Non-Refundable Groom

“Are you my aunt’s new boyfriend?” Bennie asked, wide-eyed.

He noticed Elena’s cheeks turn scarlet as he gunned the engine.

“Garrett works at the same company I do,” she told him.

“Do you car pool to work together?” Bennie further inquired.

“I don’t even know where Garrett lives,” she said, her blue eyes on him.

“My apartment is in Santa Monica,” he told her.

“We live so close,” she said.

Thoughts of asking her out rushed into his brain, but he squashed them down, knowing she deserved more than he could give her.

“Where do you play baseball, Garrett?” Tod asked, picking up Garrett’s mitt from the back seat of the car.

“During the week, I practice at night at the Santa Monica baseball field,” he replied. “Where do you play, Tod?”

“At the Westside Little League field,” he said proudly and then added in a voice for only him to hear. “Maybe you can come with Aunt Elena and see me play sometime.”

He glanced at Elena, wanting to say he would so he could be with her again. But he knew that he could never get that deeply involved in her life.

“My sister’s house is two blocks down,” she told him, interrupting his thoughts.

“Sure thing,” he said, suddenly conscious of their ride being almost over and not wanting to leave her.

He parked the car, and just as he pulled the front seat forward for the kids to get out, Bennie popped the straw out of his boxed juice. Dark purple liquid shot straight onto Garrett’s snowy-white shirt and clean tie.

“Oh, no, Bennie!” Elena called out. “Garrett, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, really,” he said. “I’ll drop by my apartment to change before I go to my appointment.”

“Appointment?” she repeated, horrified. “Maybe you’d better come inside. I’ll wash out the stains by hand and throw your shirt in the dryer. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

As she unlocked the front door, Garrett knew he should thank her and leave. He realized that entering her sister’s house would personalize his relationship with her even more. Yet he felt drawn to her in a way that he couldn’t resist.

Elena led Garrett into Jan’s kitchen while her nephews ran into the living room to play. She couldn’t believe she’d invited him inside. She kept telling herself that she felt responsible for his soiled shirt. Yet she knew her invitation meant a lot more to her than that.

“The washer and dryer are in here,” she told him, turning on the light of the tiny, narrow laundry room.

As she went in, she felt Garrett’s body close to hers. “Give me your shirt,” she said, “and I’ll clean off the spots.”

He undid his stained tie and put it on the supply shelf. As he pulled off his shirt, she was superaware of his muscular, bronzed chest and shoulders. She felt the impulse to glide her palms across his bare skin and press her lips...

She quickly turned on the faucet in the sink, hoping he couldn’t see how turned on she was just being near him. She tried to concentrate on rubbing the stain remover into the spots, but all she could think about was his powerful frame only inches from her.

As she put his shirt in the dryer and turned on the knob, she felt his finger gently push a strand of hair from her eyes.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Elena,” he said

She looked up at him, feeling the tenderness of his words. His gaze drifted to her lips. As his mouth neared hers, she saw the laundry room door closing. The lock clicked shut, and the lights went out. Against the whizzing of the dryer, she could hear Bennie giggling outside the door.

“Bennie!” she called out, remembering she’d scolded him the last time he’d locked the door when she was inside.

“Aunt Elena, let’s play hide and seek with Garrett!” he called out.

“We can’t play now.” Her breathing quickened when she felt Garrett tenderly touch her cheek with the side of his thumb. “Bennie, please open the door.”

“I can’t! I’ve gotta go to the bathroom!” Then she heard him run out of the kitchen.

Alone with Garrett in the darkness, her heart thumped against her ribs. She felt his hand slip around her waist and draw her against his bare chest. His lips touched her earlobe, his warm breath on her neck. As his mouth closed over hers, she parted her lips, wanting to feel closer to him.

Just then Tod’s voice bellowed outside the door. “Bennie, why did you lock in Aunt Elena and her friend? That was dumb!”

“You’re dumb!” Bennie shot back.

In the next instant the lock released. The door swung open, and the laundry room lights flashed on. She quickly broke free of Garrett’s arms. Her skin was burning hot. She could barely catch her breath.

