Confessions of a Mail Order Bride - Complete (6 page)

Yes, I know my employees have called me an uptight bitch behind my back. I admit, I can be demanding. But the company pays me well to get the best possible performance out of them. I expect a lot from them, and even more from myself. When I was a kid, I suffered terrible burns on my abdomen from a bonfire. As I recovered I was unable to do much of anything but dream. So, I dreamed of my future—a future where I would have a highly successful professional and personal life. And with my career, I’ve succeeded beyond expectations. I’m the head accountant with a top notch marketing firm.

But sadly, that has not been the case with my personal life. I’ve been divorced twice. The men were not perfect, but I admit, my expectations were pretty high—higher than most. But why shouldn’t I expect a lot? I have a lot to give. If a man wants my love he needs to be ambitious, powerful, and in control…and hot. The man of my dreams is beyond hot. He’s tall, dark and handsome—twisted steel and sex appeal. I’m not physically perfect with the scars on my belly, but I don’t let them bother me. People tell me I’m beautiful, that they love my green eyes and red hair, and I feel pretty good about my looks. I’m a naturally big, curvy woman, and I want a man that can handle my size and keep up with me. If I ever find that man, I swear we’ll make a powerful couple. My name is Judith Banks and this is my story…my confession…

~ * ~

‘Very nice!’ I thought to myself. That was a huge compliment coming from me. I had to admit, the shifter guys on the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies Marriage Mates’ site were sexy and hot. It was hard not to drool over them. The office had been buzzing about the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ website ever since it opened. The buzz only grew more after one of our former co-workers, Sherry Cole, had found her forever mate on the site. I knew I shouldn’t be looking. It was a big distraction from work, but I couldn’t help myself.

I glanced around to make sure no one was near my office. Then, for the zillionth time, I looked at the shifter profiles on the site again. Damn, it was exciting to look at them. I knew my co-workers thought of me as a stiff, stuck up prude. They would be shocked at how much the men turned me on. The thought of an emotional and physical relationship with one of these men—that was exciting. And I’d heard shifters stayed mated for a lifetime. With two divorces under my belt, I really liked the idea of a forever love. I licked my lips as I studied the photos on the page.

Even though there were four profiles per page and several pages of men to look through, the ones on page two really caught my eye—especially the second to last one. The first profile on the page was of a tiger shifter named Dirk Matthews. He was an older man; beefy, with a thick neck and muscles to match. It was no surprise to read his profile and see that he was a sheriff. Profile two was of a wiry leopard shifter with tats, a scraggly beard, and a guitar in his hands—Randy Ayres. The bio said he was in a rock band. He looked like he could play more than just the guitar.

But the third profile on the page, profile three—yeah, that was the one that got me. It was of a very sexy wolf shifter, Brad Stanford. He was the ultimate in tall, dark and handsome. He was 6’4”, with jet-black hair, a Roman nose, strong jawline, and bluer than blue eyes. Plus, he was very successful. According to his profile, he owned Stanford Home Realty, a real estate agency in Shifter Villages that did millions of dollars in business in and around the area every year. I liked that. The man was obviously driven, which I found very stimulating. With his ambition, good looks and style, I knew he was the perfect match for me.

With the success Sherry had in finding a mate at ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies,’ I’d decided to try it too. I posted my profile on the site and waited. But nothing happened. I didn’t hear from any of the shifters.

There were only a few profiles of females looking for shifters to mate with on the site, so it was easy to see mine. Why didn’t any of the men write me? And more specifically, why didn’t Brad write me? Brad was looking for his match, so he had to be scrolling through the few female profiles the site had, hoping to find his potential mate. And with my bio, he had to have realized we were probably perfect for one another. But I didn’t hear from him.

Yes, I’d been brutally honest in my bio, admitting I was a bit of a control freak and that I had been married twice before. But even so, I’d thought I’d hear from at least one of the men, particularly Brad. It was obvious from my profile that we’d be a match. I was ambitious and determined, just like him. I knew I was attractive, with my red hair and green eyes, and a lot of men loved my curves. So why was there no contact?

After a couple of days, I decided to be proactive. My mother had always told me to go after what I wanted. Her advice had done well for me throughout the years. I hadn’t become head accountant for the firm I worked for by sitting back and doing nothing. Since he hadn’t contacted me, it was obvious that if I wanted to meet my dream man I would have to take action.

I sent a note through the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ site to Brad expressing my interest—not once, but three times. The first time I didn’t hear back I assumed the email might have gotten lost. I sent it again a second and third time just to be sure he got it. Every day I checked my email, but I still hadn’t heard anything.

