The Hopeful Bride

Gabriella

Oh, no. No. Like a hundred times, oh my God, this is for reals, no. Her eyes watched his forearm under the jacket shift as he lifted her bag. Those arms. She turned away so she wasn't staring. This could not be real. Her lifetime sex-buddy, father of her future children, legit husband was him?

He began walking ahead and she followed a little bit dazed by the situation.

Oh, God. He was so hot. Like whatever she had been expecting... it wasn't this. The men on Lisa's website looked regular. Average, healthy– and some were rounder than others, but no one was old or bald or grey.

But they also weren't male-model worthy. This man, who um, was easily six foot five, with broad shoulders, shaggy hair and a mountain man sheik beard was clearly out of her league. His eyes were so blue they reminded her of the pools on the hotel brochures.

There had to be a mix-up. Yes. That was it. He couldn't be the guy. Not him. Not a man who looked like he invented Crossfit.

"Are you sure? I mean–" she sputtered, unsure what she meant.

He laughed, low and gravelly and so sexy she might have to change her underwear because she couldn't even get started on how attractive his voice was.

"Lisa said you would be wearing a yellow scarf." He murmured. "But I mean, I guess you would know if you were looking for your husband-to-be."

"I am." Oh, she definitely needed new underwear.

"Then I'm sure."

She followed him out of the airport and into the parking lot. Keeping up with him as much she could when each stride he made was two steps for her. "Okay, it's just that– I mean–" they stopped at a white pickup truck and he loaded her bag into the back.

Jesus this was happening quickly.

"Okay, could you just wait a minute?" She said, holding out both hands.

He stopped, turning to face her dead on. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know if I'm the girl for you. I think there's been a mix-up."

He smiled with his mouth closed and holy crap, were those dimples? Two of them. And she wanted to lick each one. Badly.

"There's no mix-up. My mail-order bride is coming from Chicago, wearing a yellow scarf." He pulled at the end of the scarf, unwinding it from her neck and allowing himself a healthy view of her cleavage. "And that's you."

"Oh." She nodded, feeling her heart pound in her chest. "So. You really are coming for me then."

"Oh, I'm coming for you all right."

Her cheeks burned at the innuendo. How was this her actual life?

Troy motioned to his truck. "Ready to go, or do you need another minute?"

Her breath hitched as she shook her head. Nothing else to really think about now other than where they were going? She let him lead her to the passenger side door and watched as he held the door for her. Maybe he was just a decent guy, or maybe he was an axe murderer, contemplating his plan to kill her and literally, no one would ever know.

Shit, she should have taken a picture of his plates.

Gabriella: This guy is hot.

Shar: Ted Bundy was attractive.

Gabriella: I forgot to take a picture of the plate.

Message failed to send.

Shit.

They were barreling down the freeway now, she looked down at her phone. No bars. No 4G. No nothing.

"Sorry, no service here. Back at the airport, they have service." Troy shrugged his shoulders and he turned on the staticky radio. "In town, at the roadhouse cafe, the gas station, and the outdoor store, you'll get better service. But this freeway is a bit of a dead zone until you hit the lodge. Even then, the service isn't high quality."

"Oh," Gabriella rolled down her window, in an effort to breathe. Gust of warm mountain air fluttered through her hair.

"The flight went okay?"

"It was good," She managed to take in the scenery. "A little bumpy, but bearable."

He nodded, his eyes on the road. "So, do your parents know that you're here, with me?"

"What?" she shifted so she could watch him a little better. Take in his profile. His blue eyes shifted towards her quickly before darting back to the road.

"Your parents?"

She nodded. Right. "Dead," she sighed. "My father was a cop, shot in the line of duty and my mom died of cancer shortly after I graduated high school."

"Shit," he murmured. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist. "We're practically strangers. If we don't ask each other about these kinds of things, how will we know anything about one another?"

"Right," Troy said.

She nodded with tsk of her tongue and went on. "Anyway, I was an only child and I was able to move in with my Grandfather for a bit. We took care of each other and then... he died. I was twenty by then, so I did what any smart twenty-year-old single and lonely girl would do." Gabriella smiled, "I answered an ad on craigslist and moved in with Sharpay, who was a bit eccentric, but really sweet. Then she got married and my boyfriend was supposed to move in. Then he cheated on me with one of the maids from the hotel we worked at. And I mean, I could have dealt with it, really. But then there were budget cuts. So I found myself jobless and single. Anyway, I immediately went back to craigslist, because well, what else can a single lonely girl do? and I answered Lisa's ad."

She took a deep breath. Risking a glance over at Troy who was still watching the road. His expression was a little amused as he glanced in her direction.

Right. She was losing her mind. She looked back out the window. "Sorry, I ramble when I'm nervous. Being in a car with a stranger and no cell service on my way to some unknown location makes me nervous." She paused and glanced over at him again.

He said nothing.

"So, tell me? How many in-laws do I stand to gain here? I imagine mountain life is pretty isolating, it might be nice to have friendly faces around."

He winced. "My parents died last winter."

The truck went silent.

"I don't have any family in the blood sense. I do have some friends, so it won't be that bad. They're kind of like family." Troy adjusted his hands on the wheel.

"Oh," she bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry about your parents."

"No need to be sorry, like you said. Practically strangers," he said the last bit with a sigh.