Dare To Love Series: The Marriage Dare (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by CP Publishing. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Dare To Love Series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of CP Publishing, or their affiliates or licensors.

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  27-year-old Jane Cooper is your quintessential girl Friday: presentable but no beauty queen, smart but not a genius, reliable but never a go-getter. Everyone thinks they know what to expect from her…except they don’t.

  For one thing, Jane can’t say no to dares. Which is why when her friends dare Jane to make out with a stranger---

  She does it.

  And when said beautiful stranger dares her to marry him---

  She says ‘yes.’

  THE MARRIAGE DARE

  By Marian Tee

  Chapter One

  One month ago

  Ian Dare’s house, Riley’s baby shower

  27-year-old Jane Cooper pretended not to notice – or care – that she was getting odd looks from some of the invited guests to Riley’s baby shower. With her sensible hairstyle, sensible clothes, and sensible everything, she knew that she didn’t look like someone who could be friends with the wife of Ian Dare, the powerful and intimidating president of the Miami Thunder.

  But she was, although she herself did think it was a little surreal.

  The friendship between her, Riley, and Madison – who was engaged to another Dare – had started out a couple of months ago. Her boss had suddenly called in sick, prompting her boss’ boss to send Jane as Vince’s reliever at the prestigious press launch of “Women of Dares,” a charity event meant to celebrate everyday acts of courage performed by women from all walks of life.

  It had been her first press launch, and Jane had been stunned and more than a little alarmed at how all the reporters around her were vicious at each other---

  Oh, look, it’s the nobody from the nobody website.

  Hello, somebody – somebody who was caught fucking the maid, that is. Regular alimony is such a joy, isn’t it?

  Jane had started mentally composing her letter of apology right after. She knew Vince was hoping she could at least get one question in with any of the hosts, but if it meant having to go against these people---

  I don’t want to be eaten alive, Jane had thought. Been there, done that, and she wasn’t the type to repeat the same mistakes. Information provided with the media kit would have to do.

  Or so she thought, but thirty minutes into the launch, one of the Women of Dares staff had approached Jane, saying that her presence was requested at Room A.

  A as in what, Jane had wondered nervously as she followed the staff member. Was she being arrested? Apprehended? Oh God, what if she was about to be annihilated---

  But as it turned out, A hadn’t meant anything special. It had simply meant the first room at the second-floor hall, and inside it had been Riley and Madison, who had singled her out for an exclusive.

  She had asked why, and Madison had said she was the only one who hadn’t looked like a shark to her.

  So does that make me a goldfish? Jane hadn’t been trying to be funny. Rather, the words had just slipped out because she was so nervous. But then the two other women had burst into laughter – and that had been that.

  Somehow, they had ended up fast friends, and they had met regularly for brunches. Every time there was a Dare gathering, Jane was always invited.

  And she always did her best to come, but only as long as her friends promised to keep the media attention away from her.

  “All this skulking about always makes me feel like we’re about to commit a crime,” Riley remarked in amusement as she entered the newly renovated bedroom she shared with her husband.

  “Blame her.” Madison, who was seated by the vanity, pointed at Jane.

  “You guys just don’t understand.” Jane sighed as she lowered herself on the carpet, legs folded under her. “If people at my workplace find out I’m friends with you, they’ll hate me.”

  “You’re just paranoid,” Riley said as she sat on her bed and stretched her legs out.

  “It’s not a crime to stand out in any way,” Madison added.

  Jane scowled. “You so don’t get to use that therapist tone with me, young lady.” Madison snorted. “And you don’t get to act like you’re ninety just because “I’m not supposed to stand out.”

  “It’s like…there are two types of people in this world. Some who were meant to be heroes and heroines, and others who were meant to be supporting characters.”

  And she was one of the latter, Jane thought. Even her name was a dead giveaway. It wasn’t cool like Riley or elegant like Madison. It was just…Jane, like plain Jane.

  And then there was her backstory, which wasn’t much of a story at all. It wasn’t that she had a masochistic bent – she couldn’t imagine going through the stuff Riley or Madison did, but Jane also knew that the two other women wouldn’t be who they were now if not for how their pasts shaped them.

  “I just don’t have enough interesting things going on,” Jane said finally. “I complained about this exact same thing once to my parents actually. I asked them if perhaps I was adopted? I was that desperate to have something interesting in my life.”

  Riley was wide-eyed. “And then what happened?”

  “Mom gave me five dollars and told me to go out and find someone I could pay to listen to me.”

  The two other women burst into peals of laughter.

  Wiping tears from her eyes, Madison said, “If you want my professional opinion---”

  Jane shook her head vehemently.

  Madison pretended not to notice, saying, “I simply think it’s because you don’t put yourself out there enough.”

  “You know I did,” Jane protested. During last year’s Christmas party at her workplace, a colleague had asked Jane what she thought about the showdown that had taken place in the company’s chat room. The online mudslinging had been about gender equality, with Merry, one of the company’s up-and-coming news anchors, saying certain rules in the industry were still sexist, while Hannah, an outgoing executive, had said those rules existed for a reason.

