingly handsome man with dark blond hair and jade-green eyes.
He had 'billionaire' written all over him, but at the same time, there was also something intensely sexual about the newcomer's presence. It was almost primitive even, and when the nurses thought about how such a man was now married to their beloved Cha-Cha...
Philippe masked his puzzlement as the nurses at the station followed his every move with unusual interest. While he was no stranger to attention, neither was he some world-famous athlete or celebrity. His name was only familiar to those who followed society gossip and business news, and since he strongly doubted the nurses here fell in either category, Philippe could only surmise that all of these stares had to do with one Charlee-Mae Carmichaels.
Who knew a former beauty queen with a YouTube channel could be this popular?
The nurses nearly swooned when the man finally came up to their counter in order to ask for the room number of his wife, and it was then they found out that Cha-Cha's impossibly gorgeous husband also happened to possess the sexiest French accent.
"Ms. Carmichaels—-I mean, Mrs. DeRose—-" Head Nurse Jennifer, who was usually teased for being schoolmarmish, was flustered to find herself stumbling over her words. "Your, um, wife, sir, is in Room 1408, the last door on the left."