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.”
Christopher sounded like the kind of guy who’d make the perfect husband. Not only was he doing something kind of heroic—and was willing to listen to his mom’s scheme in the first place—but he had also put the arrangement he needed at risk because it was the right thing to do. He could have just kept this information to himself and let me be blindsided when I showed up and anticipated a real relationship. There wasn’t much I could have done about it once we were married. “I’m glad he reached out to you. This would have been an awkward conversation to have when I arrived in Snow Valley.”
“I’ll understand if you want to reconsider your decision since you were expecting your marriage to be real.” Holly sighed and patted my hand. “The timeline is awfully tight, but I might be able to find a different bride for Christopher. Someone whose expectations will better match what he wants from a mail-order bride. And then I’d be more than happy to help you find a husband who would be a better match.”
I was tempted to take the