I waited ten years for the right guy, then four come along at once.
I wasnât even looking for my Mr Right. I thought Iâd found him and he was just waiting for that perfect moment to pop the question. When the time came it was far from perfect The event left me a humiliated, broken-hearted mess.
Still, a person would have to be batshit crazy to do what Iâve done, or Iâm about to do.
Iâm Orange County bound with all my worldly possessions crammed into five suitcases and an agreement to marry one of four complete strangers.
I just donât know which one of the four men itâs going to be.
No need to panic.
I have a whole month to make my decision. Who would do such a thing? No sane woman thatâs for sure, but then with a name like Seraphim, I was never going to normal.
Hi, you can call me Finn.
âI canât, Hopeâ I shake my head and the heaviness in my heart, the sadness I feel is a fraction of the sorrow I have endured and she knows this. âI wasted ten years of my life with a man who had no intention of marrying me H, and he even took delight in humiliating me about that fact in front of all my friends. He made me feel utterly worthless and now…â I stutter and draw in a fortifying breath, âI have these men and one of them promised to marry me. I get to chooseâŚme, Iââ I clamp my mouth shut at my apocalyptic fuck-up.
âMen?â she snaps.
âMan, I meant man.â I wave my hand to dismiss my seemingly silly mistake,
âYou said men,â Hope corrects and then gasps. âFinn you didnât answer that advert?â Her hands fly to her mouth, eyes like saucers and we both suck in a shocked breath.
âIâŚIâŚââ I canât construct a sentence. She steps up to me and interrupts so I donât have to. I wish she didnât.
âThatâs who youâve been talking to so secretively these last three months every spare minute. Thatâs what all this gym shit youâve been dragging me to morning, noon, and night for the last three months has been all about. Itâs because you need to be fit enough to take on four guys?â She stares at me and her mouth is open so wide itâs comical, but Iâm not laughing. Iâm waiting for the scream, the howl of judgement to rain down on my slutty arse. I draw in a breath and brace.
âYes.â I tip my chin and time comes to a haltâŚand continues to halt I frown at my friend, the statue. Her wide emerald eyes are fixed and focused, though Iâm not sure on what. I wave my hand in from of her face but she doesnât flinch. Is it possible to be catatonic standing up?
âHope? Are you okay? Youâre kind of freaking me out.â I look around to see if anyone else is observing my friendâs weird behaviour, but no one is paying us any attention. Well, other than the parking officer who is scowling between Dolly and the No Waiting sign. âHope!â I hiss a little loud, and she blinks and gives a full body shudder, regaining her senses.
âFour guys?â she asks with a degree of aw in her tone.
I hesitate but answer.
âYes.â
âAt one time?â She arches a brow and her lips begin to curl into a wicked smirk.
âNot necessarily. We havenât actually gone over the logistics,â I reply, a little straight-laced given the topic, but weâre hardly in a secret-sharing environment.
âBut they wanted a twenty year old?â
Her incredulous face pisses me off and I place my hands on my hips and tip my chin, my tone is a little on the defensive side.
âWell, they got a mid-to-late twenty-year-old, that has worked her arse to knock the last several years off her clockâŚliterally.â I straighten my back and subtly tighten my tummy in lieu of drawing in an obvious slimming breath.
âOh babe, you do. You look smoking hot donât worry about that.â She pats my arms and flashes her best friend reassuring smile. âNo. You need to worry more about the fact that you donât have enough holes, because babe, thatâs something you canât fix at the gym.â She bites her lip to hold in her trademark filthy laugh, but I crack first and sheâs quick to follow. She throws back her head, full on belly aching, dirty laughter falling from her lips, eyes streaming, shaking her head. âOh my God, youâre going to be kept busy around the cock.â She doubles over at her own joke and waves me down because I think she has another. âTheyâre in the Forces right? Theyâre going to want everything to run like cockwork.â
âOkaaaay then, are we finished?â I pat her back as she attempts to regain her composure.
âSorry. So sorryâŚtoo tempting, but youâre right, you have a flight to catchâŚthe cock is ticking. No time to be dicking around now.â She snorts out another laugh.
âHope.â I sigh.
âLook, Finn. I still think youâre batshit insane, but if you have to go crazy at least youâll have lots of nuts to keep you company.â She pulls me in for a final hug, but I can see sheâs genuinely smiling, and her face is a little wet from her tears, but her expression doesnât hold any anxiousness or tension. Thereâs a little worry, but thatâs understandable. Maybe I shouldâve told her sooner. âI just want you to promise to do one thing for me.â She clears her throat and her tone is soft but serious.
âWhatâs that?â I ask and wait with bated breath for her to tell me what sheâll need from me to ease her mind, and if itâs anything within my power. She hesitates a moment before her shoulders start to shake.
âPicturesâŚI want lots of pictures.â She snickers some more.
âIâm gone. Iâll call you when I land.â I turn on my heel and start to push the half-tonne trolley away from my best, but annoying friend.
âWith pictures!â she calls after me.
âSure, with pictures.â I turn my back to the trolley, so Iâm facing her but pushing the beast up the ramp, away from the cars.
Dee Palmer hates talking about herself in the third person so I won’t. My husband had my iPod engraved one Christmas with ‘sing like no-one’s listening’ and I know my family actually wish they weren’t listening because I am, in fact, tone deaf but it doesn’t stop me and this gentle support has enabled me to fulfill a dream. This has been a truly brilliant experience. Amazon Best seller in Erotic Romance category and short listed for Erotic Author Guild Best Breakthrough Author and Best Series for The Choices Trilogy in 2015..it’s been a pretty fantastic first year!