A Marriage of Inconvenience
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Amy Vastine
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CHAPTER ONE
“I’M RUNNING TO the bank now to deposit the check from the Mahoneys and get pennies for the Westbergs’ wishing well. I should be back in the office in about twenty minutes.” Sophia Reed pulled open the door to the Wharton Bank and Trust. “Can you ask Cassie to check with the Chalet and make sure there will be someone to let us into that private dining room Friday before the actual dinner? I don’t want to end up standing outside a venue for an hour like we did last weekend.”
“I’m on it.” Fallon Best always lived up to her name. She was the best business partner a woman could ask for. The two of them had started Engaging Events eight years ago after meeting in college. What began as only the two of them working out of their apartment was now a real company with an office and four full-time employees on staff.
Being at Wharton Bank reminded Sophia of one more thing. “Did we ever hear back from Miss Wharton about the meeting tomorrow?”
“All confirmed,” Fallon replied, and Sophia sighed with relief. The possibility of planning a wedding for the Wharton family had her absolutely giddy.
She got in line behind a man who glanced back at her and gave her a friendly smile and nod. His gray suit was expensive-looking, giving him the first impression of being someone who wasn’t afraid to spend money to look good. His shoes, however, gave him away as someone a bit more practical. This guy wanted to fit in with people who had money, but perhaps didn’t have as much as the crowd he ran in.
Sophia could tell everything she needed to know about a person by the way they dressed. It was her gift.
Sophia turned her attention back to her phone. “Great. See you soon,” she said.
“Okay, b—” That was all Sophia heard Fallon say before a gunshot rang out, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.
“Everyone down on the ground! Down on the ground right now!” someone shouted.
Four men had entered the lobby dressed head to toe in black and each wearing an animal mask. The one in the tiger mask had a gun pointed at the security guard.
“Hands where I can see them,” the man in the monkey mask said to the teller behind the counter. “Everyone else down on the ground like my friend the giraffe said!”
Sophia’s heart stopped before jumping back to life and beating at a pace that it hit only during her toughest spin classes. The shock had her frozen in place. The man in front of her took her by the hand.
“Let’s do as they say and they won’t hurt us,” he said, guiding her down to the ground.
There was kindness in his eyes. Kindness was something she’d never take for granted again. This was a bank robbery. A real-life bank robbery. Sophia knew they happened, but she never thought she’d actually witness one.
The two of them and the woman who had been at the counter were the only customers in the lobby. The robber in the lion mask led two bankers and a customer out of the cubicles where people opened accounts and applied for mortgages.
Sophia had done that recently. She had gotten a mortgage from the banker with the blue tie so she could buy her first house. A real house with three bedrooms and two and a half baths. It was charming in its own special way. She loved it. Wouldn’t it be a terrible twist of fate if she died in a bank robbery less than a month after she bought her first home?
“You aren’t going to die,” the kind-eyed man said. He squeezed her hand. “You’ll be home before you know it.”
Had he heard her thoughts or had she said them out loud? It didn’t matter. The way he reassured her made her believe she’d sleep in her bed tonight.
“Okay, people, listen up. Toss your wallets and jewelry on the floor.” The robber in the monkey mask lightly kicked Sophia’s foot. “You, gather them all up and put them in this bag.” A black drawstring bag dropped near her head.
She didn’t move. Her lungs had simply forgotten how to work, and it made her light-headed. If it wasn’t for the fact that her whole body was trembling with fear, she would have thought she was paralyzed.
“Did you not hear me?” the monkey-mask robber asked, his voice rough.
“You’re scaring her,” the man next to Sophia said. “I’ll gather them up. Please leave her be.”
With her cheek pressed against the cool tile floor, Sophia watched as the thief placed a foot on the man’s back, causing him to wince. “Who do you think you are? A hero? I don’t need heroes here. Maybe I want her to be scared. Maybe I want you to be scared, too. What do I need to do to make you scared?”
Sophia did not want to find out what he was willing to do to ramp up everyone’s fear. She forced herself to move and pushed up. “I’ll do it. I’m sorry.”
The monkey robber stepped away from the nice man. “Ah, now that’s what I like to hear.”
Still shaking, Sophia began stuffing the bag with wallets and jewelry just like the teller was filling the bank robbers’ duffel bag with cash.
“We’d like to thank you for your cooperation, ladies and gentlemen,” the giraffe said, zipping up the duffel bag and sliding the strap over his shoulder.
“Let’s move,” the lion said. “Cops will be here any minute.”
