Chapter 1
Karly sat behind her desk in her office at the modeling agency she inherited from her mother who found the agency. Karly used to be a model and was the face of the agency when her mother started the company.
“Hayley, I need that file on that photoshoot that is set for tomorrow,” Karly said.
“I’m on it,” Hayley said.
“Hey sis!” Eric said.
“Hey bro,” Karly said.
“Coming to dinner tonight at Bernard’s?” Eric said.
“Who is going to be there?” Karly asked.
“Just me and Austin,” Eric said.
“Dinner with my brothers, fun,” Karly said.
“What’s wrong with me and Austin?” Eric asked.
“Nothing, I love you guys, I can’t find a boyfriend with you guys around, you guys chase them off,” Karly said.
“We had bad feelings about the guys you dated,” Eric said.
“Look, I know you guys care, but I know if I get hurt, I have two brothers who will be there for me,” Karly said.
“You know we will always be there for you, since Mom and Dad are gone, it’s just us three,” Eric said.
“I got the file, Karly, hey Eric,” Hayley said.
“Hi Hayley, my sis keeping you busy?” Eric said.
“Always, but wouldn’t have it any other way, she’s an awesome boss and friend,” Hayley said.
“I know I am and I am glad to have you as a friend too,” Karly said.
“How is business going?” Eric said.
“Going good, making Mom proud,” Karly said. Eric’s phone beeped and he looked at it.
“Okay, Austin said he’s bringing a date tonight,” Eric said.
“So we have to find dates,” Karly said.
“I guess so, Hayley, how about it?” Eric asked.
“Sure!” Hayley said.
“That leaves me without one,” Karly said.
“I can call my brother, Luke,” Hayley said.
“Okay, I don’t ant to be the only one without a date,” Karly said.
“I’ll go call him now,” Hayley said. She went out of the room.
“Who is he bringing?” Karly asked.
“Her name is Abby, they just started dating two weeks ago, he really likes her,” Eric said.
“We will see tonight,” Karly said.
“Okay, Luke is coming to meet you here before tonight,” Hayley said.
“Okay, what does he do?” Karly said.
“He has some businesses,” Hayley said.
“Like what?” Eric asked.
“Club Rally for one,” Hayley said. A guy knocks on the door.
“Hi bro,” Hayley said.
“Hey sis,” Luke said.
“Come in, I’m Karly,” Karly, said.
“Luke,” Luke said.
“I’m Eric, Karly’s brother,” Eric said. They shook hands.
“So Hayley said you need a date tonight for dinner?” Luke asked.
“It was dinner with my two brothers, our brother Austin texted saying he was bringing a date so Eric said we should find dates, so he asked Hayley, so that left me without one,” Karly said.
“I will be your date, Karly,” Luke said.
“Thank you!” Karly said.
“You’re welcome, so are you the boss here?” Luke asked.
“Yes, I took over when my mom passed away,” Karly said.
“It suits her being a former model, she knows everything about the agency,” Hayley said.
“You were a model?” Luke asked.
“Yes, my mom started the agency with me in mind for being the face of the agency, she passed away two years ago from cancer,” Karly said.
“I’m sorry for your loss, the both of you,” Luke said.
“Thank you, she was a great mom, treated me and our brother Austin like princes and Karly like a princess,” Eric said. Luke smiled and heard his phone beep and he looked at it and sighed.
“I have to go, I’ll see you all tonight,” Luke said.
“See you then,” Karly said. Luke left and Eric looked at Hayley and Karly.
“Okay, I better get back to work, see you both tonight,” Eric said.
“Bye bro, love you!” Karly said.
“Love ya sis!” Eric said. Eric left and Karly and Hayley went back to work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Luke walks into the mansion where he lives with his parents and Hayley. He goes to the study and knocked and went in.
“Hey Dad, Mom,” Luke said.
“Hi honey,” Barbara said.
“Son, you will become king on Friday, did you find your queen yet?” Peter asked. Luke’s father is the current king of the Stone Mafia which is the biggest and baddest around. No one dared to cross them.
