A proxy wedding, p.1
A Proxy Wedding, page 1
A Proxy Wedding
Toni Shiloh
Published by Toni Shiloh, 2019.
Copyright © 2017 by Toni Shiloh.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or other—for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Toni Shiloh.
Cover art photos © Shutterstock.com/mnowicki used by permission.
Published in the United States of America by Toni Shiloh.
www.ToniShiloh.com
A Proxy Wedding is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
More Books by Toni Shiloh
Dedication
To the Author and Finisher of my faith.
Chapter One
“You want me to do what?”
Carly James couldn’t believe her ears. She checked her cellphone to ensure it wasn’t a prank call. A quick glance around her apartment told her Ashton Kutcher wouldn’t be jumping out to inform her she’d been pranked. Plus, the military phone number on the caller ID assured her it was her best friend, Brenda, calling.
“I want you to stand in for me at my wedding. You’ll be my proxy bride.”
“I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“It’s real simple. You say the vows as me and voilà, I’m married.”
Carly plopped down onto her oversized living room chair. Her head felt like she just jumped off a swing. “Why can’t you wait and plan a wedding like normal brides, Bren?”
“Because we both have orders that will only widen our separation. I’m headed to Alaska once this deployment’s done and Adam has orders to Japan.”
She bit her lip. That was a pretty far gap. Brenda had met Adam on a work trip to Las Vegas six months ago. Despite the fact they were only around each other for one month, the two had quickly bonded and started a relationship. Now, they wanted to marry.
Carly shook her head at the fastness of it all. “So if I stand in for you,” she started cautiously. “The marriage will be legal and you can get your orders changed?”
“Exactly.”
Seems harmless enough. “Then only the bride has to have a proxy?”
Silence spanned the airwaves.
“Bren, are you still there?”
“Yes, I am. I, uh...the answer is no.”
“No?” Incredulity filled her voice. “What does that mean?” Carly’s insides twisted as her mind ran through dozens of scenarios, waiting for Brenda to respond.
“It means Adam should be having this same conversation with his best friend. We want both of you to stand in for us.”
Carly groaned. This had trouble written all over it. Lord, why me?
“And I might as well tell you, it needs to happen in Montana.”
And it just got worse. “What? Are you insane?”
“Carls,” Brenda whined, using her nickname. “Montana is the only state that does a double proxy wedding. We could have hired a service to take care of all the necessary paperwork, but that just seems so impersonal. We want it to be special even if we won’t be together when it happens.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. This was not happening. Had she rolled out of bed only to land in some alternate universe?
“Carls, please do this for me.”
“You want me to travel to Montana, and exchange vows with a man I’ve never met, just so you can get a marriage certificate and change your orders? Is that what you’re telling me?” Crazy. Her best friend was officially crazy.
“Yes, please. Adam and I want to be together. We’re in love, Carls. Surely you understand?”
At the pleading tone of Brenda’s voice, her heart softened. She really couldn’t say no to Brenda. She was her first and probably last best friend. A girl should be willing to do anything for her best friend. Shouldn’t she?
She searched her heart. Her mind. “All right, I’ll do it.”
“Yes!” Brenda squealed. “Thank you so much.”
As Brenda gave her all the necessary details, Carly determined to be the best proxy bride she could be. Her friend deserved that much.
DAMIEN NICHOLS RUBBED a hand across his stubble. Lack of sleep must have addled his brain. “I don’t believe I heard you correctly.” His words were measured and precise.
“No, you heard me correctly,” Adam said. “Brenda and I need to get married quickly so that we stand a chance of getting our orders changed to the same place.”
“But a double proxy wedding? This isn’t the wild wild west, Adam. We’re in the twenty-first century, man.”
Adam chuckled. “Believe me I’m aware of that. I know it’s inconvenient.”
“You think?” Damien left off the Captain Obvious comment rolling around his brain.
“But,” Adam pressed on, “Brenda and I want it to be special. We want pictures, a recording. We want it to feel like we’re actually getting married.”
Damien sighed, propping his sock-clad feet on his coffee table. Adam was like a brother to him. Growing up, he stayed at Adam’s house more than his own. Normally, he’d agree to anything his best friend suggested, but this idea made his gut clench and his mouth water with unease.
“I’m not sure, Adam. You want us to fly out to Montana just to exchange vows? Who has that kind of money?” He was pretty good money wise, but that was beside the point.
“First, we’ll pay. There’s a perk to being deployed and getting shot at. We get extra money, which we’ve been putting aside. Second, you won’t be flying.” The latter was said hesitantly as if his friend ducked in preparation for Damien’s response.
