Wooing his wife

  by Kathleen Ryder

  WOOING HIS WIFE

  Copyright © 2023 Kathleen Ryder

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the author, Kathleen Ryder.

  Layout by No Sweat Graphics & Formatting

  Cover design by No Sweat Graphics & Formatting, in association with INDIE/Pendent Book Services, LLC

  CHAPTER ONE

  AIDEN

  There it was, that irritating buzzing again. Aiden extended his arm and groped around for the source, intending to swat it into silence. Instead of the cold sharp edges of his alarm clock, his palm slid along something warm and smooth, curved, and pebbled, something very, very flesh-like. His eyes flew open as he scrambled backwards, trying to get his bearings before he made a fool of himself. The sheet he didn’t realise was there tangled around his legs, and he fell, face down, off the bed. This was not his bedroom, and this very clearly was not his apartment.

  “Aiden?” The voice was all too familiar to him, laced with shock, and he slowly peered up over the mattress, into the eyes of his best friend, Chandra. Standing on the other side of the bed, completely naked, her terra-cotta skin begging to be kissed. What? The realisation hit him like a freight train. Where the hell had that thought come from? He stamped it down before it could take hold. Chandra was his friend, his best friend, he certainly wasn’t about to start kissing her, was he? “Why are we naked?” He watched as she slipped the dressing gown off the hanger and slid it on, annoyed to no longer be able to feast on her curves.

  “I don’t know, I don’t remember much about last night, do you?” He awkwardly stood, rearranging the sheet in an effort to restore some of his modesty.

  “Apart from the obvious?” Chandra twisted her hands in front of her, a trait she had whenever she was nervous.

  “The obvious?” Aiden looked at her, his mouth going dry. Surely she didn’t mean that they had crossed the line from friends to something else, did she? He was sure he would have remembered that!

  “Our wedding,” Chandra stated, holding up her left hand, a shiny new wedding band adorning her ring finger. A glance at his own finger showed a matching ring.

  “Our wedding I remember, Chandra.” Aiden smiled across at her, hating that she seemed nervous, she had never been nervous with him before, not even when she had waltzed into his office last month and begged him to marry her. “This,” he gestured around the room, “not so much.”

  “Until you rolled over just now, I thought you were sleeping on the couch,” Chandra murmured. “This is all Aunt Betty’s fault; she always did like champagne.”

  “Aunt Betty?”

  “After we had gone to bed, reception called me, she was in the foyer making a scene. I couldn’t very well leave her down there, could I?”

  “No, I guess not.” Chandra would never have left anyone in need, no matter the circumstances.

  “Anyway, she is in my bed, the sheets will likely need burning.” He watched her shudder dramatically; Chandra had always hated the smell of alcohol.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thank you, Aiden, and I’m sorry, for this,” she indicated the messy bed, a blush creeping up her face. “I hope I didn’t do anything too embarrassing.” She dropped her gaze to the floor, breaking eye contact with Aiden.

  “Chandra, you have nothing to apologise for, no lines were crossed, and nothing too embarrassing happened.” Aiden smiled at her, crossing the room to place a kiss on the top of her head, wishing with all his heart that theirs had been a traditional wedding night, instead of the sham he had recklessly agreed to.

  CHAPTER TWO

  AIDEN

  Aiden sat at his desk in his office and stared, unseeing, at the screen. He knew he should be charting; the patients’ notes wouldn’t write themselves, but his thoughts kept straying back to his wife, Chandra. These past couple of weeks had been tense at home, he had been staying later at work each night, had been leaving earlier each day, all in an attempt to avoid Chandra as much as possible. He knew he was a coward, but it was easier to see her at work, surrounded by other people, with no quiet spaces to fill up with conversations, or talk of future plans.

  Aiden knew his wife was unhappy, all he had to do was look at her, sadness and regret lined her face. He knew that Chandra had married him for one reason only, to save herself from the life her mother had mapped out for her, the wife of an investment banker, forced to quit a career she loved to become a lady of leisure. Aiden knew it was Chandra’s worst nightmare, having been best friends since elementary school, there wasn’t much about Chandra that Aiden didn’t know. Except how to make her happy, he sighed.

  When Chandra had waltzed into his office last year and begged him to marry her, it had been an easy decision, one he hadn’t needed to think about. Now, as they approached their first wedding anniversary, Aiden was starting to regret being so hasty. They had agreed at the time to keep their marriage platonic, their friendship too valuable to either of them to risk losing it by complicating things with attempting to have a legitimate marriage. Heck, they had even both signed a specially drawn-up prenup, detailing just what their marriage would, and would not, include.

  Lately, though, Aiden had been feeling less friendly towards Chandra, and more husbandly. He knew he couldn’t tell her how he felt, that was not what she signed on for when they married, but perhaps he could show her? After all, he had nothing to lose. He could try to woo her, try to show her how he felt, and if Chandra seemed offended or put out, he would simply stop. He could do that, couldn’t he? He still had some level of self-control when it came to his best friend, he wouldn’t let his secret slip.

