The Country Bride: Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book 4 Read online

  “Oh.” Cody was caught off guard by the longing in Addison’s voice. Three successful car dealerships, one tractor dealership, one horse trailer dealership, and enough money to travel around the world multiple times, and he couldn’t give his daughter the one thing she ached for.

  He was beginning to wonder whether it was Ava who put the idea in Addison’s head, or if Addison had encouraged the nanny. No matter whose idea it was, they were better off without the abominable Ava. The icy look in her eyes was something he never wanted to see in a wife.

  Maybe if Addison understood more about how moms came about, she’d be less inclined to pine for one. “In order for you to get a new mom, she’d have to be my wife. We’d be married.”

  Addison brightened. “That’s good—you need a mommy, too.” She scrunched her nose. “Can you hire a bride?”

  According to Gabe, you can. Cody didn’t want to even tiptoe near that option. A professional bride seemed farfetched for the modern age. People went online or to speed dating events; they didn’t hire a bride. That was crazy. “Addison, I’m happy with us. We make a good team.”

  “Two isn’t a team, Daddy. A mommy would make us a team.”

  He kissed her head once again, knowing full well she wasn’t going to let this one go. Maybe he should at least inquire about BMB. Finding a nanny could take weeks, and he could already sense the work piling up as he sat here trying to talk his daughter out of wanting a mom. He wondered how long it took to hire a bride. “I have to get some work done. Are you ready to go on the slide?”

  “Sure.” Addison hopped off the bench and ran across the woodchips.

  Cody pulled his laptop out of the bag and opened it up. He sent an email to Gabe first thing, asking for the number to BMB since he’d thrown away the card Gabe left behind. Then, he went into his inbox to address the urgent needs of his managers.

  He made several phone calls and was in the middle of creating a spreadsheet to track demographics on those who had bought horse trailers from his dealership in the last six months when Gabe’s email came through. Cody hit save on the spreadsheet and dialed the number quickly, as if it were just one more item on his to-do list for the day.

  “BMB, this is Tina speaking. How may I direct your call?”

  Cody froze. How did one go about asking for a wife?

  “Hello?” Tina prompted.

  “Um.” Cody cleared his throat. “Hi. My name is Cody Walker and I was given this number by Gabe Russell. Um … I’d like to make an appointment?”

  If Tina was put off by his hesitancy, she didn’t show it. “Of course. Harrison has an opening this afternoon at two.”

  Cody scrambled to find a pen. “Where are you located?”

  Tina gave him the address. The company was located closer to L.A.

  “I’m about an hour north,” he said with relief. Distance and travel were as good an excuse as any to put off meeting with a marriage broker. Maybe he should set something up for next week, give himself time to get used to the idea.

  A woman walked by on her way to the swings, holding her little girl’s hand. She looked down at the child with love so thick Cody could have reached out and grabbed some. Addison might never experience that with her mom, but he could at least provide a shadow of it for her. “I’ll be there.”

  “Wonderful! We’ll see you then.”

  Cody said goodbye and hung up. He ran his hand through his hair, wondering if he was making the right decision or not. Finding Gabe’s number in his phone, Cody hit the call button.

  It wasn’t Gabe who answered; it was MaKayla. “Hi, Cody. Gabe’s in a meeting with his development team.”

  Cody scratched at his chin. He might as well talk to her. “I have an appointment with BMB this afternoon,” he blurted.

  There was a quiet gasp. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

  “Not yet. I’m just gathering information.”

  “Is there anything I can help you with?”

  “Tell me I’m not crazy for considering this.” He dropped his chin to his chest.

  MaKayla laughed. “Everyone has their reasons, but none of them are insanity. When Gabe signed up, he was looking for someone he could trust to oversee his charities until he could retire from his company and do it himself.”

  Maybe it would be good to get a woman’s perspective on this, see what he was getting himself into. “Why did you sign up?” Once the words were out, Gabe realized how personal the question was. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I wanted to start my own business and needed the time and money that a BMB arrangement provided.”