“What do you mean we won’t be flying?” He sat up, annoyance filling his being.
“Brenda’s friend is petrified of flying. She only travels by car.”
A groan fell from his lips. “This keeps getting better and better.”
“Come on, Damien. This will take at the most...a week of your time. You’ll drive there, exchange vows, file the paperwork, and then go back home.”
“Where does she live?”
“San Francisco. Can you believe it? You’re neighbors.”
His mouth dropped open in surprise. “You’re telling me Brenda’s best friend lives here, too?” What were the odds?
“Yeah,” his friend chuckled. “I couldn’t believe it either. I would go so far as to say it was God ordained.”
He smirked. Adam loved to throw God in the equation. “Whatever.”
“One day you’ll stop denying His power.”
It’s not like he was denying God per se. More like, he had no evidence God was as great as everyone claimed. “When do I have to give you an answer?”
“Before I get off this phone and I have five minutes left.”
Great. “I can’t make a decision that fast.” Why did the military insist on limiting phone conversations? He shook his head inwardly. Every deployed member would be clamoring for the phones, of course they had to limit it. He just didn’t like it.
“I would do it for you.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. Adam would. He was the best man Damien knew. One of the few people who had made it past the barrier he purposely put up. “Fine, man. I’ll do it for you.”
“Thank you so much. I owe you.”
“You know it.”
“Grab a pen and paper. I’ll give you Brenda’s best friend’s information. Her name is Carly. You ready for her number?”
He gave his assent and jotted her information down on the notepad that had been ready and waiting on the coffee table.
“Brenda’s going to give her all the necessary details for the wedding. Thanks, man.”
“I just hope I won’t regret it.”
Damien hung up and stared at the wall. A week with a stranger and a fake wedding? Could life get more bizarre?
Chapter Two
Carly opened the door to the cafe. The scent of coffee filled her senses, jolting her body as if she actually drank a cup, which she would as soon as she verified Adam’s friend wasn’t already here. She scanned the premises looking for a man in a suit. Brenda assured her that alone would identify him. Considering it was Saturday and most people had on casual clothes, her girl could be right.
Okay, no suits here.
She shrugged and took a place in line to order the tallest cup of coffee she could buy. Eight o’clock was way too early to be meeting someone on a Saturday. After teaching high school art classes all week, she just wanted to be lazy a nd snuggle under her covers. Instead, Damien insisted they meet bright and early to iron out the details of the trip.
Planners.
Although she had to admit, his voice captivated her interest over the phone. The deepness surprised her, reminding her of a late-night radio DJ. Maybe it wouldn’t sound so smooth in person.
“Carly?”
A rich tenor spoke her name from behind. She turned around and met the gaze of a very handsome man...wearing a suit.
“Damien?” Her eyes widened as she took in his appearance. Hello, heartbreak.
His close-cropped hair had been edged to perfection, but it was his mustache that drew her attention. Mostly to the firm lips curved up in a hesitant smile. Her gaze shot up, meeting his warm brown eyes that practically matched his skin color. I have to spend a week with him?
She didn’t know whether to cheer or steer clear. A man this good-looking spelled trouble.
He grinned, “Nice to meet you.” He stuck out a hand.
“Likewise.” I think. Her hand tingled as his closed over hers. Uh oh. She was in serious trouble. Chemistry at first meet wasn’t a good sign for her heart.
“Next.”
She snapped around as the barista called her up. “Skinny latte extra tall, please.”
The barista smirked. “And you, sir?”
“Oh, we’re not together,” Carly stammered out.
Damien leaned close, his cologne filling her senses. “Tall dark roast.” He placed a hand on her back. “My treat.”
Carly nodded, too stunned to do otherwise. She was losing her grip fast. What was it about this man that reeled her senses? So what if he had the looks? He seemed a bit stuffy for her taste. Who wore a suit on a Saturday?
After grabbing their drinks, Damien led the way to a corner table situated against the floor-length windows. The California sky shone with all its foggy glory. There was no hint that it was spring other than the few blooming trees outside the window. She turned to the man across from her.
Damien sat back against the heightened barstool chair. “Can I be the first to say it?”
“Say what?” she asked, eyebrows raised.
“Are they crazy or what?”
Laughter bubbled within her. “Thank goodness I’m not the only one thinking that. Who gets married so fast?”
“That’s what I asked.” He shook his head in amazement. “I guess we’re the crazy ones for going through this scheme.”
“That’s what best friends are for, right?”
“Apparently.” He shook his head and put his hands on the table. “I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“What’s with the no-fly rule?”
The bottom of her stomach dropped. Flying was such a no-no. How can she just bare her fears to a perfect stranger? She licked her lips, searching for a way to respond.