“I think I have, Hayley’s boss, Karly,” Luke said.
“Have you asked her yet?” Barbara asked.
“Well, I’m her date tonight with her brothers, Hayley is one of her brothers date,” Luke said.
“Does she know what you do?” Barbara said.
“No, not yet, Hayley didn’t tell her anything about our family other than we own some businesses,” Luke said.
“If you feel that she is the one, you will need to tell her the truth before Friday,” Peter said.
“So I have six days to make her my queen, what if she runs when I tell her the truth, will I still be king?” Luke asked.
“You know the rules, you can’t be king without a queen,” Peter said.
“Son, if she doesn’t accept it, we will just postpone until you find someone,” Barbara said.
“Postpone it for a week, let me have more time with Karly, please,” Luke said.
“Okay, you have two weeks, son, get your queen,” Peter said.
“Hi Mama, Pops,” Hayley said. She kissed Peter on the cheek and hugged Barbara.
“Hi honey, we were just talking about your brother’s ceremony,” Barbara said.
“Friday, right?” Hayley asked.
“Postponed for a week so he can have more time with his choice of queen,” Peter said.
“You want Karly?” Hayley asked.
“Maybe,” Luke said.
“Luke, please be good to her, don’t hurt her, she’s been hurt in the past,” Hayley said.
“How?” Luke asked.
“She did have a boyfriend three years ago, he cheated on her and abused her, her brothers helped her get away,” Hayley said.
“And the ex?” Luke asked.
“Still out there somewhere, he’s scared of her brothers so he won’t go near her, I guess because of the restraining order and he doesn’t want to go to jail and risk his rep,” Hayley said.
“Hayley, you know I would never hit a woman and I would never cheat,” Luke said.
“I know but she is cautious when it comes to relationships,” Hayley said.
“So this is going to be longer than two weeks,” Luke said.
“We will extend it if needed,” Peter said.
“We will see what happens tonight,” Hayley said.
“I should go get ready,” Luke said.
“Me, too,” Hayley said. They went upstairs to their rooms to get ready for the date, Luke came down ready to go.
“You look handsome, honey,” Barbara said.
“Thanks, Ma,” Luke said. Hayley came downstairs. She wore her hair like she always did and didn’t brother with makeup because she preferred her natural beauty.
“Beautiful,” Peter said.
“Thanks, Pops,” Hayley said.
“Shall we head out,” Luke said.
“Let’s go,” Hayley said. They left for the restaurant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karly was in her room at her apartment getting ready. She brushed her hair and put a little makeup on but it made her look like she wasn’t wearing any. She picked out her dress. She finished up and walked out of the apartment after locking up and went to the restaurant. She walked in and was led to the table where she saw Eric was the only one there.
“Hey sis, you look great,” Eric said.
“Thanks, first ones here,” Karly said.
“Austin texted saying they were running a few minutes late due to traffic,” Eric said.
“Hey guys,” Hayley said.
“Hey,” Luke said.
“Hey,” Karly said.
“You look amazing,” Luke said.
“Thank you, so do you,” Karly said.
“Eric, you look hot,” Hayley said.
“So do you,” Eric said Hayley sat down next to Eric while Luke sat down next to Karly.
“You really do look beautiful,” Luke said.
“Thank you, handsome,” Karly said.
“So is it just us here tonight?” Hayley said.
“No, our brother, Austin and his date got caught in traffic, they should be here soon,” Eric said.
“We are here,” Austin said.
“Austin!” Karly said. She jumped up and hugged him. He hugged her lifting her off the floor.
“Hi sis, you are so busy that I hardly get to see you, I missed you, too!” Austin said.
“You know where I work and all that!” Karly said.
“I know, it’s just that building has too many memories,” Austin said.
“I know but if I can do it, you can do it, Eric has done it,” Karly said.
“Yeah bro,” Eric said. They hugged.
“This is my girl, Abby, Abby, this is my brother, Eric, and our baby sister, Karly,” Austin said.
“Who you calling baby, bro, hi Abby, nice to meet you,” Karly said.