Sophia felt someone behind her. The man in the monkey mask snatched the drawstring bag away from her. He brushed his gloved hand against her cheek. “Until we meet again, sweetheart.”
Sophia felt sick and terrified. The only time she wanted to see him again was when he was in handcuffs and on his way to jail.
He glanced back at her. The grinning monkey mask made her skin crawl. As he slung the bag over his shoulder, a thought struck Sophia like a bolt of lightning. He had their wallets—wallets filled with credit cards they could cancel and cash, at least in her case, that couldn’t pay for more than a large coffee. However, her wallet also held her driver’s license. The one she got about three weeks ago. The one with her new address on it.
She dropped to her knees. What if he truly meant he planned to see her again? The thought struck fear in her heart. Arms wrapped around her, causing her to flinch slightly.
“You’re okay. It’s over. They’re gone. They can’t hurt us.” The man who had tried to protect her may have been a stranger, but he made her feel safe and she needed that right now. She allowed herself to lean into him.
Rising to their feet, she said what she was thinking, her voice trembling like the rest of her. “They have our wallets, our IDs.”
He placed gentle hands on her shoulders. “I know. We’ll tell the cops everything. I’m sure all they want is the cash and the credit cards. Maybe they’ll get caught because they use our credit cards somewhere. This could be a good thing.”
“But he said—” Her fear had to be palpable. She could feel it coming off her like heat.
“Listen, that jerk clearly enjoys being scary. He just wanted you to be afraid. Don’t give him the satisfaction.”
“You’re not afraid?”
The man shook his head. “Something tells me that Monkey Man wouldn’t act so tough without a mask on and a gun in his hand.” The sound of sirens blared outside. The police were here a little too late. “Hopefully the police catch them quickly.”
He stepped back and his hands slid down her arms and held her hands.
“I wish I felt the same way.” She tightened her grip on his hands. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Of course.”
She let him go and felt less steady as soon as she broke contact. “I don’t even know your name.”
One side of his mouth smiled. “Evan,” he said, holding out his hand in greeting.
She shook it. “Sophia. Nice to meet you, Evan.”
“Nice to meet you, too. Although, I wish we had met any other way than this.”
Sophia felt herself smile. “Me, too.”
The police entered the bank and Sophia was placed in a cubicle to wait for a detective. She texted Fallon that she was alive and well but wouldn’t be coming back to work. She couldn’t think straight and wasn’t sure how long she’d be stuck answering questions.
When she sat back in her chair and craned her neck just a bit to the left, she could see Evan sitting in the cubicle across from hers. He was giving his statement to someone and was using his hands to emphasize whatever point he was making.
“Miss Reed?” A female detective walked in and sat behind the banker’s desk. Sophia nodded and the detective continued. “My name is Detective Gibson. I am going to ask you some questions and then we’re going to get you on your way. I’m sure you didn’t plan to spend your day at the bank.”
Sophia answered all of the detective’s questions. Told her everything she could think of about the robbers, even though there didn’t seem like much to tell. She couldn’t see their faces, they wore gloves and she was still in quite a bit of shock.
“You didn’t notice any distinguishing marks, tattoos, jewelry, anything on any of the men?”
Sophia closed her eyes and searched her memory for something. She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. All I remember is their masks and their voices.”
The detective slid a business card across the desk. “Don’t apologize. You’ve been through one heck of a traumatic event. Once the shock wears off, if something comes to you, anything, give me a call, okay?”
Sophia took the card and promised to do so. Evan exited his cubicle at the same time. Seeing him immediately relieved some of her anxiety, and she seemed to bring a small smile to his face at the same time.
“All done?” he asked.
“Yeah. You?”
He ran a hand through his dark hair. “Yeah, I really should go back to work, but I feel like I’m going to be useless.”
“I already texted my business partner that I’m not coming back today. I want to go home, but I’m also terrified to go home.”
Concern etched his face. He reached out and touched her arm. “I don’t blame you for feeling like that. But I’m going trust the police will do their job and find these guys before they can do any more harm.”
She wanted to believe that. “Since neither one of us wants to go to work, maybe we should grab a drink and pretend we didn’t meet during a bank robbery.”
“That would be great...except the bank robbers stole all our money and credit cards,” he answered with a laugh.
Sophia cringed. “I forgot about that.”
“We could go find a nice park bench and start contacting credit card companies together,” Evan offered.
It was probably the strangest first-date idea ever, but it sounded perfect. “Let’s do it.”
Spring was Sophia’s favorite time of year, especially in Charlotte. The smell of the flowering trees and the feel of the sun on her skin were rejuvenating.