DAMIEN WATCHED THE range of emotions cross Carly’s face. She had a charming appeal. Her hair barely touched her shoulders, her hair was so curly. It seemed to heighten her femininity and emphasized her rounded chin. But her ebony eyes were what hypnotized him. They glistened like ink pools in her latte colored skin. When she laughed, her whole body seemed to join the experience. That was until he mentioned flying.
She worried her pink bottom lip in between her teeth. Curiosity sparked him. What happened to make her think flying was unsafe? Statistics proved it to be the safest mode of transportation.
“Let’s just say I had an incident that made me prefer good ol’ terra firma.”
Her voice had a husky quality that sent shivers of awareness up his spine. He blinked. Time to remember where he was and whom he was with. A random stranger he knew nothing about.
Not true, Adam vouched for her. Which was only because his fiancée did. What did Adam even know about her?
“What do you do for a living, Damien?”
He refocused. “Stockbroker.”
She nodded. “Is that why you’re wearing a suit? On a Saturday?” She gestured to his clothes with a hint of laughter glinting in her eyes.
“I don’t take vacations.”
Her eyes darkened with concern. She had such an expressive face. It amazed him.
“How is this road trip going to work then?”
Focus. “I have plenty of leave saved up. If I can make sure my work it covered, there should be no problems at work. Do you think the second week of April will work for the trip?”
“That’s perfect. I have Spring Break that week.”
“You’re in school?” Just how old was she? Suddenly he felt like a voyeur. It’s not that he was derelict at thirty-two, but he didn’t want to date a college student. Does that mean you want to date?
He shook the thoughts from his brain.
“I’m a teacher.”
“I did not see that coming. You don’t look...” he trailed off, realizing his words could come across as rude.
Carly threw her head back and let out a laugh. “I get that all the time. I’m an art teacher.”
He grinned. “I can see that.” She had a free spirit about her that intrigued him but also had his caution flag rearing in his head. She was so not his type.
“So a stockbroker and an art teacher go to Montana for their friends. Whose car will they take? What time should we leave? Come on,” she shook his forearm, her touch warming his skin. “You seem like a planner. What’s the plan?”
He withdrew his arm to pull out a small notepad from his jacket pocket. “We can plan right now.”
“Fabulous.” She beamed at him.
Yeah, he was probably going to regret this trip. Her exuberant personality might clash with his quieter one on the road.
Is that really what you’re afraid of? Because for the first time in a long time, a single woman had captured his interest.
Chapter Three
“Thank God you have the heat on.” Carly turned the car vents toward her before buckling her seatbelt.
San Francisco was cold in the morning, but it had nothing on the weather waiting for them in Kalispell, Montana. Kalispell’s high was Frisco’s current low. She shuddered thinking about the upcoming frigid temps. Brenda better appreciate the trouble we’re going through.
“I don’t like to freeze.” Damien’s low timbre added to the goosebumps already taking up residence on her arms.
She pulled out her chenille throw from her tote. “Which is why I brought this. I figured you’d have it freezing in here. You know what they say about men being hot-blooded.”
Her face flamed as her words echoed back in her head. That’s not what I meant! She peeked at Damien to see if he would laugh. Instead, he held out a cup of coffee for her.
“Skinny latte, although I didn’t get it extra tall.”
“Oh my goodness. Thank you so much.” His kindness unnerved her but not enough to stop her from taking that first sip. Ahh.
“You’re welcome. You ready?”
Just how was she supposed to keep her wits about her in the face of Damien’s thoughtfulness? At her nod, he pulled away from the curb in front of her home.
“Bye, house!” she called out.
A chuckle fell from Damien’s lips. “You’re saying good-bye to your house?”
“Of course. I won’t see it until...” she looked at him. “When do you have us getting back?” He had been so detailed in their plans; she hadn’t bothered committing anything to memory. Nothing would dare go wrong on his watch.
“Tuesday. Remember as soon as we say the vows, we’re hopping back into the car and coming home.”
“Right.”
They were supposed to arrive in Montana tomorrow evening. Too bad she would miss church service. It always started her week off right. She’d have to pull up an older sermon on her laptop or something...assuming the hotel got Wi-Fi. She snuggled deeper under the blanket.
“You can go to sleep if you want. I’m good for a few hours.”
“Thanks,” she smiled, studying his profile. “I bet you get up early all the time.”
“Don’t you? Being a teacher and all.”
Carly shook her head, her curls brushing her face. “My first class isn’t until ten in the morning. I get to school at a quarter ‘til. I don’t roll out of bed until nine. I like every drop of sleep I can get.”