As her nephews chased after each other out of the kitchen, she pulled out Garrett’s shirt from the dryer, avoiding his eyes.

“I can iron it, if you want,” she said in a shaky voice.

He touched her hand. “Elena, I shouldn’t have—”

“The stains are out,” she told him, aching to be in his arms again. “My sister should be home any minute. She can drive me back to work.”

“I can wait and take you myself,” he said.

“I’ll be okay,” she said. “Thanks for everything.” She wanted to tell him that she didn’t want him to leave. She wanted to be locked in the laundry room with him all over again.

“Sure, anytime,” he said, slipping on his shirt as he headed out of the laundry room. “See you, Tod and Bennie!” Then she heard the front door close.

Elena leaned against the dryer, feeling weak in the knees. Why had she allowed herself to fall into Garrett’s arms? She could easily give her heart and soul to Garrett, only to end up finding out that he had zero interest in making a commitment.

Elena had already traveled on that painful highway with her ex-boyfriend, Ted. Her heart had been so caught up in Ted that she didn’t see the warning signs.

She’d believed Ted when he said he couldn’t see her on weekends because, as the partner of a bi-coastal law firm, he had to travel back and forth from Los Angeles to New York on business.

She had believed him when he said his Beverly Hills apartment wasn’t warmly furnished like a home because he had no time to put into domestic matters.

She’d believed him when he whispered that he loved her and wanted to be with her forever.

Then, after dating him for eight months, he’d invited her to go on a weekend business conference in New York. She secretly believed he was planning to ask her to marry him.

However, in the hotel room, while Ted was in the shower, she answered the ringing telephone. She was devastated when she heard a woman’s voice saying that she was Ted’s wife and asking to speak to her husband.

Feeling used and deceived by the man she loved, she left the New York hotel room before Ted got out of the shower, and never saw him again.

Elena had convinced herself that she had no interest in getting seriously involved with a man again—until she met Garrett Sims.

He had made an impact on her the moment she met him in Stanley’s office. Alone in the laundry room, she’d gotten so turned on by him that she’d momentarily forgotten he was competing with her for the job she wanted.

As she was about to walk out of the laundry room, she spotted Garrett’s stained tie lying on the shelf. She held the silk in her hand, as though she was touching a part of him, knowing she had to forget her intimate moments with him and see him as her business competitor.

She heard Jan burst through the front door. “El, where’s your car?” her sister called out.

In the kitchen she found her sister going through the mail. Bennie and Tod ran in, gave their mother hugs and hurried back into the living room to play.

“I ran out of gas,” Elena replied.

“How’d you get here?”

“I caught a ride with Garrett Sims,” she quickly replied. “He works at Stanley’s branch in Sherman Oaks.”

“By any chance, is Garrett the owner of that tie?” Jan asked with great interest, still sorting through her mail.

She impulsively put the tie behind her back. “Bennie accidentally squirted juice on Garrett’s shirt,” she explained. “I washed out the stains and—” Her face heated up as the intimate memories rose in her mind.

“And what?” Jan pursued with a mischievous smile.

“We got locked in the laundry room together for a few seconds.”

Her sister’s eyes widened. “What happened next?”

“Okay, we kissed!”

“When are you going out with him?” Jan went on. “Is he sexy? How tall is he?”

“Jan, I can’t have a relationship with Garrett,” she said, frustrated. “He’s off-limits for me.”

“Why?”

“I’m competing with him for the vice presidency!”

“Oh, no.”

“He’s got tons more experience than I do,” she rushed on, needing to share her upset. “And now, because of my insane idea, Stanley’s going to choose one of us based on how many new accounts we can get for the company.”

“El, what’re you going to do?” Jan asked worriedly as she opened a large manila envelope.

“I need to stay as far away from Garrett Sims as I can,” she replied, knowing how difficult that would be. “Stanley will completely eliminate me if he thinks I’m having an office romance with Garrett.”

“You like him a lot, don’t you?”

“He’s different, Jan,” she admitted. “I’ve never met a man like him before.”

“And if the job wasn’t in your way?”

