“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Gary asks as he stands up. “This is a private matter. You shouldn’t be sticking your nose in it.”
“You made it my business when I heard you refuse the lady’s request for you to release her hand. Do you not see how distressed you’re making her?”
“That’s part of the fun.”
The big man grumbles. “I think you need to leave, buddy. I’m not far from throwing you through the window and forcing you to do so.”
He’s built enough that I’m sure he can make good on his threats, to be totally honest. And the intensity in his eyes lets me know that he’s perfectly willing to do it.
Gary knows when to cut and run, thankfully.
“Fucking cunt,” he seethes. “Just like the rest of them. I was a fool for thinking any woman could be better than the rest.”
He stands up, scornfully looks at me, and then at the stranger. There’s a bit of fear in his eyes, and that makes me smile. He then, thankfully, departs the coffee shop.
The stranger sits down in his place. “That was quite the thing I just witnessed. Are you okay, miss?”
“I’m fine, thank you. I half-expected something like this to happen.”
“Can I get you a drink? My treat. Anything off the menu.”
I laugh. “I’d love that.”
After a short jaunt over to the counter, we return to the table. He got a brewed coffee with a healthy dose of sugar, and I got basically a caffeine-infused milkshake. I could use something to remind me of the sweeter things in life after all that.
“So what happened there?” he asks as he sips his coffee. “A date gone wrong?”
“That was our first meeting. I answered his ad in the paper I work for, and it all fell apart pretty fast.”
“You said you expected this? Why?”
“The ad was about how he wanted a wife and he was sick of playing games.”
The stranger laughs. “You go looking for a husband in a place like that and I guess you can’t be surprised when you get the scum of the earth.”
“When you’re as desperate as I am, you’re willing to take the chance that your instincts might be wrong.”
He sighs. “What’s your name? I should have been more polite and asked for that first.”
“Olivia,” I say, smiling back at him. I like what I’m seeing of this guy. He’s handsome and charming, but something tells me I’ll scare him away now that I’ve stated my intentions. It’s a shame, because if I was still wasting time dating around, he’s the exact kind of guy I’d want a short-term relationship with at the very least.
“Cameron Smith,” he shoots back with a smile.
“Another Smith, huh?”
“Yes, I’m aware it’s painfully common. But I’ve gone with it for three decades now and I don’t see any reason to change it now.”
“Nothing wrong with that. I have an ex with that name, but who doesn’t?”
“Must be a thousand Smiths in Linesworth alone.”
“And none of them are even doing any smithing anymore. Their ancestors must be devastated.”
Cameron chuckles. “Names are dumb. But you said you were desperate earlier. What’s the trouble, Olivia?”
I snort and shake my head. Time to run him off. “I’m trying to get married and settle down as soon as I can.”
Instead of running him off, he leans in. “Interesting. Any reason why? Some sort of inheritance requirement, perhaps? Grandfather needs you to be married so you can inherit his vast fortune?”
“No, no, nothing sensible like that. Just a self-imposed deadline to stop being single and get on to the next stage of my life.”
He nods along. “I can understand that.”
“I’m ready to settle down. Find the right guy. Marry him. Put down some roots and start a family. The whole nine yards, the happily ever after, what every little girl dreams of at least once.”
I’m ready for him to clear his throat and take off. A guy like him has plenty of time to play the field. He’ll still be able to attract hot young things even as he ages into a silver fox.
“Would you believe that I’m after the same thing?”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You’re trying to find the right guy to marry?”
He chuckles. “No, no. I mean that I’m looking for the right person, in this case a lovely woman, to settle down and start a family with.”
“Is... is this your sort of pick-up line?” To say I’m in disbelief is an understatement. There’s no way I could have encountered a guy with the same goal as me just like that.
“Hardly. Most girls don’t want to rush to the finish line like that, and I completely understand why. But that’s what I’m after. I’ve played the field long enough. I’ve had my flings, my one-night stands. I’m ready for the next stage of my life too. If you’re after the same thing, I don’t think I need to explain it to you, Olivia.”
“I’m just in a bit of awe at the stars aligning like this. What are the odds that we both want the same thing, and we’re sitting across from one another, openly talking about it and agreeing?”
“I’m seeing an obvious solution to both our problems, yes.” He offers his hand.
I place mine in his. It’s gentle, it’s sweet, and there’s definitely electricity sparking between us.
“I want a woman who will be as loyal to me as I am to her. Who makes me remember that I’m working for more than just myself. Who wants to build a future with me, and give me something to look forward to when I come home.”
“That’s all you want, huh? You don’t want more than that?”
“Oh, I want more than that. I just don’t think expressing those things to a girl I just met is proper. At least until she makes it clear she wants to hear that end of it too.”
We share a laugh. “Believe me, that the third line out of your mouth wasn’t about fucking my ass and making me your pregnant butt slut goes really, really far.”
He tilts his head playfully. “Do you not want to be a pregnant butt slut?”
“We’ll see where it goes, big boy.”
Just by touching his hand, I feel goosebumps forming all over me.
This man is really something special.
He’s too good to be true, but hey, I’m going to enjoy this ride for as long as it continues.
4
CAMERON
“I can see this going to beautiful, beautiful places.”
She flutters her eyelashes at the sound of my voice.
Goddamn, this is one hell of a woman. I have to say I’m definitely smitten with her. The way her dark brown hair sways as she talks, the sound of her laugh. She’s fucking hotter than hell, and she wears that hotness so casually. If she’s stooping to answering weird ads in order to get married though, she’s either crazy or absolutely means every single word she’s said.
So far? It’s definitely looking like the latter. I haven’t seen anything to suggest crazy just yet. Well, the bad kind of crazy, anyway. I see indications that she's definitely on board with the good kind of crazy.