Wedding Date for Hire (2 page)

She was doomed.

As if wedding dates like that just hung out at the supermarket checkout line. But if she didn’t find one, she’d be the laughingstock of her family. Well, even
more
of a laughingstock. She couldn’t bear that.

Her mind raced with potential candidates. And came up with exactly none. She didn’t have any handsome or rich male friends she could call. Since she wasn’t working, she didn’t have any work-related acquaintances she could go to, either. Sabrina’s husband Jack tried to set her up with a broker he knew, but that ended up being a complete and utter disaster. She was so screwed!

“Oh, Maddie, look,” Louise called to her. “This is how I want the hairdresser to do my hair.”

“That is so you,” her mom commented.

“Nice,” Veronica said. “Very Carrie Underwood-esque.”

“What do you think, Maddie?
Maddie
,” her sister called again.

Her throat was dry, like someone had stuffed it full of cotton then stuck her out in the sun for a few hours. She finally turned to face them, fighting off hyperventilation. “Y-yes,” she croaked. “Of course, let me see.”

Louise held out the magazine to her, and she took it from her outstretched hands. The model’s hair was pulled back loosely with wispy tendrils and flowers tucked around the bun. Maddie could picture how lovely Louise would look with her long blond hair pulled back in such a style. She was just about to tell her that, but an ad at the corner of the page caught her eye.

Matchmaking/Escort Service

Match Made Easy is for people tired of the struggles of single life. Whether you’re looking for a lasting relationship or just a companion for a corporate event or wedding, we’ll save you the time and headache. Just answer our simple questionnaire and you’ll be assigned your own personal matchmaker. Making your Match is that EASY.

Give us a call or send us an email and start taking control of your love life today!

Maddie blinked. Yes, she could take control of her love life—or rather, have
them
take control of her love life. This was the answer to her big-fat-mouth prayers. An escort service.

“Well?” Louise nudged her with her elbow. “What do you think of the hairstyle?”

“Hairstyle?” She looked at her sister blankly. “Oh, it’s very ni— Uh, I mean, I hate it.”

Louise and her mother frowned at her.

“What are you talking about?” her cousin asked. “That’s the perfect hairdo for Louise.”

“Oh, no, she can do better.
Much
better.” Then to further prove that point and save the website information, she ripped the page from the magazine and shoved it down her dress.

“Maddie, what on earth is wrong with you?” her sister asked, planting her fists on her hips.

“You mean besides the obvious?” Veronica muttered.

Her mom cocked her head. “Honey, is something wrong? You looked flushed.”

Louise made a reach for the article but Maddie jumped back and pressed the paper farther into her bra. “N-nothing is wrong. I just don’t want Louise to make a major mistake with her hair. Better to not even be tempted by this dowdy style. It’s awful. We’ll find another one for you.” She pointed her finger toward the seating area. “There are a whole bunch of magazines over there.”

Louise continued to stare at her for several long seconds, then finally nodded. “Okay, I guess I do want to find the perfect style.” She frowned at Maddie’s chest. “However, your methods to express that seem a bit extreme…”

“Let me go change and then we’ll get cracking on looking for one.” Not waiting for an answer, Maddie hurried to the dressing room and, once she was behind the curtain, pulled out the crumpled page from her dress.

Maddie had seen commercials for Match Made Easy on TV. They seemed like a decent business and legit. She hoped. She prayed they weren’t out of her price range. Not that it mattered—time was running out. She’d pay anything to prove to her family she wasn’t cursed. Plus, Ryan would be there, most likely with that cheating blonde of his. She’d bet anything they’d both love to see her at her lowest point: jobless and dateless. Well, no one was going to feel sorry for her. Not her cousin and certainly not the best man, either. She’d show them all. And since she couldn’t find a wedding date to her sister’s wedding on her own, it looked as if she’d be forced to do the next best thing.

Hire one.

“W
hat part of
hell no
do you not understand?”