All of her doubts about being in a serious relationship re-surfaced. “I wouldn’t date him,” she forced out.

“El, I know how worried you are about falling in love with a man who doesn’t want to get married,” Jan said. “But all of your worries are over.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was a first-caller winner in a radio contest,” she said, glancing at the document in her hand. “I just received my prize! Free enrollment in a dating service called the Marriage Connection!”

“The service is going to send you on dates?”

“Not me, silly,” her sister said. “You!”

“What?”

“El, you’re always doing stuff for me and the kids,” she hurried on. “Now I get to pay you back. I gave your name to the dating service.”

“You didn’t!”

“This is the ideal way for you to connect with the right man for you,” she explained. “Eighty percent of couples that have been matched by the Marriage Connection have ended up getting married!”

“Jan, I don’t want to meet a man through a dating service,” she protested, thinking about Garrett, wishing he could be that man for her.

“Just think—you don’t have to worry anymore about being hurt by a guy who doesn’t want to make a commitment,” Jan went on. “The Marriage Connection only matches couples who sincerely want to get married.” She showed her the document. “All you need to do is sign this two-page form agreeing to specific conditions.”

Elena reluctantly read the first page of the form indicating that no real names, home or office addresses, or phone numbers are given until both parties have met.

Then her eyes landed on one particular sentence on the first page. “The only requirement is a commitment to want to get married.”

Her heart ached to be with a man who truly desired a future with her—a man like Garrett. She quickly brushed her fantasy aside.

“What if the guy they pick out is totally wrong for me?” she asked.

“Look at the second page of the agreement,” Jan encouraged.

She caught the sentence on the second sheet. “You are only required to go on three prearranged, already-paid-for dates, one every two weeks.”

“El, just three dates,” her sister pushed.

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t say no,” Jan told her. “I’ve already given your personality profile to the service, and you’ve been matched with a great guy, who you will be going on all three dates with.”

“The dating service has already picked out a man for me?” She couldn’t imagine meeting a guy more perfect for her than Garrett.

“The letter says that he has a successful career in real estate,” Jan excitedly went on. “He’s three years older than you, enjoys romantic dinners and walking on the beach under the moonlight. And he must sign the agreement stating that his goal is to get married. Perfect, right?”

Sure, if it was Garrett! she wanted to say but didn’t. She couldn’t spoil her sister’s surprise gift to her.

“I’ll think about it, okay, Jan?”

“There’s no time,” she said. “Your first prearranged date is set for this Saturday night.”

“Saturday?” she repeated incredulously.

Before Jan could reply, Bennie ran into the kitchen looking upset. “Mom, the words in my reading book are fuzzy looking.”

“We need to get your eyes checked, Ben,” her sister said, lovingly kissing him on his forehead. Then he went back to his activities.

Elena could hear the frustration in her sister’s voice. She had no vision insurance to cover the cost and had been putting off making an appointment until she had the money.

“Jan, we’re getting Bennie to an optometrist next week,” Elena said.

“But I can’t.”

“We’ll manage with the money,” she reassured her, knowing more than ever how much she needed that raise.

“El, please let me pay you back with this dating service prize,” her sister pleaded. “Sign the Marriage Connection agreement so I can feel like I’m giving you something in return.”

Knowing how much it meant to her sister, Elena reluctantly put her ink signature at the bottom of the second page of the form.

After her sister dropped her off at the office parking structure to get her car, she realized that she still had Garrett’s tie. She pressed the silk against her face, drawing in the musky scent of him.

Stop it! she scolded herself. You can’t think about him in a romantic way!

As she got into her car, she started up the engine and saw the gas gauge arrow rise to mid-level. Garrett had taken care of her fuel problem, just as he promised. He was so incredible—considerate, kind, caring. Every quality he possessed was what she dreamed of in a man, except she needed to know one thing.

Did Garrett want a committed relationship like she did? She could never get deeply involved with a man again until she was sure he wanted a future with her.

As she zoomed out of the parking structure to a property management appointment in West Los Angeles, she kept reminding herself that getting the vice presidency was her priority, not Garrett Sims.

