Chapter 1: Pepper and Asher

Pepper drove at a speed she didn't know she had in her. She had to get married in forty minutes and still make it back for her presentation in two hour. So romantic!

It was unlike her but she honked on the car in front of her.

Her groom whose name she needed to ask her best friend for was probably waiting for her.

This wasn't how she thought her life would be but she was desperate...so desperate that she was about to get married in a gray suit and flat shoes so that Gramps could die.

Pepper drove into the courthouse and found a spot to park her car but some idiot she didn't know managed to squeeze into the space before she could.

Okay! That was it for pepper, she finally found her tipping point. She got down from the car and walked to the person that cut her off.

He was exiting the car.

"Hi" she called out and exhaled "my life is a mess"

The stranger looked at her like she had lost her mind. She probably has, because nobody walks up to a stranger just to tell the said stranger that her life was a mess.

"Why are you telling me this?" The man in joggers pants and t-shirt asked her.

Pepper looked at him like she was investigating him. He was probably jobless and maybe homeless.

Or maybe she was just looking for things to distract her from the fact that he was rude and the most handsome man she had ever seen.

"My life is a soap opera. So, I am twenty six years old and this is basically considered old by my grandparents since they have been bugging me to get married for...well, since I was legally old enough to consent!"

"I am sorry?" The man's apology sounded more like a question.

Pepper continued, there was nothing like turning a stranger she had just met in the parking lot into a free therapist to encourage her to talk faster than usual.

"Gramps and Gigi...in case you are confused, they are my grandparents. They kept setting me up with boys...and girls, I am almost sure that if they found a hermaphrodite to set me up with they would. So..."

The man cleared his throat.

"If I move my car, will you stop torturing me?"

Pepper pushed her hair to the side "I am sorry, am I boring you? Did you just call my life torture?"

The man looked like he would rather be anywhere else except where he was "I am very sure, I did not say that. If you move your car, I will just be out of your hair right…"

"Gramps is dying..." Pepper declared and threw her hands in the air.

"Gramps is dying?" The man asked her.

For the first time, he was interested in her tales.

"You are smiling. Are you happy my grandfather is dying?" Pepper asked the weird man.

"Of course not...the story is finally getting interesting" The man answered.

"What is your name?" Pepper asked in a mellowed voice.

"Asher"

"Are you a jerk or were you born dumb? It's not a story. It's my life!"

Pepper turned around and walked away. She didn't want to waste anymore of her time with the man.

"Wait! What happened to Gramps? You can't just not tell me the whole story?!" Asher yelled after the crazy woman.

Pepper wanted to show him a finger but there was a child close by. She simply parked in another open space.

Pepper locked her car and took out her phone from her bag. She sent a text message to June, her best friend.

(What will my soon to be husband/roommate be wearing?)

Pepper walked into the courthouse. She was five minutes early, thank goodness!

As soon as Pepper had that thought she rolled her eyes, because being early to a scam wedding was not an achievement.

(Probably joggers and T-shirt, I don't know…. Sorry Pepper but planning the whole fake wedding while you are away was too much. Can you take it from here?)

June's message made Pepper exhale.

She called her instead.

"Junie, thank you for planning everything. I just came back this morning from a business meeting. Are you sure he is gay?"

"Yes, I am…"

"Send his picture to me, now please" Pepper demanded.

"I will be right...crap!Okay...I got to go, pepper. Good luck" June sounded like something came up on her end.

Pepper looked around as she waited for her gay soon to be husband/roommate to show up.

Good lord! This was crazy. Marrying someone she never met in exchange for a lower rent was the definition of crazy.

**

Asher watched the girl walk away. He was amused, his daughter was right. This ridiculous game of make believe, his daughter made him join, was turning out to be interesting.

Asher took out his phone and called his daughter.

"Hey, Daddy"

"Stardust, do I really have to do this?" Asher asked her.

"It's fun. You hardly have fun and you promised we will do things my way"

Asher exhaled. He was defeated. A promise was a promise. God knows he had broken a lot of those to his seven year old.

"Fine, I will play along. Is everyone here a player because I just met this interesting crazy woman…"

"Is she pretty?"

"Did I say pretty? I said she was interesting. Stop trying to set me up with someone, Starr"

"Okay. Remember you have to stay in character and play along with your partner. Remember you are a poor man looking for accomodations and she offered you one in exchange for a contract marriage" his daughter reminded him.

"Where did you even find out about this?" Asher asked her.

"Uncle Keller is here. I have to go, goodbye" Starr ended the call before her father could pry the answer out of her.

"Stardust!" Asher was frustrated.

This wasn't what he spent most of his days doing but it didn't stop him from entering the courthouse.

Pepper looked up as she saw the man walk in. He was the only one in the courthouse in joggers pants and t-shirt.

"Oh, come on!" Pepper was flabbergasted.

She moved closer to him.

"Hey, it's you...again" Asher said and took a step back.