“What did people do before the internet and before all the credit card companies had apps?” Evan asked, slipping his phone into the inside pocket of his suit coat.
Sophia finished reporting the last of her stolen credit cards via the app on her phone. “They had to call the number on the back of their card, I guess.”
Evan’s brows furrowed. “How do you call the number on the back of a card that was stolen?”
“That’s a very good question,” Sophia replied with a chuckle.
“Well, I’m glad that I was robbed today and not twenty years ago.” He shook his head. “Not that I wanted to be robbed. I definitely didn’t want you to be robbed.”
Sophia’s heart beat a little faster as the memory reemerged. “That was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me. I really don’t think I can sleep at home tonight. I am definitely begging my yaya for at least one night in her guest bed.”
“Your yaya?”
“It’s what people call their Greek grandmother.” Sophia opened her photo app and pulled up her favorite picture of Yaya Iris. “My yaya is eighty-one and the coolest woman I know. I owe my excellent fashion sense to her as well as my love of butterscotch candy.”
The grin on Evan’s face grew wider. “You love butterscotch candy? I don’t think I have ever met anyone under the age of eighty who loves butterscotch candy.”
Sophia swatted his arm playfully. “Yaya always has a bowl of all the classics on the sofa table in her living room. She’s got the peppermints, the cinnamon discs, the raspberry ones with the stuff that oozes out of the center and, of course, lemon drops.”
“Lemon drops. I love those. First they’re sweet and then you get that sugar layer off and you’re hit by that sour.” Evan pursed his lips like he’d eaten one.
He was adorable. Kind, funny and completely adorable. Somehow, on one of the worst days of her life, Sophia had managed to also meet the perfect guy.
As she stared into his warm chocolate-brown eyes, she wished he was puckering up for another reason.
“Are you okay?” he asked, snapping her out of her fantasy of kissing a man she’d known for all of a couple of hours.
Sophia laughed at herself. “I’m fine. I’m just really glad we met, and I hope this isn’t the last time I get to talk to you.”
He took her phone out of her hand and started tapping away.
“What are you doing?” She tried to grab her phone back, but he leaned away and kept typing.
When he was finished, he held it out for her. “I added myself to your contacts.”
Sophia scrolled through until she found him. “Evan the Hot Guy from the Bank? That’s the name you put in my phone?”
“I figured that would be the easiest way for you to remember me.”
As if she could ever forget.
They spent the afternoon getting to know one another. Evan had grown up in a small rural town in North Carolina. Went to Chapel Hill on a full-ride scholarship. His father passed away when he was in college and his mother retired to Florida. He called her twice a week to check in. Sophia loved that. She could tell a lot about a man by the way he treated his mother. He also had a younger brother who lived with him.
As for work, he was actually an employee of Wharton Bank—not at the branch they had been at today but at the corporate office. He was an information analyst. Sophia wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but at least he had a good job and a plan to climb that corporate ladder. Those were two things the last guy she met on an internet dating site was severely lacking.
Sophia told him about growing up in one of the suburbs of Charlotte. She probably shared too much information about her free-spirited parents, who sold the family house and bought an RV when her dad retired. They had been traveling the United States ever since. He asked question after question, though, as if her life story truly interested him.
“So what do you do for a living?” he asked as the sun began to drop behind the city skyline.
Sophia opened her mouth to answer, but before she could tell him all about her business, Evan got a call.
“I’m so sorry. I have got to take this,” he said. He stood up and walked a couple of feet away.
Sophia tried to use that time to collect her thoughts. Was this really happening? She was the last person to believe in love at first sight, but there was something about this guy. He seemed to be so genuine, so down-to-earth.
He ended his call and strolled back to the bench where she was waiting for him. His face showed his chagrin.
“As much as I don’t want to go, I need to pick my brother up from work. Something happened...” He didn’t finish that sentence and Sophia could tell he didn’t want to.
The disappointment hit Sophia harder than she expected. “I totally get it. I should probably let my yaya know that I’m coming over. It was really nice meeting you, Evan.”
“Next time, we’ll get that drink. Maybe I’ll throw in dinner, too.”
Sophia’s heart fluttered. The possibility of a real date made her giddy. “I would love that.”
YAYA WAS MORE than happy to let Sophia stay the night. The two of them had some dinner, Sophia gave Yaya her account of the day and they ended the evening with some chamomile tea.
“For someone who asked to stay here because she is afraid masked men are going to show up at her door, you keep smiling down at your phone like you’ve learned they’ve been captured.”