Then why did she drape Garrett’s tie gently across her lap as if it was the most precious object in the world to her?

Two

Garrett tried to concentrate on the traffic as he drove to the singles-only apartment building he managed in Palms. He could still smell the vanilla scent of Elena and the feel of her soft lips against his.

Everything about Elena captivated him. He admired how warm and gentle she was with her nephews. The nurturing way she took care of him made him feel so close to her, almost like he was part of her family.

In the laundry room he had been so turned on.... If the door hadn’t burst open—

His foot suddenly hit the brake pedal when he realized he was about to rear-end the car in front of him.

What the heck am I thinking? he silently demanded. He couldn’t allow himself to desire her. She was caring and giving and loving. She was definitely a marrying kind of woman. But he wasn’t a marrying kind of man. He used to be. He used to dream of having a wife and children more than anything. After what happened in his past marriage, he had no intention of signing a marriage license again.

He never should’ve kissed Elena. He never should’ve touched her soft skin. But being near her made him want to cuddle and hold her body close to his.

As he drove and anxiously reached for his tie, he realized that he’d left it in the laundry room. He knew he should wait until tomorrow morning to call her about it. But the need to connect with her again was stronger than he wanted to admit.

As his car neared the two-story building in Palms, he picked up his car phone, dialed the Santa Monica branch and learned from Grace that Elena was out of the office. He quickly told Grace that he had business to discuss with Elena and got her cellular number.

He parked his car in front of the complex and dialed Elena’s number. When he heard her velvet voice answer the phone, he was hooked all over again.

“Elena, I forgot my tie at your sister’s,” he began.

“I’ve got it with me,” she said. “When I get back to the office, I’ll send a messenger over to the Sherman Oaks branch.”

“How about if I drop by and pick it up?” he suggested, wanting to see her again, even though he knew he shouldn’t.

“Stanley might be here,” she replied a bit nervously.

“Yeah, that could be a problem,” he said, knowing he couldn’t jeopardize their chances to the promotion. He felt the urge to ask if he could drop by her apartment to get it, but he didn’t dare cross that boundary line.

“I could stop by after the office closes at seven tonight.”

“I might be gone by then.”

“I’ll take the chance.”

A few minutes later Garrett entered the lobby of the Palms apartment building.

“Garrett, just the man I want to see,” said Sam McGrath, the middle-aged owner of the building.

“Hi, Sam, are there any problems with the pipe replacement job?” he asked, referring to the plumber who was replacing some of the old, leaky pipes.

“No further leaks yet,” the owner replied. “Have you worked with this plumber before?”

“He’s not my regular vendor,” Garrett replied. “The plumber I usually deal with is ill. But I’ll make sure the work goes smoothly.”

“Garrett, your new apartment may become available very soon,” Sam said.

“My new apartment?” he asked, confused.

“How could you forget?” Sam asked, surprised. “You signed the lease months ago and paid me the security deposit, plus the first and last months’ rent to hold the place.”

“Yes, of course,” he said, realizing that he was so consumed with thoughts of Elena that he’d forgotten everything but her. “When will the apartment be ready?”

“The tenant in twenty-eight may be leaving for Florida earlier than he planned.” Sam McGrath headed toward the front door of the lobby. “I’ll let you know when the space is vacant.”

“Thanks a lot, Sam.”

As Garrett looked for the plumber, he waited for a rush of excitement to hit him, knowing he’d be moving sooner than scheduled into the apartment he’d been waiting for. Renting a place in the singles-only complex in Palms had been his goal ever since his divorce.

Garrett had been willing to do everything he could to keep the idea of getting married again permanently out of his brain.

He remembered when he’d met his ex-wife, Claire, a few short years ago. He’d just moved to Los Angeles from Seattle. He had no friends in L.A., just his elderly Aunt Rosie and a good job opportunity at Grant Property Management.

He’d met Claire at a jazz club where she was waitressing. She’d instantly connected with him and became his friend, cohort and lover. After a few months of constantly seeing each other, he’d fallen in love. When she excitedly mentioned marriage, he didn’t hesitate.

