The Marriage Proposal

Rebecca McFarlan circled around the dance floor advancing on her target. It was a quiet and precise maneuver she learned at the New York State Police Academy five years earlier. The goal was to approach your subject without drawing any unwarranted attention.

This is as good a time as any, she thought.

Rebecca needed a husband and, by God, she needed one fast! So what if it’s at my best friend’s wedding! So what if the guy I’m gonna ask to marry me is the best man and the brother of the groom! So what if I can hardly stand the man!

Bottom line, she needed a successful, preferably male collaborator and Anthony Romano fit the bill to perfection. He was the only man she could think of who wouldn’t further complicate her already complicated life. Out of all the men she knew and heaven knew she knew plenty; Anthony was the most logical choice. He would have enough common decency not to attack her every night of the week until her mission was complete and he would have enough integrity to uphold his end of the bargain. In a nutshell, he was “textbook husband material,” not to mention that, he wasn’t half bad to look at either.

“There he is.” Rebecca declared. “It’s now or never!”

Anthony Romano watched Rebecca circle the dance floor mentally hoping she didn’t come anywhere near him. The idea of looking at the merchandise, but not touching it, was becoming a daunting task and a near physical impossibility. When she approached him, he knew he had to be polite, especially since he was at his brother’s wedding.

“Hi!” Rebecca spoke loudly to be heard over the wedding music.

“Hello Rebecca,” Anthony moodily replied before staring off.

Rebecca stared off too. It really was a lovely day for a wedding and everything seemed right with the world—except in Rebecca’s world. It felt like nothing was right in her world.

Anthony watched Rebecca scan the area, seeming to study the people. When she walked down the aisle during the wedding procession earlier, Anthony thought everyone must have seen his heart pounding uncontrollably under his tuxedo. She was exactly what he wanted in a woman, but she made it clear to him that he wasn't what she wanted in a man. He was so overjoyed for his brother, but felt so sad for himself. It was a mixed bag of emotions that Anthony was mentally struggling with on his brother’s wedding day. It seemed that the Romano men were the kind of men who could never find true love, made simply impossible, because they were so wealthy. Today, it became obvious to Anthony that he was never going to find a woman like his new sister-in-law. She was obviously one of a kind. Man, Anthony thought to himself, I need to get a life! Raking a hand through his hair, Anthony started to walk away from Rebecca.

“Where are you going?” Rebecca asked nervously.

“Does it matter?” Anthony bristled.

“I have to ask you something.” Rebecca spoke quickly, realizing that she sounded uneasy. She could see that Anthony detected her nervousness. It must be instinctive for a high-powered businessman like Anthony Romano to identify uneasiness, she assessed.

Anthony folded his arms over his chest. “What might that be?”

“What might what be?” Rebecca repeated.

“What in God’s name, woman, do you need to ask me?” Anthony countered quietly.

“Right…” Rebecca swayed slightly in her maid-of-honor dress that revealed sun-kissed shoulders and voluptuous breasts that rose and fell with each deep breath she took.

Anthony nodded his head struggling to concentrate on the conversation, because Rebecca was robbing him of his abilities to control his own cursed body.

“Well I have a little problem…” Rebecca pinched her thumb and index finger together to emphasize her point.

Anthony was in full agreement with that statement and his head nodding certainly worked wonders to piss her off, as her expression went from passive to aggressive in a split second.

“Forget it! I don’t know what I was thinking! You would’ve never agreed to it anyway.” Rebecca turned to leave.

Anthony gently caught her arm and pulled her back. “Try me,” Anthony suggested. She can try everything and anything she wants with me, Anthony considered as his mind began to conjure up fantasies of her.

“Well…I guess I’ll come right out and say it.” Rebecca started to wring her hands and sway slightly.

Again, Anthony couldn’t help but notice that she was clearly uneasy. This must be something embarrassing, Anthony started guessing. His curiosity was certainly heightened now. “You can ask me anything.” Anthony took her lovely hand into his to reassure her and to stop her from turning her hands to a frightening shade of purple. “We are family now.”

Rebecca took a deep breath in before she popped the question. “Will you marry me?”

Anthony shook his head knowing that he must have misheard her or he needed to lay off the wine for the rest of the reception. “I’m sorry…?” Anthony questioned leaning in closer in the hopes that she would repeat her question.

“It will only be temporary…” Rebecca assured.

Okay, I didn’t mishear her. “Temporarily married?” Anthony puzzled.

“Yes,” Rebecca nodded her head.

“Temporarily…?” Anthony asked again, not quite believing.

“Yes,” Rebecca nodded again.

“Is this some kind of a joke?” Anthony dropped her hand.

“No it’s not! I’m serious.”

Anthony nodded while looking around wondering who was up to this prank. She couldn’t possibly be serious? “Why do you want to ‘temporarily’ marry me?” Anthony held up his fingers to lay invisible quotation marks on the word “temporarily.”

“Because I want to adopt a child…” Rebecca looked away, because her eyes started to well up.

Anthony couldn’t bear to see that anguished look upon her face. “Come here,” Anthony pulled her in close while she cried softly. He circled his arm around her lovely shoulders and walked her over to a bench so that he could understand exactly what she needed from him. “Here take this and dry your eyes, darling.” Anthony handed her a clean, white handkerchief.

Rebecca took it and wasn’t the slightest surprised that Anthony had a clean handkerchief, because he was a gentleman. “Thank you,” Rebecca said as she sniffed and dabbed at each eye. “My face must be a mess.”

“No.” Anthony thought she was stunning, with mahogany eyes that appeared golden in the bright light of day and a flawless complexion that reminded him of the finest Lotus Ware. Her hair was swept up with delicate tendrils of deep, shiny chestnut framing her face and neck giving her a dreamy appearance. No darling, Anthony thought, your face takes my breath away...

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