  “So there was something in it for you?”

  “It’s part of Pamela’s strategy to match up two people who have what the other needs or wants. In our case, I had the experience and knowledge to run things for Gabe, and Gabe had the time and money to pay me to do it. I know it sounds cold, but it’s really a professional endeavor.”

  Cold and professional with him were fine as long as the woman was warm and caring with Addison. “You’re actually selling me on this.”

  “I do work in marketing,” quipped MaKayla.

  They shared a laugh, and the line grew quiet again.

  “What’s holding you back?” asked MaKayla.

  Cody kicked at the grass. He wouldn’t admit this to just anyone, but MaKayla, having been through the whole BMB thing before, would have the answers he was looking for. “I’d like to say that Ava was the first nanny to think there would be more between us, but she wasn’t. I still love Kylee and I’m not ready to date, let alone have a relationship or a marriage that includes intimacy.”

  MaKayla’s voice got softer. “BMB marriages are platonic. Husbands and wives are not expected to share a bedroom or a bed. If you decide to sign up, they’ll walk you through all that in the prenuptial agreement.”

  Cody relaxed his shoulders. No wedding night. No expectations for love and tenderness with a woman he didn’t know nor care about. “It sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?”

  MaKayla giggled. “I guess the catch would be if you fell in love.”

  Cody closed his computer and stowed it in the bag, which he slung over his shoulder. “Then I guess there is no catch.” He pulled the phone away from his ear so he could check the time. Cody needed to stop in at the Dodge dealership and get him and Addison some lunch before leaving for BMB. “I better get going. I have a meeting to get to.”

  “I’d wish you luck, but with Pamela Jones on your side, you won’t need it.”

  Cody wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t have time to ask. “Thanks. I’ll see you later.” They hung up and he called to Addison. “We have to get going.”

  She took the slide down and ran over. Cody wished he could muster up that much energy for anything in life. Addison was so good for him. During his darkest times, her smile could bring the sunshine into his day.

  He prayed that whatever happened at the BMB office, he’d be able to make the right decision for both of them.

  Chapter 5

  Paige checked her lipstick in the elevator mirror. She rarely went so far as to apply more than mascara and a touch of eye shadow— the horses and kids at camp didn’t care if she wore blush. However, for a job interview, Paige was willing to make the extra effort. She’d also shined her best pair of boots and put on an ankle-length tiered skirt of black eyelet. She finished the look with a red shirt and a wide leather belt that accentuated her waistline.

  The elevator doors slid open to reveal a reception desk and the BMB logo. At least I have the right place. Stepping forward, Paige approached the rib-high desk and the perky redhead on the phone.

  “Of course. Harrison has an opening this afternoon at two.” Tina smiled and mouthed I’ll be right with you to Paige.

  Paige nodded and took a step back to give her space to finish the call.

  “Wonderful. We’ll see you then.” Tina typed for just a second and then
stood to greet Paige. “Miss Baker?”

  “Yes.” Paige smiled.

  Tina’s professional smile widened into a full-on welcome-girlfriend grin. “I love your hair. Where do you get that color?” Her hand went up to her own pale strawberry locks.

  Paige shrugged. “My mom gave it to me.”

  “Lucky!” Tina dropped her hand. “Let’s take you back to Harrison’s office and he’ll get your paperwork started.”

  Paige’s feet wouldn’t move. It was like Tina’s words had glued her boots to the carpet. “Paperwork?”

  Tina lifted one thin shoulder. “Pamela is aware of your appointment today and asked that I expedite you through the hiring process.” She gave another one of her conspiratorial girlfriend grins. “Come on. You’ve got a busy week ahead of you.”

  Paige brushed her fingers down her skirt, thankful that she’d taken the front row at the auction and somehow made a good impression on the boss.

  Tina showed her into the office and then dashed off to answer the phone.

