Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 57(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 86(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 57(@300wpm)
My sisters are my best friends. My confidantes and the only things I know I can't live without. This is why when they decide they want to leave the only home we have ever known, causing us to be shunned by our community and family, I go along with it. There is no way I would survive without them. Hell, I am not sure who I am without them. I am the quiet one. The timid one. The unadventurous one. I am starting to question my decision when he comes and swoops in like a knight in shining armor and once I am in his arms, there is no place I would rather be. Jude is the most gorgeous man I have ever seen and thanks to him, I feel things and want things. But how do I tell him?
Jude
I was born into wealth and taught to trust no one and in friendship or love. So I don't. Well, except for the people in this town. The Mayor who also happens to be one of my best friends, asks if I and four other guys would consent to mail-order brides in order to bring the town back to life, I shrug and say what the hell? I can marry some woman in name only and adopt a few orphans. hell. I can even put them in another house across town. That was the plan until Hannah walked into my life. Suddenly, I am wanting things I never did and vowing to be the one to give her kids. Me and my raging hard-on. She is simply beautiful and she doesn't know it. Her quiet innocence is such a turn-on, I am afraid to touch her. But that lasts only a second. I am going to put my ring on her finger and a baby in her belly the old-fashioned way. Even if I have to keep my mouse in a cage so she won't run. Bridal season is upon us and M.K. Moore and I are bringing you all the weddings and babies we can fit into the month. So, grab a fan, your man, and something cool. It's about to get hot!!!
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
Jude
Almost Three Months Ago
“I can’t speak for the rest of them, but I am weary of any woman. My family has a lot to lose.” I am sitting in our town hall talking to my friends and fellow townies about how to save this town. I just never thought the solution would be this. Do they even do mail order brides anymore?
My mother grew up here, the great granddaughter and granddaughter and daughter of bankers. They opened their first bank here in our small town and grew over the decades until it is now the federal bank used for the U.S. depository.
As the only child and heir, I chose to stay here and expand the bank in town. I know I could have lived anywhere and sometimes; I fly to parts unknown for a vacation and a getaway, but this is home. My parents left Hollow’s Hollow years ago, choosing to join the civilized world as my father’s family called it. They live in Martha’s Vineyard, with no cares in the world. I never wanted to live anywhere else but here.
However, I am also not a fool. I haven’t dated in years; aware of the draw that my wealth has to women. I refuse to be tricked, played or blind. “A prenup could be prepared by your lawyers. I would make sure she knows in advance.” We all look at one another, resignation on most of our faces. We all know Lloyd. If he is asking us right now, I would almost bet he has already placed the ad. We all nod and groan at the same time. “Excellent. So glad you all agreed. It would have been a bit awkward seeing as how I had already placed the ad.” See! I knew it.
Geeb, the resident reporter and newspaper owner, states his objections. I and no one else in this room is shocked by his outburst, He has another set of issues that is mostly in his head, but I also know it is from years of being bullied and played in school.
Once the meeting is over, I grab my keys and jump into my truck. The engine roars to life, loud and smoky and like always it brings a smile to my face. This old Ford truck was my grandfathers. He would spend hours fixing this thing, refusing to buy a new car. My grandmother called him cheap, with a fond smirk on her face.
I pull up to the gates of my house and put my eye to the retina scanner. The gates open and I breathe a sigh of relief. This is my safe space. This is the one place I get to be myself, with no expectations, no eyes on me and no one asking anything of me. I don’t bring work home, ever. This is where I come to relax, decompress and let go of everything else. The thought of some stranger invading my sacred space sends levels of anxiety through me.
I walk through the door and immediately, Hulk and Sol, my two pit bulls run toward, knocking me down and drowning me in their doggy love. Laughing, I make the two psychos stop so I can stand up. “Hey, enough you two. Enough.” They don’t take me seriously because I am laughing at them. Once I stand, I walk toward the kitchen knowing they will follow me. “Are you both hungry?” Their little backsides wiggle in excitement waiting on me to get their bowls down.
I pull their farmer’s dog food from the refrigerator and put it into two bowls adding some chunks of steak I precut for them to the bowl. Placing the bowls down, I watch as Hulk moves back, giving Sol the chance to pick which one she wants first before he takes his bowl. He is so protective over her; his mate and I smile knowing he is a dude after my own heart. If I ever found my soulmate, I would waste no time in grabbing her, tying her to me and breeding the hell out of her so she can never leave me.
That begs the question: What the hell did I just agree to?
Prologue
Hannah
Almost Three Months Later
This is torture. Pure naughty girl torture. Here I am sitting at another family dinner, which I love by the way, squirming in my seat under the gaze of Jude Blackstone. Blackstone. Even his last name is meant to drive innocent girls like me crazy. “Ouch.” I squeak when my sister Miriam kicks me under the table.
“You stare any harder you’re going to be able to see through his clothes.” Would that be a bad thing? Immediately my eyes drop in shame at the impure thought that just went through my head. I am blaming all those books we checked out from the library. Not to mention the hours of television we have watched in my new brother's entertainment room. But my sister is right, I need to be careful.