Playing the Ice Princess

THREE

CHAPTER THREE: In which he stalks his future wife

"Father, is there anyway out? A woman right now is the least of my worries." I groaned, having recently been told that I"m engaged. To a woman I"ve never met. Although, I have heard of her, being dubbed the Ice Princess by all, she was as cold as hell.

And I"d have to marry this glacier. But why? I"ve been a good boy, haven"t I? This is the worst way karma could repay me.

"No son. Antonio is also planning on telling his daughter tomorrow, or so he tells me."

So she doesn"t know about this either, huh. Maybe she and I could plan something together to get rid of this stupid, unnecessary engagement, but I highly doubt I could ever be civil with such a Ice Princess such as herself. Even though I"ve never met her, from reading the occasional magazine, I have come to know she"s an heiress who doesn"t have a heart. Who enjoys winter, loathing summer. Summer! Who could ever hate such a glorious time of the year? She truly is one of a kind.

"And what if I refuse?" I said nonchalantly.

My father huffed, his blue-silver eyes, the same ones I own, sent me an annoyed glare. "Then, son, you"d have to say goodbye to your inheritance. Simple as that."

My eyes bulged out. "Father, why? All for a useless marriage? How could you disregard my inheritance because of something so irrelevant?"

He sighed, "Son, I"m not getting any younger here. It"s time I see my only child get settled down and have little grandchildren running around. Especially grandsons to inherit Peterson Hotels after you."

I raised a suspicion brow, "So this isn"t about gaining a huge profit as co-owner of the Silverstone Hotels?"

He shrugged causally, "That too. But mainly the first reason."

"But why her? What"s so special about this so-called Ice Princess?" I grumbled.

"Ah, like you youngsters say, just "cause I felt like it." He laughs like it"s the funniest thing in the world selling his son away to some cold b***h.

"Seriously. Sometimes I wonder if I"m your adopted son, since you do things such as this," I mumbled.

"Ah, but it"s so much fun playing matchmaker. Besides, nothing is going to change that drastically, just that you"ll be wearing a ring and having someone share your bed. Simple as that." He assures, although not assuring me at all.

I sighed, "Is there anyway out of this?"

He chuckled, "I knew you were going to ask this. Of course there is, just that you need to have someone you love and want to marry."

Oh God, that"s even more difficult than marrying the Ice Princess. No thanks. I"ll just hope the girl can cancel the engagement before this turns to be more disastrous than it already is.

"But son, your future wife should be in Robella"s Restaurant tomorrow, hearing the same thing you are now... so if you want to check your wife out, go for it." He grins.

"So basically stalk her like an i***t?" His grin widens as he nods.

Why does my bachelor life have to end like this? All because of him wanting "grandchildren"... may I be cursed to have only daughters, as my revenge old man.

"Son? You"re scowling too much. If I knew I"d get this type of reaction, I"d have set up your engagement sooner. All I"m missing is the popcorn." He laughs as my scowl deepens.

"Alright I"m going to go take a slight nap, see you tomorrow, Father." I yawned as I headed to my room.

"And one more thing," my father calls out. "Don"t hire a fake fiancée just to cancel this engagement... if you do, mark my words, I will know..."

Damn it. Psychic old man.

***

So here I am, dressed like a hobo, in Robella"s Restaurant. By hobo I mean, a hat, a coat, even though the heat is scorching hot, and spectacles. Oh, and a scarf too, which has been earning me weird looks... wonder why? I don"t know either. But all I want to know is what my future wife (as if she"ll be my wife) looks like and how she reacts. Is she gonna be a psycho who"s happy engaged to a stranger? Or is she going to release hell and release me from this horrible, unbreakable bond?

I sat at a table near my future wife as I tried to listen on their conversation. Great job Adrian. From one of the greatest bachelors to a stalking weirdo... I blame this engagement.

Thankfully, she"s not a psycho as she explodes saying, "WHAT?" Meaning she"s just as confused as he is. Her unique ice blue eyes light up like the flames of hell have been released. Just the reaction I was hoping for. Before I could hear anything more, the waiter came and took my order, and not even caring what or looking at the menu, I said, "Give me the Restaurant Special," his eyes widened excitedly as he broke out in French, in which I only understood a couple of words.

As the waiter left, I tried to tune their conversation once more, but I saw the Ice Princess" eyes have dimmed. Like they lost hope... s**t, I hope that doesn"t mean she"s giving up... but for a mere second, her eyes regained a mischievous look before she blinked it away, making me think I have imagined it all. She nodded meekly, accepting this sham of an engagement? Damn it. I sincerely hope that mischievous look was a plan forming in her eyes, or else we"re stuck with each other until who knows how long!

Ten minutes later, they started to leave and I couldn"t help my eyes as they scanned the Ice Princess as she got up. Damn. At least she"s hot. With her long, wavy, luscious brunette hair and ice blue eyes, she was a beauty. And a hourglass figure just waiting to be discovered underneath what she wore. And that tan skin! Wonder if she"s Middle Eastern or Hispanic? But from what I could see, all men in the restaurant had their eyes on her. Not that I could blame them. Goddamnit. Stay down, Adrian Junior. No need to get excited. Ah s**t. Think I need a cold shower. Great.

I was about to get up and leave before the waiter came back with a huge plate of spaghetti, and pasta, and pizza, and everything else that could make a chubby boy run towards. Restaurant Special? Smart thinking, Adrian.

The waiter coughed as I looked at him, "Sir, if you succeed to eat all the food here, then you don"t have to pay a single cent, but if you can"t finish everything in under an hour, the total will be $120."

Seriously? I don"t really care about paying the money, but eating all of this? Good lord, please guide me as I gain a couple of pounds today.