  “You’re the suit,” Paige blurted as she took Harrison’s outstretched hand.

  “I’m the what?” Harrison leaned forward, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.

  Paige realized how rude she’d sounded. “At the horse auction … you were the guy—well, one of the guys—bidding against me for Annie May.”

  “Ah, that didn’t turn out too well for me, now, did it?” Harrison’s eyes crinkled at the corners.

  Paige smiled to herself. While Harrison was attractive, he didn’t make her insides melt like her dream guy. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to rub salt in the wound.”

  Harrison motioned for her to take a seat. “No wounds. Pamela has been trying to rope me into the horse market for years. I was actually relieved I didn’t have to figure out where to keep her. I hope Annie May is treating you well.”

  Paige sat down. “She’s flawless. I don’t know how I’m ever going to let her go.”

  Settling in across from her, Harrison asked, “Why would you sell her?”

  Paige sighed. “My goal is to train her to run barrels and poles like her mother, and then sell her as a PRCA-level horse.”

  Harrison leaned forward and placed his forearms on the desk. “Can you do that?”

  Paige nodded. “I believe I can. I’ve been training horses my whole life. Annie May will be my first horse to go to that level of competition, but we’re both dedicated, so I expect it will all work out.”

  “Sounds like she ended up in the right place.”

  Paige thought so too, but she didn’t want to seem prideful, so she merely smiled.

  Harrison returned her smile before opening a folder. “The first step in working for BMB is the confidentiality agreement …”

  For the next forty-five minutes, Paige signed and initialed everywhere Harrison pointed. By the time they were done, she thought her signature looked more like a sixth grader’s than a grown woman’s.

  “Normally I’d send you to meet with a few others, but Pamela asked to speak to you as soon as we were done here. She’d like to explain the nature of your position and get your input on a few details.” He tapped the papers on the desk and slid them into the folder.

  Paige looked at the clock on the wall. With the hour-long drive to get here, she was already pushing a late lunch into afternoon-off territory. Deciding that seeing to her future job took priority over keeping her old one, Paige rose to follow Harrison out the door and to the office at the end of the hallway, where he tapped on the frame before entering.

  Pamela, now in a cream-colored business suit instead of designer jeans and boots, stood to welcome Paige into her office. “I’m so glad you decided to join us.” She gave Paige a one-armed hug. “Harrison, I’ve sent you information for your two o’clock; will you add it to the file?”

  “I will.” Harrison nodded to Paige. “It was nice to meet you, Miss Baker.”

  “You too.” The more people she met at BMB, the more she felt like it was one of the few offices she could stand. On her way in, she’d noticed a plaza with several benches. If she could escape outside for lunch or a break every now and again, she might not shrivel up in the artificial lighting.

  Pamela showed Paige to one of the two chairs in front of her desk and took the other, angling her body toward Paige. “I’d like to tell you a bit about what we do here, and then you’re free to ask questions. All right?”

  Paige nodded.

  “Are you aware of how a matchmaker works?”

  Paige lowered her eyebrows. “In theory. I’m a little hazy on the details.”

  “Billionaire Marriage Brokers is a matchmaking service of sorts. We focus on connecting two people with specific needs. Let’s say there was a doctor who had been so absorbed in his work that he hadn’t taken time to build himself a life. He lived in a dumpy apartment, when he went home at all; didn’t have any friends; and had isolated himself from the world. However, because of this behavior, his work suffered. He didn’t have any sort of balance. What he does have is money to pay someone to help him.”

  “Okay.” Paige followed, but she wasn’t sure where they were headed, and she felt a bit like a horse with blinders on.

  “Now, suppose there was a woman who was a life coach. Her job was to teach individuals how to make healthy decisions that will affect their career and improve their life.”

  “Okay.”

  “We put those two people together for a limited time, knowing that they can improve one another’s lives and careers.”

  Paige felt a light go on in her head. “Put them together as in marry them.”