“Judith, I have those reports,” a voice called out.

I pulled down the top of my computer so it was almost closed. I was supposed to be working, not spending my day dreaming about getting mated. But I couldn’t help but think about it. Sherry was going to be marrying her sexy lion shifter mate Adrian Landen, a man she’d met on the site, this weekend. She seemed blissfully happy. I wanted that too. With two failed marriages to “regular” guys behind me, I craved the happily ever after a committed shifter could provide.

“Thanks, Jill,” I said, taking the folders from her. “Is everything going well with Marilyn?”

“Yeah, she’s working out great. I’m glad you hired her.”

“Glad to hear it,” I smiled. “It had been rough for awhile.” One of the employees, Roxanne Falcon, had been creating trouble in the office and had accessed and used information in the office’s personnel files she shouldn’t have. I had fired her and hired Marilyn to take her place.

“Are you excited about the wedding this weekend?” Jill asked.

“I’m sure it will be lovely,” I replied casually. Actually, I was beyond excited. I couldn’t wait to get to the town and hopefully meet the man of my dreams. “I know Sherry will make a beautiful bride, and it will be fun to check out Shifter Villages. I’ve never been there. Have you?”

Jill shook her head. “No, I hear it can get a little rowdy though. But with all of that testosterone, it’s no wonder.”

“Yeah,” I swallowed. Testosterone—bring it on! The fact that it might get a little rowdy didn’t really bother me. It would be good to be around some men for a change. During the workweek I was surrounded by my co-workers and almost all of them were female. I usually worked so many hours I had very little time to socialize and meet men. I didn’t tell Jill I was interested in the men the town had to offer. She was my employee, and I had to stay professional.

“The Big Bull Inn looks like a really nice place to stay,” Jill said.

“Yep, and that’s a good thing. Sherry said it was the only hotel in town. I’m glad we were able to get reservations.”

“Sherry told me that the guy that owns the hotel, Vic, I think his name is, started the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies Marriage Mates’ site—the website she met Adrian on.”

“Oh, interesting,” I replied smoothly. I was not about to tell Jill I’d been drooling over the men on the site, one in particular, for the past hour or so.

“Anyway, I’d better get back to work,” Jill said. “I’m glad I finished those reports, but I still have some work to do on the Beall account.”

“Ok, well, thanks for getting these to me,” I motioned towards the paperwork she’d just handed to me.

Jill waved her hand. “Of course, and hey, do you want to ride together to Shifter Villages this weekend?”

“Sounds good, I’ll drive.”

Jill smiled. “I knew you’d want to drive, but I’ll pitch in for gas.”

Jill knew me well. I didn’t like to give up control, even when it came to driving. “I’ll touch base with you to arrange a time later.” As Jill left, I heard the sound of several incoming emails and flipped the lid back open on my computer. I knew it was highly unlikely as it had already been several days, but maybe just maybe, it was a response from Brad.

My eyes lit up when I tapped the screen. There were several pieces of incoming mail from ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’. I clicked on the first one and quickly scanned the letter.

“Dear Judith, We apologize, but due to technical difficulties our site has not been matching up potential mates as it should have been. The emails mates sent out to one another were not delivered. We have corrected this glitch and our service is back to normal. In order to save time, we are sending you the profile of the match we feel is the best fit for you. Please see the attachment for your best fit. In addition, you may feel free to contact the potential mates of your choice.”

Ahh… a sigh of relief washed over me. So that was it. Brad had never gotten my emails. I scanned my inbox…and then I saw it. An email from Brad Stanford, sent through the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ site! I knew it! With trembling fingers, I clicked to open the email.

“
Dear Judith, I’ve been emailing you through the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ site for several days now and was disappointed to not get a response. I just found out the site had a glitch and my mail was not getting through to you. I read your profile and I think we would be a great match. Would you be interested in getting to know one another more? If so, please email me privately at the email address below instead of through the site. I don’t want to miss any of your messages. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Yes, oh yes! I couldn’t wait to write Brad and let him know I’d been emailing him too. A wave of excitement rushed over me as I scrolled to the bottom to get Brad’s email address. But as I moved my cursor to the bottom of my screen, I was stunned to see the hearts that rimmed the base of the page.

The ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies Marriage Mates’ website was set up so that when you clicked on a profile or emailed someone through the site, empty hearts would fill up with red. The number of filled hearts indicated how good of a match you would make with that partner. This was determined by several factors, including personality tests that you took when you set up your profile. The ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ site recommended you stick to matches that were at least six hearts or more. My former co-worker Sherry and her lion shifter, Adrian, had been a ten-heart match, which was the best you could get.

