The Rented Husband (Southern Nights Series)

Chapter 1

“It can’t be that bad. This is Hawaii for crying out loud. Beautiful sunsets, exotic flowers, men with bodies made of pure sin walking the beaches….”

Any hope that Marcey had at coaxing a smile from Olivia quickly dwindled when she found herself on the receiving end of a peeved glare.

“Not you too?” Olivia groaned. Marcey held up her hands in surrender.

“Just saying,” she replied innocently. “I’m not telling you to go out there and marry the first guy you see. I’m just telling you that you should loosen up some. Why don’t you let your hair down and open yourself up to some other possibilities?”
Olivia turned and strode back to her desk, stomping every step of the way. She didn’t want to open herself up to any possibilities. She was happy just the way she was. “It’s going to be a week of torture.”

“Well geez, Olivia, the way you talk, it sounds like your being shipped off to some sort of Chinese torture camp. It’s just a wedding. Your baby sister’s wedding at that! If the family gets to you that bad then why not just find some random guy and pretend that you’re with him? As in, seriously with him. Maybe even tell them you pulled a Vegas trip and got married. I bet that they’ll leave you alone then.”

Marcey wasn’t really being serious. She was only trying to show Olivia that she was being down right petty about the whole situation. At least she had a family that cared about her enough to want to see her happy, even if their definition of happy was slightly different than her own.

“What did you just say?” Olivia’s mind was already racing thoughts. Marcey just might be on to something there. “Rent-a-husband? It’s perfect!”

“What do you mean, what did I say?” When she glanced up, Marcey eyed Olivia carefully. She had seen that look before. The fixated look that says she’s thinking about something. That same intensified look that says the wheels in her head turning and her mind mulling over something that’s absolutely crazy.

Then she remembered what she said and it all clicked. “You can’t be seriously considering what I just said?” Marcey looked completely horror stricken that Olivia would even go there. When she didn’t immediately respond to her question, Marcey walked around the desk and grabbed Olivia by the shoulders, turning her so that they were face to face. “Olivia, please tell me you’re not really thinking about going out and finding an impromptu husband?”

Olivia looked up at Marcy and blinked a few times. That was exactly what she was thinking. “Why not? It seems like the perfect solution.”

“What guy would you even consider going along with something like this? No self-respecting man is going to play hubby for a week and not expect anything in return.”

Olivia furrowed her brows in concentration. Taking a step back and pulling away from Marcey, she walked back over to the window.

“I can pay him,” she spoke aloud. She was considering the possibilities from every possible angle that she could imagine. “I have the money and my family would be thrilled to see me with a man.” She turned back around and shrugged. “So why not? I could tell them we did one of those quickie drive by ceremonies in Vegas like you mentioned and none of them would be less desireable. All their attention would keep focused on Caley’s wedding instead of me. The poor single attorney whom can’t seem to find a guy that wants to spend the rest of his natural born life with her. It makes perfect sense to me.”

Marcey was speechless. She stood rooted in her spot. “You’re one crazy lady, Olivia Murray, if that’s what you think. You have finally lost every marble in that tiny head of yours. Again, I’m going to ask you – who in the world would you get to do something like this and then pull it off successfully in front of your very distinguishable family?”

“Good morning ladies!”

Brody O’Connor ducked his head in Olivia’s office and grinned widely. When neither of them said a word he simply nodded to them both and kept on walking towards his own office.

After the door closed behind him, Marcey turned around and looked at Olivia who had that starry look in her eyes. “No,” she told her, horrified that she would even consider a guy like Brody.

"Yes. He’s perfect." Olivia replied knowingly.

"No, you can’t. It’s not right." Marcey insisted.

Brody O’Connor was the type of man that was all business when it came to the court room but outside of court he was the ultimate playboy. The guy came to work on most days smelling like cheap perfume and on the others he carried with him the telltale signs of lunch time quickies with the evidence of left over lip stick staining his starched, white collar.

It was also a well-known fact that he had a black book filled with every available woman’s phone number that resided on this side of the Mississippi river. It was official; Brody was a player.

“He’s perfect. He’s a good looking man and there will be zero chance of us ever really hooking up. I can offer him money and an unforgettable, sensational trip to Hawaii; for that one week, at least, my family will be off my back. It’s a win-win situation. Everyone will be happy.”

Marcey closed her eyes for a minute wanting to shake some sense into Olivia. She could see that she was dead set on this new plan of hers. She could see it in her eyes. Going off past experience, there was nothing she could say that would change her mind. Olivia was stubborn like that. When she was set on something; nothing and no one would be able to stand in her way.

“You are asking for a world of trouble,” Marcey cautioned her as she started to back herself towards the door. She pointed her finger at Olivia and narrowed her eyes. “Don’t let it go unsaid that I didn’t warn you Olivia Murray.”

Olivia gifted her friend with an honest smile.

“Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing,” she assured her as she sat back down in her chair. She had dallied long enough and now it was time for her to get some real work done. She felt a hundred times better since she had come up with a plan of action to ward off her families’ attempts at setting her up with another blind date disaster. “Just watch.” She picked up the first file that she needed to deal with for the day and muttered to herself, “You’ll see.”