  “I think Merry had come up with rather salient points, but I also thought she had been unnecessarily rude,” Jane had answered honestly, recalling the way the beautiful TV personality had used ‘fucking’ like a prefix for Hannah’s name.

  As soon as she had spoken, a voice from behind had answered coolly, “Don’t you think you’re the rude one? Shouldn’t you say things like that to my face rather than backstabbing me?”

  It had been Merry of course, and the other woman had walked past her with a contemptuous toss of her head in the middle of Jane’s stammering apology.

  The story about it had spread like wildfire in the company, and although Merry’s subsequent suspension had many of her colleagues telling Jane that she had been vindicated, it hadn’t made Jane feel any better.

  Instead, the incident had given her a phobia about speaking up, and the trauma had been so that Jane had been forced to secretly submit to several counseling sessions to get over it.

  Seeing the frowning, unhappy look on her friend’s face, Madison’s own face softened. “You’re talking about the Not Merry episode, aren’t you?”

  “What else?” Jane answered gloomily.

  “That was an isolated incident,” Riley said gently. “You
must know that by now, right?”

  Jane shrugged, which the other two knew was their friend’s way of being silently stubborn.

  Madison sighed. “I just wish you could at least try loosening up a bit more. If you just tried, you’ll realize how much you’re missing out on your life. You’ll meet new friends. New guys---”

  “I work in P.R.,” Jane interrupted dryly. “I meet new guys all the time.”

  “Yes, but they can’t fall in love with you if you don’t let them see the real you. I swear, if guys knew just how funny you are---”

  Jane made a face. “How many times do we have to go through this? Guys don’t dig clowns. Okay?”

  “See?” Madison flashed a triumphant grin. “Funny!”

  Riley nodded eagerly. “I agree. If you just let loose and be yourself---”

  “Reality check, guys. There are only two types of people in this world who can be ‘their selves’---” Jane drew quotation marks in the air.

  Riley and Madison groaned. “Here we go again with the generalizations.”

  It was Jane’s turn to play deaf. “First---” She wagged her index finger at her friends. “People who are already perfect, which means, duh. What else can they be but their selves? And secondly---” She made a number-two sign with her fingers. “People who are too rich that no one can afford to tell them off because their real selves are jackasses.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “And guess what? I’m neither.”

  Riley’s gaze took on a calculating look. “You know what?”

  Jane didn’t answer right away, feeling suspicious.

  “I’m going to dare you---”

  Jane groaned.

  She knew it!

  “That’s cheating,” Jane protested. These two knew how much she hated not taking on a dare. It was, like, her one and only Achilles’ heel, which she just couldn’t get rid of.

  Madison had her phone out, and she was excitedly scrolling on her screen. “I’ll up the ante.” Looking up, she said with a grin, “I got the idea from this.” She showed her phone to her friends.

  Top Dares for Bridal Showers

  Jane frowned. “But this isn’t a bridal shower.”

  “Stop nitpicking,” Madison censured.

  “I can’t help it. I’m paid to nitpick---”

  “Well, don’t do it now. We’re not at work, are we?” Madison pointed to #1 on the list. “And this is what we think you should do.”

  Make out with a beautiful stranger.

  “Are you crazy?” Jane burst out. “That entire sentence should be flagged. Stranger. Beautiful. Make out.”

  “It’s perfect,” Riley crowed.

  “It’s insane,” Jane objected.

  “We’ll be generous, Jane. You don’t have to do it right away.” Madison gave her friend an angelic smile. “Let’s say…thirty days?”

  Chapter Two

  Alpha Media Corporation’s Pre-Labor Day Party

  A hotel ballroom in downtown Miami

  The clock was ticking.

  Jane glared at her watch. This was all her friends’ fault. They knew exactly how to mess with her head, knew that she wouldn’t be able to bear not taking them up on their dare.

  And she only had a few hours left, Jane couldn’t help thinking, before she was officially declared a loser.

  Even as her teeth gnashed, Jane couldn’t help scanning the ballroom---

  But of course all the faces she could see were familiar, since the party was organized by and for AMC’s staff. Jane’s company loved to throw parties for just about any reason, and tonight was the last corporate hurrah for the summer before everyone went away for the three-day Labor weekend.

  She checked her watch. I still have time.

  Jane marched determinedly towards the doors, unaware that the unusually militant expression on her normally smiling face was attracting several looks from the opposite sex.

  Maybe God was in a good mood, Jane thought as she pushed the doors open, and she might just find---

  Jane’s thoughts came to a standstill, and she, too, froze in her tracks as soon as she stepped into the empty cocktail area outside the ballroom.

  Also coming out from the other ballroom was the exact type of man she was looking for.

  He was tall and muscular, his shoulders so remarkably broad they looked more suitable for army greens than the expensive tux he was wearing. But what really caught Jane’s attention was how enthralling he looked.