My heart dropped as I looked at the heart match for Brad and me—only three hearts were filled with red!

There must be another glitch with the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’ site, I decided. Brad and I seemed to be a perfect match. I scrolled back to the email I’d opened earlier from ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies’. It said my perfect match was in the attachment. 

I had assumed it would be Brad. I clicked on the attachment and opened it. A man stared back at me. He was scruffy, with long, dirty blond hair and a dimpled grin. It listed his name as Evan Myles. What the heck? I read his profile. It shared that he was a bear shifter and part owner of the ‘Crazy Cakes Bakery’ in Shifter Villages. I just didn’t get it. I liked men who were brokering big business deals, not baking cupcakes and brownies. And looks wise…well, he was scruffy as heck. He looked like he needed to visit Adrian, Sherry’s barber fiancé, for a haircut and shave. I was sure Brad was the right match for me, but just for kicks I decided to look at the bottom of the page and see how much of a heart match Evan and I were.

As I moved my cursor farther down the page, yet another scruffy man who looked like he needed some serious grooming stared back at me. He had to be the twin of the first man; they looked so much alike. But this man was even scruffier, with longer blonde hair. A chin cleft softened his serious expression. The bio said he was a bear shifter named Grant Myles and part owner with his twin brother, Evan, of the ‘Crazy Cakes Bakery’. 

I scrolled to the bottom of the page. There was one single row of ten hearts and every heart was filled with red. The Luscious site actually thought I was a ten heart match with one of these bear shifters. I wondered which one. Oh well, it really didn’t matter. It had to be a glitch of some sort. Maybe they were nice guys, but they were certainly not my type.

I closed the attachment and looked at the other emails in my box. There were several from Evan and several from Grant Myles sent through the Luscious website. I knew they were each looking to find a mate, but I didn’t bother to read them. Why take the time? I liked to work smarter, not harder. I’d already met Mr. Perfect on the site and I had to get back to work.

Brad…he was so hot, handsome, and successful. I was sure he was the man of my dreams. I knew Sherry had invited the whole town to her wedding and I was betting Brad was going to be there. I couldn’t wait to meet him!

~*~

“Damn! That’s too bad. Are you sure you can’t go?” I finished tucking my red silk dress in my suitcase as I talked to Jill.

“I’m sorry, Judith, but my mom is not feeling well. I really wanted to go to the wedding, but if something happened to my mom and I wasn’t with her…I’d just be sick about it.”

“We’ll miss you, Jill. I know Sherry will be disappointed you couldn’t make it,” I sighed. Jill lived at home with her overbearing mother. The woman played up a lot and liked to keep Jill under her thumb. She didn’t want to let Jill out of her sight. It was amazing she didn’t kick up a fuss when Jill went to work. Maybe it was possible Jill’s mom really was sick, but more likely she just wanted Jill around for the weekend. Well, there was nothing I could do about it.

I finished packing my things and headed out to the car. It was rare for me to take time off from my job—I tended to be a workaholic. Usually when I took a vacation I would be itching to get back to work before I even left on my trip, but not this time. Brad was on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and imagining our life together. I couldn’t wait to get to know him.

After emailing him back and forth, I’d arranged to take several days off from work to stay in Shifter Villages the night of the wedding and for a few days after. We made plans to meet at the Big Bull Inn, the hotel I was staying at, and drive to Adrian and Sherry’s wedding ceremony together. After the wedding we would have several days to get to know one another and see if we were a match. I was so excited.

I dropped my bag in the trunk, got in the car, and gunned the engine. Though the drive to Shifter Villages was several hours long, time flew as I visualized Brad and the future we would have together. In no time at all I was near the area. I passed a number of large billboards right before I entered the town, including a large cupcake shaped one advertising the Crazy Cakes Bakery. It was weird. It looked like someone had spray painted ‘FU Firk’ or ‘FU Dirk’ or something like that on it. But I still recognized the photo of the two scruffy bear shifters plastered on top of the board immediately. There were other billboards too, including one for ‘C and K Realty’. I didn’t see one for Brad’s realty company, Stanford Home Realty. He probably got so much business from word of mouth he didn’t need to advertise.

It was easy to find the Big Bull Inn, and as I parked the car I admired the beauty of the building. The stone inn was surrounded by lush foliage. If the inside was as charming as the outside, I was going to love it here. After parking the car, I opened the trunk to get my luggage when a deep voice from behind the building almost made me jump.

“Bag?”

I turned around to see one of the biggest men I’d ever seen. His face was scarred, but it was his eyes that really frightened me. They were a faded blue shade and almost lifeless. Behind him, a baldheaded man even taller and brawnier called out to me.