  Decision made; Aiden refocused his attention back to his patient charts. If he was to show Chandra how he really felt, and what he really desired in their marriage, he needed to make a few changes to his routine, starting with his work hours.

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHANDRA

  Chandra knew she had made a mistake the morning she woke up married to Aiden, his hand sliding across her body to cup her breast. For a brief moment between sleep and wakefulness, Chandra had thought that she had been in a delicious dream. When Aiden had fallen off the bed in his haste to get away from her, however, she had burned with humiliation. Of course, he hadn’t been touching her, as if Aiden would ever cross that line with her.

  It didn’t matter that Chandra had been secretly in love with him since they had first met, a silly schoolgirl crush that had matured and morphed over time into something significant and real, for her at least. Chandra was under no illusions; she knew who she was and what she wasn’t. She knew that men like Aiden, successful white doctors, didn’t look twice at girls like her, fat awkward African Americans.

  She so had settled, she had taken what he could offer her, friendship to outlast all the others, a stable, solid, dependable friend. She had never been brave enough to ask for more until her domineering mother had interfered. Oh, Chandra knew that she meant well, she really did, it was just that Chandra was not interested in having her mother’s life, not now or ever.

  Chandra’s mother was a queen! After she graduated with a degree in social justice, she moved to New York City, where she had, quite literally, changed laws. It was in congress that she met Chandra’s father, and formed an unbreakable union. Although retired in order to support Chandra’s father’s political career, Chandra’s mother continued to slay New York society, there were no doors closed to her. Chandra always knew her mother wanted that for her, equality, opportunities, and position.

  Convinced Chandra would never marry, her mother had simply announced at breakfast last year that Chandra was to be married to Richard Barker, a well-respected federal court judge who needed a wife and family to support him. Chandra had refused, going straight to Aiden and asking him to marry her, actually begging him to do so. If she was going to be forced to marry anyone, it would be Aiden, she would never have to pretend to be in love, never have to be lonely with him.

  She had been thrilled when he had agreed without question, had hoped that maybe, just maybe, there was a spark between them after all. But now, as she sat alone in their kitchen, she wondered if she would have been better off with Richard, at least her heart would still be intact.

  Chandra wished that she knew how to get through to Aiden, wished there was some way that she could make him see her, really see her, as more than just friends. She knew that there was always the possibility that he might still reject her, but she was thinking that it might just be worth the chance. She knew that she would never love anyone else, as long as she lived, it would always be Aiden that held her heart.

  As she wrapped the salad for dinner and popped it in the fridge, an idea started to form in her head. Could she do it? Could she really be that brave? With Aiden in the house? She padded down the hall to her bedroom, located next to Aiden’s, and threw open her wardrobe, rummaging around in the various bags stored on the shelf overhead.

  When she had first moved in with Aiden, she had gone slightly overboard, buying far more items of swimwear than she ever hoped to wear, having never before lived anywhere with a swimming pool. It was one specific piece that Chandra now searched for, a high-cut one-piece with a plunging neckline. Terra-cotta coloured, it looked like her skin, and hugged her curves in all the right places, leaving very little to the imagination.

  Chandra had never intended to wear it in front of anyone, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and once she had found it, she ripped the tags off, stripping off her clothes and donning the swimwear. She idly floated up and down the pool, until her ears picked up the sound of Aiden’s car pulling into the garage. She counted slowly to twenty, before rising up out of the water, as Aiden slid the door open.

  When Aiden walked through the sliding glass door onto the patio and saw her for the first time, her heart almost stopped under his gaze. Her nipples pebbled beneath his gaze and heat pooled between her thighs. It was a perfect moment until he opened his mouth and spoke.

  “Chandra! Would you mind not skinny dipping in my pool?” His clipped tone brokered no argument. He threw her a towel from one of the sun lounges, gesturing for her to cover up as he turned his back. Chandra wrapped the towel around her waist quickly, holding it closed with one hand, gaping at his turned back.

  “Excuse me? I thought I lived here too, when did it become your pool? You know what, never mind.” She stormed past him into the house, slamming her bedroom door shut, cringing at how childish that was.

  Chandra burned with humiliation. Her first attempt at seducing him, at seducing anyone for that matter, had not gone to plan at all. In fact, one might say that it was a complete and utter failure. She flopped on her bed, face down, hot tears spilling from her eyes. Maybe if she had been more experienced? Or experienced at all? Maybe that would have given her a different result? Aiden had no way of knowing of course, but in the entire time that Chandra had known him, she had kept one teensy little secret from him, although right now it seemed rather monumental.