To Garrett, marriage was forever, a commitment to stay together for always. He believed that Claire felt the same way, too.

However, after six months as husband and wife, when he mentioned starting a family, she seemed preoccupied. She said her mother in Colorado was very ill and didn’t have ample medical insurance to cover the bills. Responding to her need, he agreed that she should withdraw a huge chunk of savings from their account.

Before he realized it, she’d cleaned out their bank cash, maxed out their credit cards and borrowed a bundle of money from the bank.

The night he planned to talk to her about what was going on, he got home from work and found all of her belongings gone from their apartment. Distraught, he called a waitress friend of hers at the club. He was devastated to discover that she’d bought herself a brand-new red Camaro, packed all of her things and run off with a guy she’d met at the jazz club.

With a stack of creditors’ letters in hand, Garrett went through the emotional trauma of the divorce. He realized that their marriage had meant nothing to her. He had meant nothing to her. She’d let him down, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t sustain a happy, satisfying marriage.

He remained at the apartment he’d shared with her, but every time he bumped into married neighbors, he was constantly reminded of how his marriage had failed.

He’d lucked out when he was given the singles-only building to manage by Stanley and learned that the tenants signed a two-year lease agreeing to live a singles life while at the complex.

The moment he had heard that an apartment might become available in a few months, he had quickly signed the two-year lease and paid Sam McGrath a fistful of money ahead of time to guarantee his spot.

He needed to be alone. He couldn’t imagine sharing his life again.

Garrett saw the plumber coming out of an apartment. He started down the hall toward him. As Garrett talked with the plumber, he realized how conflicted he now felt about moving into the singles-only building. Meeting beautiful, sexy, bold Elena Martin had totally jolted his world.

And, as he listened to the plumber, he kept glancing at his watch, wanting seven o’clock to roll around so he could be with Elena again.

At the office Elena nervously looked at the office wall clock. It was six forty-five. In fifteen minutes, Garrett would arrive to pick up his tie. She anxiously glanced at the extension phones on her desk and noted that Stanley’s line was still lit. Everyone in the office had left, except him.

She held Garrett’s tie in her hand, thinking of an excuse to leave before he arrived. She couldn’t risk Stanley’s seeing them together. Maybe she could set his tie on her desktop where he could find it. Why wasn’t she doing it? She knew why. Because she couldn’t wait to see him.

“Are you working late tonight, Elena?” Stanley called out, walking toward her partition.

She frantically jammed Garrett’s tie into her top drawer. “I have some paperwork to finish,” she replied, quickly shifting folders on her desk to look busy.

“One of these days I’ve got to cut down my late hours,” her boss said. “I go home almost every night with a headache and sometimes chest pain. I feel so tense sometimes.”

As he continued talking, her stomach churned. Garrett would be there in a few minutes. Stanley would immediately be suspicious. She wished she’d insisted that Garrett not come. But her attraction to him had taken over, and now she might pay for it.

“Don’t work too late, Elena,” Stanley went on. “You’ll wind up with ulcers like me.”

“I plan to leave in a few minutes,” she pushed out. Her eyes darted to the wall clock. Six fifty-five!

“Maybe I’ll wait and ride down in the elevator with you,” her employer said.

“Don’t do that,” she blurted. “I mean, you better go without me.” She grabbed a stack of files. “I forgot that I’ve got tons of filing to do, too.”

“Well, have a great evening,” he added.

The moment Stanley was gone, she grabbed Garrett’s tie out of the drawer and put it on top of her desk where he could easily find it. She was not going to take a chance like that with her boss again.

She waited a few minutes for Stanley to get into the elevator. Then she grabbed her bag, opened the front door and slammed straight into Garrett’s arms.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest at the feel of his warm hands on her shoulders. “Did Stanley see you come up in the elevator?” she anxiously asked.

“No,” he replied. “And if he had, I planned to tell him that I came to see him. I wouldn’t do anything to mess up your opportunity for the promotion, Elena.”

His eyes held hers with a warmth and trust that made her melt inside. “I’ll get your tie,” she stammered.