“Nice to meet you both as well,” Abby said.
“This is Luke, my date,” Karly said.
“I’m Austin, one of her older brothers, be good to my sis, okay,” Austin said.
“I will, nice to meet you,” Luke said. They shook hands.
“This is my sister, Hayley, who is Eric’s date tonight and she works with Karly as her assistant at the agency,” Luke said.
“Hi, nice to meet ya,” Hayley said.
“Nice to meet you both, okay, so shall we sit down and order some drinks,” Austin said. Austin and Abby sat down and they all looked at the drink menu. A waitress came by. She saw Luke and just stared at him. Eric looked and noticed.
“Excuse me, miss, is there a reason you are staring at my sister’s date?” Eric said.
“I’m so sorry, did you all decide on drinks,” Rachel said.
“Wine please,” Karly said.
“Same for me,” Abby said.
“And me,” Hayley said.
“Whiskey and soda,” Luke said.
“Same for me,” Austin said.
“And me,” Eric said.
“Okay, three wines and three whiskeys with sodas coming up, do you ladies want white or red wine?” Rachel asked.
“Red,” Karly said.
“Red,” Abby said.
“Red,” Hayley said. She nodded and went to get the drinks.
“Man, Luke, she was giving you the eyes,” Eric said.
“I didn’t even notice,” Luke said.
“I hope she doesn’t do anything to our drinks,” Hayley said.
“If she does, she’s so going to lose her job, I’ll make sure of it,” Austin said.
“What do you do for a living, Austin?” Hayley said.
“I own a few businesses and one is a partnership in the restaurant business, including this one,” Austin said.
“So you could fire her if needed to,” Karly said.
“Yep, I have that privilege here,” Austin said. The waitress came back with drinks and set them down.
“Hi Rachel,” Austin said.
“Mr. Austin, sorry, I didn’t see you were here,” Rachel said.
“Yes, I know, you were busy eyeing my sister’s date, keep focused on your job or we will have to have a little talk about it,” Austin said.
“Yes sir, sorry, have you all decided what you want to order?” Rachel asked.
“I’ll have the Chicken Alfredo with a side salad and garlic toast, please,” Karly said.
“The same,” Hayley said.
“Same,” Abby said.
“I’ll have the strip steak, medium, with vegetables and salad,” Eric said.
“I’ll have the same,” Austin said.
“Same,” Luke said.
“Okay, and dressing for the salads?” Rachel asked.
“Italian,” Abby said.
“Ranch,” Hayley said.
“Ranch,” Karly said.
“Ranch,” Austin said.
“Italian,” Eric said.
“Ranch,” Luke said.
“Okay, I will go put these in,” Rachel said. She walked off. Luke looked at Karly and smiled.
“What are you doing after this?” Luke asked.
“Probably go home,” Karly said.
“Oh,” Luke said.
“Why, did you want to do something?” Karly asked.
“I thought we could continue after this, just the two of us?” Luke asked.
“Okay, I’ll go,” Karly said.
“Okay,” Luke said.
“Hayley, how about we go on our own afterwards,” Eric said.
“I’d like that,” Hayley said.
“So, Luke, what do you do?” Austin asked.
“I own a few businesses, some clubs,” Luke said.
“Like Club Rally,” Hayley said.
“You own Club Rally?” Austin asked.
“Yes,” Luke said.
“That place is probably one of the best clubs I’ve been in,” Austin said.
“It really is a great club,” Abby said.
“Thank you, I want it to be the go to place and a safe place to go,” Luke said.
“Safe place?” Karly said.
“Some clubs aren’t safe, gangs, drugs, I keep my clubs clean,” Luke said.
“You know what, we are looking to expand locations for photoshoots, we could use the club as a location!” Hayley said.
“Luke?” Karly said.
“No problem with that at all, I’ll be glad to help,” Luke said.
“Great!” Karly said smiling at him.
Their dinner came and they ate and talked. After the dishes were taken away, Austin cleared his throat.
“Eric, Karly, there was a reason for this dinner tonight, I know I brought Abby with me which in turn had you two get dates, but there is another matter at hand here,” Austin said.
