The Consolation Bride

Perfect business partners. That's how my new father-in-law described us at our wedding. He wasn't wrong.

They had a plan, an arrangement-two powerful families joining forces until one little problem threatened to ruin it all. See, Stanton McCain had been in love with my sister Gretchen for years. So this union was good for Stanton, bad for me because I'd been in love with him for years.

Imagine the scandal when Gretchen ran away to elope with Gabby, the woman she'd been in love with for years and her secret girlfriend. And after the church and reception hall had already been booked. Gasp!

Nothing could have prepared me for their resolution to this very tricky situation. They sat us down at a family meeting disguised as a simple dinner. When pleading with my sister to change her mind didn't work, the families turned to threats. But even getting cut off from the family fortune couldn't stop true love. As I mentally prepared a list of everyone who needed to know about the canceled wedding, our fathers made an announcement that would change my life forever: Stanton had to marry.

That's where I come in. Remove Gretchen, and insert Penelope. Single, reliable, and Stanton's consolation bride.