Free Marrying Mona (LOVESTRUCK "Spirited" Comedy Romance) by Mimi Riser Page A

away.”
    “Not without you. C’mon out. We’ll go somewhere and talk.”
    “About what?”
    Suspicious little waterfall, wasn’t she?
    “Why you’re crying, for starters. My grandmother thinks it’s because of me.”
    “What is she, a psychoanalyst?”
    Suspicious and sarcastic.
    Danny heaved a sigh. “No, she’s just psychic – clairvoyant and clairaudient. She sees visions and hears voices from the ‘Great Beyond’.”
    The door clicked open, and a teary gaze challenged his. “And you’re all about ‘live for the moment’ – you don’t believe in any kind of beyond , do you?”
    “Maybe not.” Danny wasn’t sure what he believed actually, but he’d always played fair with his sexual conquests, never led them to expect anything more than the sex. And the women he dated were generally the sort who preferred that arrangement – party girls and panthers – fast females who stuck to the fast lane and shunned seatbelts. Beautiful predators as hungry as himself.
    He’d made a mistake seducing a “good girl” like Mona Carmichael, but contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t a total louse. He did have some feelings, some sense of integrity hidden beneath the playboy image. If Granddad D’Leon could do the honorable thing, so could Danny – as long as he didn’t think too much about how it would impact his future. But he rarely considered the future consequences of his actions anyway, so that part was easy.
    “It doesn’t matter what I believe or don’t,” he said. “Gran believes you’re pregnant. By me. Is she right?”
    Mona slammed the door in his face.
    “I’d take that for a yes,” Angelica said, coming up behind him. “Mona dear,” she called softly, “I understand how you feel, really I do. The same situation happened to me when I was your age. But you have to think of the baby, what’s best for it. Danny is trying to do the right thing for both of you. He’s going to marry you, dear.”
    “I am?” Danny stiffened. Was that what he’d been planning, thinking? Had he even been thinking at all? Hearing Angelica say it aloud – to Mona – made his nebulous notions of honor sound so…so solid. Like a ball and chain. Sudden uncertainty swamped him. His whole carefree lifestyle sank before his eyes. Gulp. He was in over his head, drowning…
    Ow.
    Angelica elbowed him hard in the ribs, yanking him back to the surface and what seemed a suicidal duty. Then again, she’d no doubt cut off his allowance if he didn’t do this, so his life was ruined one way or the other.
    He drew a deep breath.
    “Yeah…that’s right… I’m going to marry you,” he said to the door.
    It swung open, and Mona fired a laser look at him. “Why?”
    Why?
    Okay, now he was mad. Did she think this was easy for him, that he proposed every day?
    “Because if you’re carrying my kid, I have to marry you, damn it!”
    “ Have to?” She tried to slam the door again, but Danny blocked it with his foot.
    “You should have said you want to,” Angelica told him. “Mr. Tact, he’s not,” she told Mona.
    “Look who’s talking,” Danny muttered.
    “Not me. This discussion is over.” Tight-lipped and tear-stained, Mona started to push past him. “Thanks for the offer, Romeo, but the answer is no.”
    “No?” He blinked in surprise.
    She glared. “No. When I marry, if I marry, it’ll be for love. You don’t love me, and frankly I don’t love you either. So let’s call it even, and you don’t owe me anything. End of story.”
    “Horse hockey.” Angelica gripped them both by an arm and herded them toward the exit. “You’ll have plenty of time to fall in love with each other after the wedding. That’s what honeymoons are for.”
    * * *
    And that’s how Danny ended up in the “Karma Suite” of the Elysian Fields of Love Ashram & Romantic Retreat, with a horrible headache and a bride who’d barely speak to him.
    Well, almost-bride. They’d checked into the suite that morning, Thursday,