“What is it?” Eric asked.
“Should we talk in private?” Karly asked.
“No, it’s okay, I don’t want it to be a secret, it can just stay with all of us here at this table, I trust Abby, if you two can trust Luke and Hayley,” Austin said.
“I know I trust Hayley, and Luke is her brother,” Karly said.
“You can trust me,” Luke said.
“And me,” Hayley said.
“Austin” Abby said.
“Abby has been helping me pack up our parents house and we came across Dad’s will,” Austin said.
“Dad’s will was read already, you know that,” Eric said.
“That was the old one, this one is newer,” Austin said.
“Dad died a year ago, why would he have two wills?” Karly said.
“He has this one drawn up and notarized but he died before he could get it to his lawyer which is why his old one was read,” Austin said.
“What does it say,” Eric said.
“He has three hundred billion dollars set up for the three of us in a bank, we each get 100 billion dollars if we each complete one task,” Austin said.
“Which is?” Karly asked.
“You three will have to get married by the end of the month or the money disappears forever,” Abby said.
“Dad worked hard for that money, we can’t let it disappear,” Austin said.
“So you brought Abby because it was an incentive for us to find the one we are to marry,” Eric said.
“I can’t believe this, why would Dad do this,” Karly said.
“Did you take it to the lawyer to see if it’s for real?” Eric asked.
“Yes, and it replaces the will that was read, we all have twenty days to find our other halves and it has to be for love,” Austin said.
“No one can fall in love in twenty days,” Karly said.
“I did, I met Abby and it was love at first sight,” Austin said. Abby held up her hand and they saw the ring.
“Two weeks and you are engaged already,” Eric said.
“So you will get your part of the money,” Karly said.
“The will states that all of us have to get married or no one gets anything, even if I was the one who gets married, I won’t get my part either way, all three of us have to get married to get the money or none of us get anything,” Austin said.
“Oh great, thanks Dad,” Eric said.
“Eric, I’ll do it, I’ll be your wife, I can’t let you guys lose that money,” Hayley said.
“Really?” Eric asked.
“Yes, I’ve always liked you, you know,” Hayley said.
“Same here, was just shy about asking you out,” Eric said.
“Don’t be shy anymore, will you marry me, Eric Davis?” Hayley asked.
“Yes, Hayley, Stone, I will marry you now we will have to go shopping for a ring tomorrow,” Eric said.
“If my boss lets me off work,” Hayley said.
“I guess I have to,” Karly said.
“So that leaves Karly,” Austin said.
“I’ll do it,” Luke said.
“You would marry me?” Karly asked.
“Yeah,” Luke said.
“You sure about this?” Karly said.
“Yes, Karly, I am, I wanted to get to know you better anyways,” Luke said.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Karly said.
“Okay, then it’s settled, I will call the lawyer tomorrow and tell him the news,” Austin said.
“How about a triple wedding,” Abby said.
“Okay so we can start planning tomorrow afternoon,” Hayley said.
“We have to tell Mom and Dad and they will want to be Karly and Eric,” Luke said.
“Austin has met my parents already,” Abby said.
“Well, Luke, Hayley, Abby, wish you could meet ours but you can’t,” Karly said.
“It’s okay, our parents will like you two and consider you both family,” Luke said.
“We should get going,” Hayley said.
“Eric, Karly, how about coming to the house to meet them,” Luke said.
“Probably should if I’m marrying their daughter,” Eric said.
“And I’m marrying their son,” Karly said.
“I’ll call you guys tomorrow and we will all get together to start planning,” Austin said. Austin paid the bill and they all got up and walked outside. Eric and Karly hugged Austin and Abby and they left. Karly, Luke, Hayley, and Eric stood there on the sidewalk.
“I don’t live far from here so I walked here,” Karly said.
“Me, too,” Eric said.
“You guys can ride to the house with us,” Luke said.
