Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 76(@200wpm)___ 61(@250wpm)___ 51(@300wpm)
“I’m sure you have your reasons for wanting an arranged marriage,” he says. “But first let me tell you mine.”
He gets up and takes a photo from the fireplace mantel and hands it to me. It’s a picture of Emil with a raven-haired beautiful young woman. She looks young, college-aged at most.
“Is this your daughter?” I ask, not wanting to assume.
“Yes, that’s my Emilee.” He glances at the photo and smiles. “She looks just like her mother.”
“I don’t know how to put this, but she looks young. I’m forty-six.”
“I’m aware of your age and the twenty-four-year age difference between the two of you. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to meet with you. I feel an older man will be better suited for her. Emilee is… different than other young women. She’s an old soul but, regrettably, has been very sheltered. We lost her mother, Lee, in a car accident when Emilee was three. Emilee was in the car with her but survived. I swore I wouldn’t let her out of my sight again.”
He meets my gaze and nods. “Yes, I know how that sounds,” he says. “Looking back, I know I should have done things differently. She was homeschooled and, for the most part, only had me as a playmate. She graduated high school early, at fourteen, but because of her age, I refused to let her go away to college, so I brought college here for her, either in person or over the Internet. She has multiple degrees in various disciplines. She is brilliant, but she has no idea how things work in the real world. She doesn’t understand that not everyone has her best interest in mind. In that way, she is very naive. Almost childish. And that’s my fault, so I intend to fix it. That’s where you come in.”
“I’m sorry, Emil, but I don’t think I’m the right man. I’m looking for a wife. Someone who can be my equal, someone I hope to share genuine feelings and grow with. I’m not looking to be a babysitter.”
He sighs and looks at his watch. “She was supposed to be here,” he says. “She knew today was important. I’m sorry if I misrepresented things. You won’t be babysitting her. I hope that one day you’ll both have what you described. But right now, my daughter has been rebelling. She’s entirely too stubborn and hard-headed. That’s something she got from me.” He grunts before taking a sip of his water. “She’s going to get herself in trouble and as her father, I need to protect her in any way I can.”
“I don’t want to get in the middle of your family drama,” I say.
“Please, Alex, just hear me out. Man to man. You and I aren’t very different. We’re even close to the same age. When I heard from the group that you were looking for an arrangement, I knew right away that you were the one. Your age means you’ll have more patience and you’ll be more understanding. Your experience in business and life shows me that you’ll be of equal intellect. And I know you. You’re not one of those men who are dating constantly and treat women like objects. Age is just a number. If you met her, you would see that she is your equal. She’s just a bit innocent. Naive.”
We spoke a little longer, but once he realized Emilee wasn’t showing up, we ended our meeting.
As I stepped back into the marble-floored foyer, I heard a commotion outside.
“Let me go,” a woman says. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
The front door swings open. The sun spills onto the floor, reflecting against it and making the foyer even brighter. A woman with long, straight, glossy black hair enters wearing a floral sundress that clings to her curves. Close behind her, a muscular man growls something I can’t hear.
“You don’t have to tell me to go to my father’s office. I know why you showed up. Do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me?” She jabs at the man’s chest with her finger as she speaks.
She spins towards her father’s office and faces me for the first time. Her high cheekbones have a youthful plump. Our eyes meet, and for a moment, it’s just the two of us in the foyer. Her warm brown eyes have a wisdom beyond her twenty-two years. Her pouty lips part as if she’s about to say something, but I don’t hear anything.
I’m mesmerized by her. Not just her beauty, but there’s something more I can’t explain. Something that makes me feel like I’ve always known her. As if my soul had been looking for hers my entire life.
Our eyes remain locked as we walk past each other, her heading to her father’s office and me leaving. Suddenly, she shakes her head and breaks the gaze.