If we didn’t consummate the marriage, that opened up the door for an annulment.
Buoyed by my revelation, I closed the tab for the furniture depot and opened a new one. I wanted to start things off on the right foot with my “bride,” which meant letting her know this was a marriage “in name only.” The fair thing to do was to let this woman know about it up front. This way, there would be no misunderstandings or expectations of forever.
I did some digging, recalling every tidbit my mother had mentioned about the service, and I eventually found it. I crafted a message to the owner and hit send. Pleased with myself, I leaned back in my chair and put my feet up on the desk, crossing my ankles.
It was the perfect plan.
2
Winter
Staring at the quaint office building sandwiched between skyscrapers, I rubbed my hands together in excitement. My closest childhood friend thought I was being reckless, but I was looking forward to the adventure ahead of me as a mail-order bride. Whitney blamed all the romance novels I liked to read for my impulsive decision when I saw the advertisement online, and she might’ve had a teensy tiny point. As a hopeless romantic, my gut told me that I had been meant to see the ad that day. When my application was accepted, I felt as though it was proof that my instinct had been right.
I’d been running around like a chicken with its head chopped off for the past two weeks, trying to get everything in order so I’d be ready for the big move. Holly Huckleberry, the owner of Mail-Order Brides For Christmas, had called me several times, trying to set up a time for us to meet. Since we’d already worked out all the details for my upcoming nuptials, and I felt as though I had a million things left to do, I kept putting her off. But last night, she’d insisted that I needed to come into her office this morning since I left town for my new home tomorrow. I had apologized profusely for postponing our meeting until the last minute and agreed to be there first thing.
I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish my packing. Other than my appointment with Holly, the only thing on my schedule was to choose a present for my soon-to-be husband. I didn’t know much about Christopher yet, and Christmas was still an entire month away, but I wasn’t sure what my shopping options would be like once I got to Snow Valley. I didn’t want to run the risk of not having something to put under the tree for him. This would be our first holiday season together, and I wanted everything to be perfect.
Rushing inside the office, I flashed a big smile at the receptionist. She shooed me straight into Holly’s office, who rose from the chair behind her desk to greet me. “Good morning, Winter. Thanks for coming in to see me.”
“My pleasure.” I dropped onto the corner of the loveseat Holly guided me toward. “I’m sorry it took me so long to return your calls. When you’re picking up and moving to a different state, the to-do list seems never-ending.”
“I can certainly understand,” she murmured, sitting down next to me. “I’m sorry I had to add to your list, but I have some news you need to hear before you arrive in Snow Valley.”
Some of my excitement faded, and I slouched against the cushions. “Why do I get the feeling this isn’t the good kind of news?”
“Probably because it’s something you’re not going to be happy about.” She flashed me a sympathetic smile before continuing, “Although his mother was the one who made all the arrangements for her sons, Christopher reached out to me via email to make sure his bride would be on the same page about how the marriage would go.”
“What does that mean exactly?” I asked, bracing myself for her answer.
“Christopher wants this to be a marriage in name only because he’d like to get an annulment after a few months,” she explained.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, shaking my head as my brain reeled. This wasn’t at all what I was expecting to hear today, and I was beyond disappointed. “Why would someone want a mail-order bride in name only? And only for a short amount of time?”
“I know you said it didn’t matter why your groom wanted a mail-order bride. But with this little wrinkle, I definitely need to fill you in on the whole story.” She took my hands in hers and gave them a gentle squeeze, making me wish I hadn’t been quite so impulsive when signing up for this. “Christopher’s mother arranged brides through me for all six of her sons because she wants to save their hometown. Snow Valley is up for sale, and the corporation that wants to buy it is known for turning quaint locales into tourist hot spots. Pooling their money together, the boys have enough funds to swoop in and purchase the town, but an archaic law that’s somehow still in place—after the town founder wrote it more than a hundred and fifty years ago—says the purchaser has to be married. Christopher has agreed to his mother’s plan, but only for long enough to save the town he loves.”