When his cousin, Kennedy, just stood there gaping at him, Trent Montgomery shook his head in disgust. He didn’t have time for her matchmaking shenanigans. He was done helping out. He had his own business to run. From the looks of things this morning, Red Zone Fitness appeared to be a well-oiled machine; however, his gyms were slowly losing money. He needed to figure out why and what to do about it. But first he needed to talk to the spin instructor before her class began. There were some complaints about her music being too loud and it drifting into the yoga room.

He turned away, but Kennedy began to follow him through the gym like a puppy on the scent of bacon. “Trent, please. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”

Trent stopped to pick up a pair of hand weights somebody left in the middle of the floor, and she ran into his back. “Oof,” she muttered.

He turned around as she poked her purple-framed glasses back up her nose, and he had to stifle a grin. His cousin was only twenty-five but her matchmaking/escort business Match Made Easy, which had started out as a simple small business college project, had actually gained momentum and was becoming a viable company. Although, apparently not without a few glitches along the way. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be asking him for more help with it.

“Au contraire,” he countered, waving a mocking finger in front of her face. “You
would
ask—desperate or not. When you needed financial backing, who did you come to? Me. When you needed website help, who did you come to? Me again. And when you needed—”

“Fine,” she huffed. She flung her hands up in the air. “It’s established that I ask you for a lot of things, but it just so happens that I really am desperate now. I need you. So
pleeeeeease
help me out here. I’m begging.”

Trent glanced around his gym, and when he saw that the spin class had already started, he sighed, staring down at her. “Okay. What kind of help are we talking about here?”

“I need you for a simple escort job. That’s all.”

Trent wasn’t born yesterday. He knew how to read the fine print in any contract and also when to decipher his cousin’s definition of the word “simple.”

“And just how long is this so called simple job?” he asked.

She bit her lip. “Oh, that. Well…”

“Kennedy,” he warned. “How long is this simple job? Two hours? Three?”

“Four and a half days,” she coughed out through her hand.

He blinked. “Four and a half
…days
? That’s essentially five days. Are you
insane
?”

“I know it’s a bit of a commitment. But Trent, please. The family of the groom is hosting a ton of parties for this wedding and—”

“Wedding?”
He glared at his cousin. “That makes it a double
hell no
and you know it.
”

Everybody—especially Kennedy—knew he did not do weddings. Ever. He avoided them at all costs, along with cheap beer, Barbara Streisand music, yogurt, and any movie that had characters dressed up in Jane Austen time period garb. He shuddered.

“Sorry. No can do, kiddo. Weddings are a deal breaker. You’re going to have to find yourself some other escort fill-in. I’m out this time.”

“But—but I already tried, and I need someone extremely good-looking.”

He smirked. “Nice try.”

“Not only that. Someone smart and”—she fluttered her fingers around his chest and shoulders—“
fit
. This woman needs more than a simple escort. It’s her sister’s wedding, and family weddings are special. She can’t bring just anyone. She has to have someone who her family will believe is actually her boyfriend. And what mother wouldn’t love to have you date her daughter?”

He folded his arms, trying not to be amused. “Again, I’ll give you major suck-up points, but my answer is still no. Besides, why on earth would you take a job like that if you couldn’t fulfill it?”

Kennedy’s chin shot up. “Hey, I absolutely could fill it. I’m a professional here. Laird was all set and perfect for the job until the, uh, incident.”

“Incident?”

“Yeah. Toaster incident.” She wrinkled her nose. “Apparently, he and his girlfriend had a bad breakup over the weekend. Now that I think about it, I probably should send flowers. He’s still in the hospital. Laird suffered second degree burns”—with pink flushed cheeks, her gaze traveled past his belt buckle then bounced back up again—”in the frank and beans area, if you know what I mean.”

Trent winced.
That must have been one hell of a breakup
. “Don’t you have a backup guy for these kinds of…
emergencies
?”

“Unfortunately, no. Not yet. It takes time to build up an escort base as well as a client base. There are two conventions going on in Boston within the next few days and a number of women who wanted someone to accompany them to various cocktail parties. I’m already using everyone I have. Besides, this client was pretty specific in her escort request. Laird was the closest man I had who fit her criteria. So, now we’re stuck.”

