Page 4 of Big, Burly Bodyguard

chapter

two

Mitchell

My brother Mike’s name lights up my phone just as I’m locking the door to my place.

Somehow, I already suspect this isn’t a casual call.

“Yeah,” I say, shouldering my keys and heading for my truck.

“I’ve got a situation, and I need your help. I need you to drive to Houston and pick someone up.”

I pause, hand hovering over the door handle. “You can’t find anyone else? Valor Springs is hours from Houston; surely you know someone closer who can do this. Are you in trouble?”

He exhales a long sigh. “Not me, but someone is.”

“Mike, what the fuck is going on? You’re going to have to give me more details.”

There’s a brief silence on the line. “I’m getting married.”

I pull my phone away from my ear to stare at the screen and make sure I’m talking to my brother. “What? You hate marriage and everything it stands for.”

He scoffs. “I never said that. I just don’t think marriage is for me. But this is a very unique situation.”

I open my truck and climb in. “I feel like I need to sit down for this conversation.”

He chuckles. “Probably. Look, I know this feels like it’s coming out of nowhere, and I guess in many ways it is. Do you remember Harrison Crawford from back home?”

“Yeah. I always thought his sister was cute. What about him?”

“A few years ago, I asked him for a favor for someone who was working at my gaming company. She was in a sticky immigration situation and needed a practical solution. So I asked him to marry her.”

“Bro, that’s a big ask for someone.”

“I know. Turns out, though, they were soulmates, and now they credit me for their marital bliss.”

“Sounds more like dumb luck,” I say.

“Agreed. But now they’ve come to me with a similar favor. Birdie’s best friend from her home is, well, she’s a princess,” he says finally. “They’re from a small island nation you’ve probably never heard of. In any case, the King and Queen have arranged a marriage that the princess doesn’t want. This”—he exhales—“this is her way out.”

I stare out my windshield at the clear blue sky. “How is trading one marriage for another her way out?”

“Marrying me won’t be permanent. It will just allow her to stay in the States until the issue blows over with her family. Then we can dissolve our union, and she’ll be free to live a life of her own choosing.”

“You’re saying this like it’s a logistics problem.”

“It is,” Mike replies. “One I can solve.”

“By marrying her.”

“Yes.”

I close my eyes. “You’re really just going to marry a stranger?”

“It’s not forever,” he says easily. Too easily. “And I owe Birdie more than I can ever repay. The company wouldn’t exist without her. She asked me for help, so I’m helping.”

He gives me a hard time for having a “hero complex,” but in truth, he’s no different. We just help people in different ways.