Coffee spewed from Jeremy's mouth. He hunched over, coughing out of control.
Shaw stared at me like I'd just confessed I wanted to be a monk. "Portia Kadish?ThePortia Kadish?"
I punched him in the arm lightly. He always had a thing for blondes. "That's the one."
Jeremy was finally able to compose himself. "And what did she want?"
"She wants to find me a wife."
Silence fell. I sipped my coffee silently.
"Seriously, Sterling. What did she want?"
"Exactly what I said. She wants to find me a wife."
Jeremy rubbed the bottom of his chin. "And did you toss her out on her keister?"
I shook my head slowly. "No. I bargained."
Shaw's gaze narrowed. "You… bargained?"
"Yup."
"For what?" Jeremy asked, his eyes curious and a little concerned.
"For a docile, biddable wife."
Shaw pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. Even Jeremy seem amused. "And how exactly did she take that?"
I shrugged. "She offered to find me one."
Jeremy's gaze sharpened. "And?"
"As long as I went out on one date with two women she chose."
"That's how they get ya," Shaw quipped.
"Nah," I said. "This is an easy win. I go out on a date with the woman she chooses all the while knowing I’ll just pick the other. When the time is up, I'll drop the baggage and keep the easy one."
Jeremy winced at my words. "If you think that's true, you're more of a fool than I ever thought you were."
His words stung a little. "I'm no fool," I assured him.
"We're all fools in matters of the heart," Jeremy said quietly.
I raised my hands up. "Okay, Mr. Miyagi. Thanks for the advice."
Shaw's expression was rarely serious, but it was serious now. "Don't take this lightly, Sterling. Portia is a master of manipulation and she has a 100% success rate when it comes to these things. If she offered you such a generous deal, she knows something you don't."
I blew Shaw off, but both of their words left me with an unsettled feeling in my stomach. Did Portia know something I didn't? And how was it possible if I didn't want a mate for someone to force one on me? You couldn't make someone fall in love, could you? These were the questions I didn't know the answer to, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer at all. Because the more I thought about the women she would choose for me, the more I felt sick over it.
"It will be fine. No one is going to make me marry someone I don't want to."
A long look passed between my friends. Neither one of them believed me.
"I'm serious!" I said, aggravation seeping through my words. "I'll marry someone I think is suitable, not some random woman she throws at me."
"We know you think this is true," Jeremy said quietly. "But mark my words. Portia won't make you do anything you don't want to. Think of a dessert you love. One you can't resist walking by without eating the whole thing. That's what she's going to do to you. You're going to want the punishment by the time she's done. I can guarantee you there's a huge difference between a plate of sugar cookies and a banana cream pie cheesecake. And we all know how much you love bananas."