  His looks were the kind that went beyond beautiful, Jane thought absently, and for one moment the logophile in her itched to write about his looks.

  That hair---

  Bleached blond would be the crass and most tasteless way to put it. Jane’s lip curled unconsciously, and she was so repulsed at the thought that she failed to notice how the focus of her attention was also staring at her.

  And those eyes---

  If someone said they were baby blue, she might be held liable for murder. The best was to quote Karen Carpenter, Jane thought, golden starlight, blue eyes, and all that.

  A corner of the man’s lips folded up in a smirk, and it was only then Jane realized that he knew she was staring at him.

  Shit.

  Jane’s gaze automatically moved to her watch. I still have time.

  She looked around them and relaxed when the vast cocktail area remained empty. She looked back at the man.

  And he was alone, Jane thought. That was a bonus!

  Not allowing herself to think, Jane walked forward and, clearing her throat---

  “Hi.”

  She wanted to kick herself right after. That was so lame.

  Thankfully, the man was nice enough to pretend he, too, didn’t find her pick-up line pathetic. Instead, his smile widened, and he said, “Hello, pet.”

  Her eyes widened. British? And then her heart started to beat just a little bit harder and faster. British…and he had called her pet.

  “So…” She cleared her throat again, trying to think of the best way to get some action going, but nothing came to mind. In the end, all she could do was clear her throat another time---

  Please God, don’t let him think I’ve got bronchitis or something, that would be so not sexy.

  “So…” And she cleared her throat one last time. “Do you want to make out?”

  “Err…no.”

  Jane blinked.

  That…was unexpected.

  Or should she have expected it?

  Whatever.

  Right now, she just…needed to get the hell out of here, before she started dissolving into a humiliated heap on the floor. Jane managed a smile. “No hard feelings.” The words came out of nowhere, and this time she was convinced she would melt. Only people who did have hard feelings said that.

  But as Jane whirled around to leave, a strong hand caught hers from behind. “Where are you going, pet?”

  He had just turned her down, and he was still calling her pet?

  “Outside,” Jane muttered, her back to him. “To kill myself. Wouldn’t want to do it here. Not at all polite.” And that was true…but why was she suddenly speaking in fragments?

  The man chuckled. “Please don’t, pet.”

  And that’s the third pet, Jane thought, annoyed. Was this man making fun of her?

  “You didn’t let me finish,” the man continued.

  Her teeth gnashed. So he wanted to explain why he was turning her down? Was that---

  “What I meant was no, I don’t want to make out now.”

  Oh.

  “But perhaps…later?”

  Jane couldn’t help it this time, whirling around as she blurted out, “Really?”

  “Absolutely, pet.” The man’s fingers started caressing her hand, and Jane was both distracted and fascinated by the variety of sensations that his touch evoked.

  Excitement. Fear. Restlessness. Heat. Need.

  And so, so much more, she just needed more time to grasp all of them.

  “But I wa
nt to get to know you first.”

  It took a while for the man’s words to sink in, and when they did, a sheepish smile formed on Jane’s lips. “Shouldn’t that be my line?”

  “Women,” he told her solemnly, “aren’t the only ones who can have standards.”

  “I really want to believe you,” Jane answered truthfully, “but let’s just agree to disagree, shall we?”

  He only smiled. “What’s your name, pet?”

  “Jane.” It didn’t even occur to her to lie. “And you…pet?”

  His laughter rang out, but Jane didn’t blame him. The word had sounded gross when she was the one who said it. Maybe it only worked with a crisp British accent?

  When she caught him looking at her, Jane felt unsure. Was that a hey-she’s-even-prettier-than-I-realized look? Or was it more a what-the-hell-am-I-doing-with-her glance?

  Finally, he said, “I hope you don’t think I’m being dodgy or anything, but I’d rather not give you my name.”

  As soon as he spoke, her gaze automatically strayed to his fingers. Oh thank God, Jane thought in relief when she saw that they were bare.

  “A little late to check if I’m married, don’t you think?”

  Jane looked up, shamefaced. “I know.” She gnawed on her lip, mumbling, “In my defense – all of this is…new.”

  “I didn’t notice,” the man said politely.

  How sweet, she thought, surprised. And so she told him sincerely, “You say a lot of things I want to believe.”

  The words only seemed to amuse him. “You want to – but you can’t?”

  Her shoulders moved in an awkward, apologetic shrug, and not wanting to say anything offensive, she changed the subject, asking, “Anyway…what do I call you?”

  “I’m open to suggestions.”

  Her face creased with a frown. “Let me see…”

  As Jane spoke, he gestured towards the balcony, and she nodded to his silent question, allowing him to lead her.

  A nice breeze greeted them outside, and for one moment she just breathed, savoring the salty scent of the beach.

  “Well, pet?” Jane’s breath caught as his hands settled on her hips before turning her around to face him. “Have you thought of a name?”