The Billionaire’s Fake Wife (Book 4): (Crystal Beach Resort Standalone Series)

by Hart, Hanna

  “And we didn't even have to steal a boat to get here,” Willow said.

  “Borrow a boat,” he corrected.

  He had expected her to roll her eyes and say 'whatever' or 'same difference,' but instead, she gave him the most intense gaze. He loved her eyes so much. They were one of the most beautiful things about her. He was absolutely captivated by them.

  At that moment, he knew there was no stopping his feelings for her.

  Ryder touched the tips of his fingers against her forehead and grazed them down the back of her head before pulling her into a soft, perfect kiss.

  He craved the feel of her lips pressing against his own. The minute the kiss broke, he immediately went back in for another. Their lips moved together like lovers, knowing exactly how to maneuver around one another until their water-wet mouths went warm.

  Ryder didn't know if it was a mistake to kiss her, but Willow made it hard not to kiss her, even when his better instincts were screaming at him not to. It was impossible not to get swept up in her aura.

  Kissing her at the wedding felt stilted and strange, like kissing a best friend. Not entirely unpleasant, but not enjoyable either.

  Kissing her at press events felt safe and staged. A happy couple exchanging a peck on the lips or cheek.

  But kissing her now felt so right. It was intimate and personal. It felt exactly the way it used to feel to kiss Willow. Perfect. The way her lips felt against his was alluringly familiar, like coming home.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Willow

  Ryder had done the unthinkable. He’d gone and kissed Willow.

  Really kissed her.

  And now she felt a resurgence of love that scared her like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

  These resurfaced feelings were strong. Willow would never admit it to anyone else, but there was a large part of her that had always been waiting for Ryder to come back into her life.

  Now that he had, it was keeping her up at night.

  She paced around the kitchen and pressed her bare feet against the cool marble tiles. When she was sick of wandering the floor, she opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice. She hoisted herself onto the large kitchen island and sat cross-legged with the drink in her lap.

  “You’re here to do a job,” she reminded herself.

  After all, Ryder had told her some pretty hard-hitting secrets. She had already drafted out a rough copy of her expose, and it was going to be a smash hit. It would be a career-making move.

  She could have sent Richard the rough copy, her angle, where she thought she could take the story. Yet, when she had gone to e-mail it to him, she just couldn’t bring herself to hit send.

  The last e-mail she had received from Richard wasn't a happy one. She had been dodging his calls for weeks, unsure if she was still willing to participate in the family-shattering article on the Prescotts. She was used to getting close to sources for stories, but this didn't feel like a story anymore. It felt real.

  “Your job is your life, kid. Don't mess this up,” Richard had cautioned.

  But, Willow had decided, she didn't want her job to be her life anymore. She wanted Ryder to be her life. And why shouldn't he be?

  It was so easy to be with Ryder, she’d nearly forgot that she was supposed to be getting information on him and his father—not reigniting their romance.

  “What are you doing up?” came Ryder’s sleepy croak.

  She smiled softly as he flicked on the kitchen overhead and rubbed at his eyes.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Just couldn’t sleep,” she said with a shrug. “I woke up with one of those ‘must be time to get up!’ vibes, but it was three in the morning.”

  “Couldn’t go back to sleep?” Ryder asked as he rummaged through the fridge and grabbed a glass bottle of water.

  “No. Once I was awake I started thinking all these weird things like, why do houses make creaky noises? Where do butterflies sleep?”

  Ryder laughed as he pulled out one of the stools for the island and took a seat. “This is why you can’t sleep?”

  “No,” she said, tapping the pads of her fingers against the marble counter. She pressed her lips together and then said, “I can’t sleep because you kissed me.”

  “Ah,” he said with a single nod before smiling flirtatiously at her. “And you want another?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  Ryder went to stand, but she put up a hand and added, “You know how people say you fall in love as a teenager and then completely dismiss its legitimacy as an adult?”

  “No,” Ryder scoffed. “Who says that?”

  “Everyone,” she grinned. “Like, your first love is puppy love, but when you’re older you find out what ‘real love’ is and it’s supposedly nothing like it was as a teen?”

  “Okay,” Ryder shrugged indifferently, “Sure.”

  “I guess, I just wanted to know if you thought you loved me back then.”

  Ryder cocked his head to the side and smirked at her as if her question was absurd.

  “Of course,” he said.

  Willow swallowed. “Then why did you leave me?”

  Ryder looked stunned. His eyes flicked to the clock. It was nearly four now, and Willow wondered if he regretted coming out here to check on her.

  “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to get into this?” he said slowly.

  “Yes,” she nodded. “But that was before you kissed me.”

  “I kissed you at the wedding,” he teased.

  “That was entirely different, and you know it,” she chided.

  Ryder licked his lips and stared down at his water bottle before meeting her eyes. “Did you ever love me?” he asked, turning the tables.

  Willow felt her face warm, and she couldn’t believe she was about to answer him honestly. But, if there were any chance of them getting together for real, she needed to air this out.

  “Yes,” she admitted. “Actually, if the consensus is that you aren't really in love at seventeen then I have a bit of a problem because I've never found a love like that ever again. Not as strong.”

  Ryder smiled. “Neither have I.”

  “Really?” she said, raising her brows in surprise. “What about Miranda?”

  “Mm, definitely not,” Ryder mumbled. “Besides, it taints it a little when you get divorced.”