  “Yes.” Pamela stated.

  “For a limited time?”

  “A year is our standard contract,” replied Pamela.

  “So they get married knowing they’re getting a divorce?” It sounded so strange to Paige. In her house, when you took vows, they were the forever kind of vows, in a church, before God. No one she knew—not her old girlfriends, not her older brother, and certainly not her parents—had ever gotten married knowing they were headed for divorce. Most married people she knew did everything they could to avoid it.

  Although, the concept of a contractual marriage intrigued her. There were people who actually did this, and it didn’t sound too bad as long as there were clear rules up front. Paige flexed her cramped hand. After all the papers she’d just signed, she was pretty sure BMB had the rules written, signed, initialed, and fingerprinted before a marriage took place.

  “While we call them marriages and they are legally binding, our clients consider them a professional contract with a goal.”

  Paige pressed her fingers to her forehead, hoping she wasn’t going to offend Pamela with her next question. “Is this legal?”

  Pamela laughed. “I assure you, it is legal and moral. Matchmaking goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, my dear.”

  Paige lifted her eyebrows. “Yes, matchmaking has been around for centuries. I’m not concerned about that.”

  “Then what does concern you?”

  Paige bit her cheek.

  Pamela’s laugh tinkled like fine china. “Be honest with me.”

  Paige smiled, thinking of her honesty at the auction. Pamela had taken it well then, and Paige hoped she would take it well now. “It’s the idea of a divorce deadline. It seems so … pessimistic.”

  Pamela smiled kindly. “I can see that perspective. In fact, you’re not the first bride to be concerned over the arrangement.”

  “Then why the deadline?”

  “A business marriage is quite different from a love match. Though they are similar in many ways. The marriage you aspire to—and believe me, it’s one we all aspire to—has goals. Goals that stretch across a lifetime—a home, a family, grandchildren. They are accomplishments that don’t have an end date. That is why those marriages are treated with care and nurtured, so they can sustain the pressures and last until death.

  “A BMB marriage focuses on one or two specific goals
that can be accomplished within a certain time period, hence the usual deadline of a year. After that, both parties are released so they may look for and hopefully find a love match. We’ve had several brides and grooms who, because of their BMB marriage, have become the man or woman they needed to become in order to make the commitment to a lifelong spouse.”

  Paige could understand the logic, at least a little. “So it’s like training a horse.”

  Pamela nodded thoughtfully. “In a way. Take you and Annie May, for example. If Annie May had been bought by someone who didn’t know how to train her, her value wouldn’t increase. Likewise, if you’d bought a horse with unsound feet, your experience wouldn’t make a difference. But by putting the right horse with the right trainer—”

  “Everyone benefits.”

  “Exactly. That’s what we strive for—and accomplish—at BMB.”

  “So what would I be doing?”

  Pamela chuckled. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

  “I thought you liked it when I was direct.” Paige leaned back in her chair.

  “Touché.” Pamela set her elbow on the armrest. “And I’ll do the same for you. I’d like you to be a bride.”

  Paige grabbed onto the armrests as the world tipped on its side.

  “Honey, are you all right?” Pamela’s hand was on her arm.

  “A bride?” Paige gasped.

  “Oh, dear. Do you need some water?” Pamela leaned forward and pressed a button on her desk phone. “Tina, can you bring Miss Baker some water, please?”

  “I’ll be right in.”

  Paige counted to five before Tina burst into the room with a cold bottle of water.

  “Here you go. Drink this.” She leaned over and patted Paige’s shoulder. She turned to Pamela. “She looks pale.”

  Pamela bit her lip, considering Paige. Paige didn’t like the looks flying back and forth between Pamela and Tina, like they weren’t sure she was up to whatever cockamamie job they’d thought she’d take.

  “I’m fine,” snapped Paige. These people were crazy. She took a swig of water to moisten her dry throat. “Give me one good reason not to walk out of here right now.”