Trent lifted an eyebrow. “Correction.
You’re
stuck.”

“No, I mean
we
. You’re invested in this business just as much as I am. Normally, I would refund her the money, but this gig could be huge for me—
us
. The wedding is a very big deal. The bride is marrying Michael Lyons. That’s a foot in the door to advertise in Fenway Park. Plus, you have no idea how many celebrities and potential upscale clientele we could gain from this if she’s happy with Match Made Easy. It’ll look great to investors, too. And if business really starts to take off from it, well, the sooner you’ll have your money back that you need to renovate your gyms and pay off your business loan.”

“I don’t know…”

“I’ll be able to give you back your money with interest, and then you’ll have enough for that program you want to start here in the gym.”

The mention of his youth group idea suddenly had his attention. Ever since he graduated college and opened his fitness center, he had visions of starting up a after school program in his home town of Midship, MA. He wanted it for high school athletes who needed more than just physical training. He wanted a program in his gym that went deeper. That could serve as a kind of character coach for these young men. A place they could go for support if there was no family support. Something he could have desperately used himself when he’d been growing up.

Now he needed the money for updated equipment and to pay off his line of credit, which was coming due soon. Trent had the funds for it all a few years ago, but then his cousin came to him when she needed financial backing for her matchmaking business, and he’d given it to her. How could he not? Kennedy was the only person who stuck by him after he had suffered his football-career-ending injury in college. His own fiancée hadn’t even stood by him. That was when he found out who his true friends were.

And that he hadn’t had many of them.

Kennedy grabbed his arm and gave a little squeeze. “Trent, women love you and you know it. I don’t want to fink out on this woman. What if she reports me to ADAMS?”

“Who’s that?”

“Not who. What. ADAMS is the Association of Dating Agencies and Matchmakers. I don’t want a black mark against my name there. I’ve worked too hard, and I have a reputation to uphold. Plus, I don’t know, I kind of liked her. She seems really…really…”

“Nice?” he finished for her.

She shook her head. “Desperate. I want to help her.”

Desperate
.

He rolled his eyes. That was the third nail in the coffin to this whole fiasco. Kennedy wanted him to pose as a paid escort (which embarrassed him) to a desperate woman (which scared him) and take her to a wedding (which nauseated him).

Oh, yeah, he liked that idea
.

Trent closed his eyes as if that would help draw the strength he needed not to put his cousin in a headlock. He drew in a breath and, when he opened them again, he found her gazing up at him with big brown hopeful eyes. The word “sucker” reflected back in them, and she grinned as if she knew what his answer would be before he even opened his mouth.

Hell. Of course he would say yes. He didn’t have the heart to let her down. Plus, as much as he hated the idea of posing as arm candy for some strange woman, he had a lot riding on the success of Kennedy’s business, too.

“What’s this woman’s name?” he grumbled.

Kennedy squealed, jumping up and down, then threw her arms around his neck. “You are the best cousin ever,” she said, giving him a loud kiss on the cheek. “Her name is Madeline McCarthy. She’s about your age. Maybe a year or two younger. You’ll like her. She has a great personality.”

Trent tried not to make a face, but when Kennedy said “great personality” that usually translated to “boring” and quite possibly “allergic to working out.” But the name sounded vaguely familiar. Then again, when he was the star college quarterback for the Florida Fireballs, he’d attracted more women than a David’s Bridal wedding dress sale. He’d bet he’d probably met a hundred Madelines back then—when everybody loved him and thought he was some kind of freakin’ football god. Including his own fiancée. Then that bubble burst along with his future career. He’d eventually gotten over both. He’d become the successful business owner to three Red Zone Fitness Centers in the North Shore area of Massachusetts, and he now just enjoyed female companionship for what it was truly worth. A temporary means to an end. A
fun
and temporary means, but it all still led to an end—one that he always made sure to initiate.

No harm, no foul that way.

Kennedy reached out and gave his cheek an affectionate pat. “Hey, I’m sorry that it has to be a wedding. But maybe it’ll be good for you. You know, a hair-of-the-dog kind of thing,” she added with a wobbly smile.