Sophia glanced up from her phone. “Sorry, Yaya.” She quickly typed good-night to Evan the Hot Guy from the Bank. “I really appreciate you letting me stay here. I am freaked out, but I might also be kind of sort of falling for this guy I met today.”
Yaya was intrigued and scooted closer to her on the couch. “You met a man today?”
It sounded strange given the circumstances. “I did. And I think I really like him.”
Yaya’s painted-on eyebrow quirked up. “Why did you leave this part of the story out when you were telling me about your day?”
Sophia took a sip of tea and curled her legs under her. “I don’t know... Because it’s silly to think two people could meet this way, isn’t it?”
“Sweetheart, I’m over eighty years old. I have heard sillier things than that.”
Even though Sophia planned weddings and other major events for a living, she tended to be a bit skeptical when it came to love. Maybe it was because things never seemed to work out for her. Some men were intimidated by her independence. Too many wanted a woman who was ready to give up her career for a family. Others had no desire to settle down into a serious relationship at all.
Mr. Right didn’t seem to exist in Sophia’s world. Until today.
Good night. Tell your yaya that she inspired me to order an old-fashioned candy mix online today. Of course, I couldn’t actually purchase it because my credit card is on lockdown, but as soon as I get that new card, those lemon drops are all mine. I’ll save you the butterscotch.
“That must be him.” Yaya laughed. “You most definitely like him. If you could see the way he makes you smile, you wouldn’t doubt it for a second.”
YAYA WASN’T THE only one who thought Sophia was falling hard. Fallon caught on real quick the next day at work.
“Ian picked up the pennies for the Westbergs’ wishing well and Cassie got confirmation from the Chalet that we can have their private room as early as four on Friday. I also—Who in the world are you texting with?”
Sophia set her phone down and focused her attention on her business partner. “What? I heard everything you said. Westberg pennies. Chalet four o’clock. Perfect.”
“No, no, no.” Fallon came marching around to the other side of Sophia’s desk. “Do not pretend I am not seeing what I am seeing. You never smile that hard at your phone. Ever. Who are you talking to on there?”
Sophia grabbed her phone and pressed it to her chest. “No one.”
“Liar. Since when are you seeing someone? Is it that guy you’ve been talking to from that dating site? I thought that didn’t work out.”
That absolutely had not worked out. “I perhaps met someone yesterday during the bank robbery, and the traumatic event kind of brought us together.”
Fallon’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious? You met a guy during the bank robbery? How does that even happen?”
“I know it sounds weird, but I really like him.” Sophia felt like she was carbonated, filled with little happy bubbles. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time.
“Well, you are going to tell me everything after our meeting.”
The Wharton wedding was the biggest event Sophia and Fallon had ever planned. Doing business with them meant Engaging Events would finally earn its place on the map. All of Sophia’s and Fallon’s hard work would finally pay off.
“I promise. I will tell you everything you want to know.”
“You aren’t going to mention what happened yesterday, right?”
Sophia shook her head. She felt a chill down her spine as the memory of having a gun pointed at her flashed through her mind. She had no intention of rehashing the robbery with the woman whose family owned the bank.
“Good,” Fallon said with a nod. “Miss Wharton is going to sign with us and we’re going to be planning events for every bigwig in Charlotte.”
Sophia forced a smile. Hopefully, that was true.
Fallon left the office, and Sophia sent one last text before her meeting. She and Evan had been debating why certain emojis even existed.
Meeting in a few minutes. Do not spam me with any more emojis. I admit I may not be able to rationalize why there is an oil drum emoji.
He answered back just before she put her phone on Do Not Disturb.
Finally! I stumped you! Although I am still not sure it makes complete sense for there to be a merman. We may need to discuss that one again.
There was a knock at her door. Cassie, their assistant, poked her head in. “Miss Wharton and her fiancé are here.”
Sophia smoothed down her dark hair. “Send them in,” she said, getting to her feet.
The door swung open and a petite blonde walked in with her phone to her ear and a scowl on her face. She wore a black power suit with a crisp white blouse underneath. Her black Prada pumps and matching clutch cost more than Sophia’s entire summer wardrobe. “We’re meeting with the wedding planner right now. I understand that it needs to be done by today, but you’re the one who set up this appointment for us. I’ll call you when we’re done.”
This was not going to be an easy one. Miss Wharton was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted—she didn’t accept excuses, and her taste was impeccable. Fallon was right behind her and followed in by the man who had held the door. He was grinning from ear to ear until their eyes met. Sophia’s legs gave out almost immediately and she fell into her chair.
Evan.