“Are you Judith Banks?”

“I…I am.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the man held out his hand. “I’m Vic Harris, and this is my brother, Max.”

“Oh, you’re the owner of the Big Bull.”

“That’s right. My brother and I are co-owners,” he jerked a finger towards Max. “He doesn’t say much, but he’s a good guy.”

“I understand.”

“Max, take Judith’s luggage to her room.”

Max grunted as he took the bag out of the trunk and walked off towards the hotel.

Vic shook his head. “He’s been like that ever since mom was killed.”

“Your mom was killed?”

“Yeah, some wolf shifter hooligans were trying to rob her and Max came to her defense, mom was killed, and Max was scarred up like hell…”

“I’m so sorry for your loss. That’s awful.”

“Yeah, it’s been very hard. And this latest mess hasn’t helped.”

“Latest mess?” I asked.

“Someone set fire to the Crazy Cakes Bakery and burned it down a month or so ago. About two weeks ago, they tried to start a fire at Kane’s Bar and Grill. They’ve been vandalizing the billboards, robbing homes, and God knows what else. They tried to pin it on Max.”

“Oh, that’s horrible.”

“It sucks. But of course they didn’t have any proof. Deputy Bob found a lighter on him and booked him for no reason. Pretty lame I’d say.”

“That does sound lame…”

“I think he was just looking for an excuse to lock him up. People tend to think Max is guilty just because of the way he looks.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I said. I had a good idea of how Max was feeling, but he needed to get over it. I’d been judged because of my size and the scars on my abdomen from when I was burned as a kid, but I owned it. As I got older, very few people made any comments. Most men seemed to appreciate my curves and a lot of women complimented me on my style. And the scars—granted they didn’t look great... When I was a kid, I was teased in the locker room while I changed clothes in gym class. But I refused to be self-conscious about the scars. No, I didn’t flaunt them. I avoided midriff tops and two piece swimsuits. But if a bit of scarred skin showed now and then at the pool or at the gym, I didn’t get upset over it. The only time I felt a bit awkward was when I was with a man for the first time. It had never seemed to bother any of them. There were things a lot worse than the scars and the generous curves I had.

“Well, he’s out now and there hasn’t been any trouble lately. But you know, they haven’t caught who did it, so there’s this thing hanging over his head,” Vic sad sadly.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s tough.”

“Sorry,” Vic said. “I shouldn’t have unloaded on you like that. I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.”

“It’s no worry. It can help to talk about things. So, you own the ‘Luscious Lads and Ladies Marriage Mates’ site?”

“Yes, I do,” Vic’s light blue eyes lit up. “I started it in hopes of finding my match but it kind of blew up. Now a bunch of men from this town are on it! Well you know that, I saw you set up a profile.”

I grinned. “Yes! And I think I’ve met my mate, Brad Stanford. I know you had some technical glitches on the site, but after emails started going through we connected and have been emailing privately. We’re meeting tonight and going to the wedding together.”

Vic furrowed his brows in surprise. “Brad Stanford? Was he your best match?”

“Well, not according to your site. But I think it was a mistake. I know you had an email glitch. I think you had a glitch on best matches too, Vic. In my case it doesn’t matter because I’m sure Brad is my best match. But it may help some of your other clients.”

“What happened?” Vic asked.

“Well, for some reason the site sent me the profiles of not one, but two bear shifters—Evan and Grant Myles. And at the bottom of the page it had the ten hearts to show how strong of a match we would be.”

“Ok,” Vic said.

“All ten of the hearts were filled with red. So the system had me as a ten-heart match with one of them. I’m not sure which one, though.”

“The site has not had any best match glitches that I am aware of,” Vic said, scratching his head.

“Well, this had to be a glitch. Evan and Grant were both profiled on the page but there was only
one
set of ten red filled hearts at the bottom. So I’m not sure if the site intended to match me with Evan or with Grant. It must have sent both profiles by mistake.

“Oh…now I see what you’re saying, Vic grinned. “That was not a mistake. It means you are a ten heart match with Evan
and
you are a ten heart match with Grant.”

“Oh, okay.” I wouldn’t have picked either one of them. If I were to try to decide between the two, it might have been tough. Despite their long hair and scruffy beards, I had to admit the dimpled grin on Evan was kind of hot, and Grant’s cleft chin was sexy. “If I was picking, I’m not sure which one of the bear shifters I would choose,” I mused out loud.

“Not one, Judith…
both
. Grant and Evan have a share-bear pact. They are a package deal!”