  At thirty-two, Chandra was a virgin. As in a full-on literal virgin. She had never done anything with a guy, had never had a guy offer to do anything with her. She had used her fingers on herself, and had given herself a number of mind-blowing orgasms, but nothing else. She hadn’t even used a vibrator, being far too mortified to step foot in any shop that sold them, even browsing an online store freaked her out. She was old-fashioned. She wanted love and marriage, commitment and intimacy. The only problem was, she only wanted it with Aiden.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AIDEN

  Aiden skulked around his office, hiding from his practice nurse. It was for the best really, if he had to answer one more question about his interests or his favourite type of cuisine or anything else of a personal nature he was going to snap. She knew it was inappropriate, had already been warned a number of times by fellow doctors to keep all questions professional, but she simply either did not grasp the severity of the situation or, as Aiden suspected, simply did not care.

  He rested his head in his hands with a deep sigh. He would have to write a letter of reprimand, the one part of his job that he truly hated. Usually, he would talk things over with Chandra first, get her perspective, her take on things, but Aiden knew that was no longer an option, not after his behaviour last week.

  Aiden felt like a fool, heck, he had acted like one too. He didn’t blame Chandra for being mad, but he was surprised that they still weren’t talking. It felt weird, Aiden didn’t like it, the longest he had ever gone without talking to Chandra had been two days, and that had been the result of being stranded overseas during an earthquake.

  This was different, serious. Chandra had avoided him all week, he knew that she had even changed her shifts at work so that they were opposite his. They were ships passing in the night, all because of him and his stupid libido. He hadn't meant to overreact, it was just that when he walked out onto the patio and saw her there, naked, his heart had stopped beating. He literally could not breathe, he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

  He had been stunned speechless, had never imagined that Chandra would be the type to swim naked, and had grown flustered at the thought of the slick water caressing her skin, moulding itself to her luscious curves. He had lashed out at her without thinking, ordering her to cover up. It was only when she sauntered past him that Aiden realised his error, that Chandra wasn’t naked, her swimsuit the same terra-cotta tone of her skin. It had been too late to apologise, and he had barely seen her since.

  He had been a fool to marry her without telling her how he had really felt about her, he knew that, and now that he was trying to seduce her, to make her see just how much he loved her, he stuffed it all up before he could even try. Urgh! Why was life so darn hard? Aiden knew what he had to do now, obviously, he had to fix things, now, before things became even more complicated.

  By the time Aiden heads for home, a plan is starting to take shape. He makes a few stops on his way home for supplies, dumping it all on the kitchen island and reaching for juice from the fridge. He takes a notebook and pen through to the dining room, where he spends the next hour plotting and planning. By the time Aiden heads to bed, he has a solid plan, ready to enact as soon as Chandra leaves work in the morning.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHANDRA

  When Chandra walks through the front door, the last thing she expected to see was Aiden, let alone an Aiden who was dressed in a frilly red apron. Chandra stopped, mouth hanging open, gawking at Aiden.

  “Morning, if you want to go and get changed, breakfast will be ready in five minutes.”

  “Umm, okay.” Chandra moved as if in a trance, not quite sure what to make of Aiden being at home, cooking.

  She threw her scrubs in the wash, taking her time in the shower before drying off and donning a pair of leopard print leggings and an extra voluminous shirt with a tropical print. She felt foolish for covering up in baggy clothes, but Aiden had made it quite clear by the pool the other day that he wasn’t happy with her displaying her body. Chandra knew she was larger than average, on a good day she said she was curvy, on bad days she called it what everyone else did, fat.

  Still, it was one thing to know this about yourself, it was a completely different thing to have your very best friend confirm every suspicion that you have ever had. Chandra sighed. It was hard being single, harder still to pretend that it was a choice, a deliberate decision on her behalf. Still, pretend she did, the truth too cruel to admit, that in society’s eyes, with her weight and skin tone, she was never going to be someone’s first choice.

  Breakfast was a veritable feast of Chandra’s favourite foods, beef sausages, scrambled eggs, baked beans, soft white toast, oven-baked bacon, and coffee. She smiled across at Aiden as she ate. She knew this was his apology, knew that she couldn’t stay mad with him, that he hadn’t meant to hurt her, and that quite possibly he hadn’t realised that he had, Chandra never before confided to him about her fear.

  “I’m sorry Chandra.”

  “I know.” She smiled at him.

  “Forgive me?”

  “On one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “Mother’s charity ball is next week. As you know, this year all proceeds will be donated to our hospital. I need a date.”

  “Chandra, we’re married, it would be my absolute pleasure to be able to accompany you to the ball.” It was Aiden’s turn to smile at her, Chandra’s inside flipping at his gaze. “Remind me of the theme this year?”

  “A night at the casino. I already have my costume, it’s sea-green if you want to colour match.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Two days later, Chandra casually mentioned that she would be needing a ride to work, her shifts having changed back to normal. Aiden, trying and failing to hide a smile, shrugged and told her to be in the car in five minutes.

 

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