“Okay, fiance, let’s get to it,” Karly said. Luke smiled and held out his hand and she took it and they walked to the parking garage nearby with Eric and Hayley holding hands behind them. Luke unlocked his black SUV and he opened the door for Karly to get in and closed it after she was in. Eric and Hayley got into the back while Luke got into the drivers seat and he pulled out and headed to the house. They pulled up and saw the house.
“Wow,” Karly said.
“Nice huh, we love it,” Hayley said.
“It’s home, you both can move here when we get married,” Luke said.
“Live with your parents?” Eric asked.
“Something wrong with that?” Hayley asked.
“No, it will take getting used to since Karly and I have been living by ourselves for awhile since we both have our own apartments,” Eric said.
“When was the last time you two lived with your parents before they passed?” Luke asked.
“After I graduated high school and went to college and when I graduated college, I got my own apartment, I never went back living with them full time, I stayed for a little bit while my mom was fighting cancer,” Karly said.
“The same for me,” Eric said. They went into the house and Peter and Barbara came in from the living room.
“Mom, Dad, this is my boss, Karly, and her brother, Eric,” Hayley said.
“Hello,” Barbara said.
“Hi,” Karly said.
“Hello,” Eric said.
“Let’s go into the living room and talk,” Luke said. They went into the living room and sat down.
“So what’s going on, son?” Peter asked.
“We have some news,” Luke said.
“It might shock you a little,” Hayley said.
“I can probably explain it, it has to do with our father,” Eric said.
“What about your father?” Barbara asked.
“Our brother, Austin, found his will, he died before taking it to his lawyer so his old will got read instead of this one and Austin found it when he was packing up the house,” Karly said.
“The will states that he left 300 billion dollars to the three of us but there was a catch, the three of us won’t get one cent of the money unless we get married by the end of the month,” Eric said.
“So you and your brother, and sister have to get married or what,” Peter said.
“The money disappears for good, that is a lot of money,” Karly said.
“Yes it is,” Barbara said.
“Austin found his fiancee so that left me and Karly looking,” Eric said.
“I agreed to be Eric’s wife,” Hayley said.
“Hayley,” Peter said.
“I offered, Dad, I can’t let them lose that money that their father worked hard for,” Hayley said.
“You have a good heart, honey,” Barbara said.
“So I guess this means that Luke agreed to marry Karly,” Peter said.
“Yes, I did,” Luke said.
“Well, I have to say this was unexpected but I understand why you guys have to do it, 300 billion dollars is too much to let it disappear, okay, so what is the plan?” Peter said.
“Austin’s fiancee suggested a triple wedding, we have 19 days to get married, I am giving one less day to get stuff done so we can get things done on time,” Karly said.
“I will help out,” Barbara said.
“We can have the wedding here, it is big enough and the weather is nice for outdoors,” Peter said.
“We can meet here tomorrow with Austin and Abby to go over everything to be done,” Eric said.
“There is something else to discuss,” Luke said.
“Why not wait until tomorrow, son,” Barbara said.
“All right, Eric, Karly, let’s get you two home,” Luke said.
“See you guys tomorrow,” Hayley said. Luke took Eric home and pulled up in front of Karly’s apartment building. Karly looked at him.
“Thank you for stepping up, I know you weren’t expecting to be engaged so soon after meeting,” Karly said.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?” Luke asked.
“Yes, wait, you mean it happened here?” Karly said.
“When I first met you at your office, I walked in and saw you and I just felt like this was it for me, I didn’t want to even look at another girl, I didn’t even know that waitress was staring at me until Eric said something,” Luke said.
“Wow,” Karly said.
“Hayley told me about your past relationship, she was warning me to not hurt you and I promise you that I will never hurt you,” Luke said. She took her hand in his and he squeezed it smiling at her.
“I promise the same thing,” Karly said.
“I’ll be back to pick you up tomorrow and we will go ring shopping with Eric and Hayley and go to the house, have Austin and Abby meet us there to start planning the wedding,” Luke said.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Karly said. She squeezed his hand and got out and went inside her building and went to her apartment and went in and locked up and leaned against the door. She smiled and sighed and went and took a shower and went to bed dreaming of Luke.