  “We broke up,” she said. “That’s sort of like a divorce.”

  Ryder shook his head and gave her the expression of a man who had been through war. His look said: ‘Not even close.’

  “Let’s just leave it,” Ryder insisted. “That was then. This is now. Let’s leave it in the past, please. For my sanity.”

  Willow considered this, but argued, “But then, why did you kiss me?”

  “Because I can’t not kiss you,” he said in his charming way. “Being around you makes me realize what an idiot I was back then.”

  “Then,” she began, “did you kiss me because you like me or because you got swept up?”

  “Am I that much of a mystery?” Ryder laughed. “Willow, of course, I like you. It’s impossible not to. I think it must be in my blood or something—to be able to put up with you.”

  “Shut up,” she laughed. “What about our contract? What did the kiss mean?”

  “We can ignore the kiss if you want,” he suggested, his offer hanging in the air like a dare.

  “I don’t want to ignore it,” she said.

  “Neither do I,” he said and walked up to the island. “I want to take a chance on us.”

  “Why?” she asked. “Why should either of us, after what happened before? Why should we trust that anything is going to be different now?”

  “Because I'm different,” he said, pressing his hand against his chest. “Aren't you different?”

  Willow blinked.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m really, really trying to be.”

  Ryder nodded and set his hands on her waist and then leaned in
to her lips. She eagerly followed suit and embraced his warm mouth against hers, moving together like an old familiar dance.

  She felt a familiar rush of electricity as his tongue made its way into her mouth with small, seductive flicks.

  Willow exhaled with desire as he pulled her closer to the edge of the counter. Her hands were lost on either side of his face. This was everything she had wanted for months now.

  When the kiss broke, there was a rise of heat between them.

  She blinked in surprise and Ryder smirked, then went in for another kiss, but she held a hand against his chest to stop him.

  “Wait, wait, wait,” she laughed in a whisper. “I think we have some stuff we have to figure out,” she said.

  Ryder nodded. “I think you’re right.”

  “In your mind,” she began slowly, “who broke up with whom?”

  “You broke up with me,” he said.

  “Okay, no,” she shook her head emphatically. “You broke up with me.”

  “You left,” he scoffed. “You stormed out after I asked you if you wanted to break up.”

  “That’s not exactly how I remember it,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “I remember that we had an argument and I left. Then the next thing I knew, you moved out of the city without so much as a smoke signal.”

  Ryder twitched. The subtle, romantic atmosphere all but dissolved now. He narrowed his eyes at her and condescendingly asked, “And why do you think that is?”

  “I don’t know why!” she laughed. “Because you didn’t want kids? Because you couldn’t stand to be around me anymore?”

  “No,” she said, stretching the word out. “Because you didn’t want to commit to me. Not even after three years!”

  “Didn’t want to commit to you?” he snapped. “Willow, I had a ring!”

  Willow's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't been expecting that answer.

  “You did?” she asked, breathless.

  “Yes,” he said evenly.

  “Promise?”

  “Yes, Willow, I promise,” he nodded.

  “Well... I mean,” Willow trailed off. She couldn’t believe that Ryder, her Ryder, had gone through the trouble of going to a jewelry store and picked out an engagement ring. A real engagement ring. He was going to do it—marry her. Make her dreams come true.

  Her joy stopped her in her tracks and suddenly turned to a deep, heated fury. If he had just proposed to her, everything would have been different. She could have stayed on the mainland when her father got sick, she would have had more opportunities in her writing career, and more than anything, she would have been with Ryder.

  Willow cleared her throat, still feeling indignant. “What did you do with the ring?”

  Ryder's eyes went wide. He stared down at his hands and mumbled, “I...”

  “No, Ryder. No,” Willow said lowly, shaking her head at the man.

  Ryder swallowed nervously and offered a half-shrug. “I gave it to Miranda.”

  Willow felt her whole body sink down. It felt like her insides were twisting and swelling into the most immense pain she had ever felt. He gave her ring to somebody else? Somehow, even the idea of it felt like a betrayal of the love they used to share.

  “Eww, Ryder!” came her high-pitched protest. “That is the most disgusting thing you could have done in the whole world!”

  Ryder swallowed, looking furious. “That was the most disgusting thing?” He breathed, cocking a disbelieving brow.

  “You gave my ring to someone else!” she shouted.

  “It wasn't your ring!” Ryder laughed incredulously.

  “It was the ring you agonized over for who knows how long until you found one that made you go, 'Hm, that reminds me of Willow, the love of my life!'” she huffed. “That was my ring!”

  “Willow,” he snapped. “Stop it. It didn't happen. It wasn't your ring; it was Miranda's ring. Because I married Miranda.”

  “And you married me, too,” she snapped.

  Ryder exhaled in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know what I mean,” he said calmly.

  Willow wanted to cry. A whole life she never got to experience was suddenly flashing before her eyes. All the what-could-have-beens were flooding her mind like heavy waves.

  Ryder wanted to marry her.

  “Why didn't you ever tell me that?” she asked, not looking at him. “Why didn’t you propose?”

  Ryder stared down at his feet, and she could tell he was growing nervous. He took a steadying breath and then looked up at her. “I came to your work to give it to you, but when I got there you were kissing Charlie,” he said, softer now. “And I didn't want to marry a girl who kissed Charlie or anyone else.”

  Willow skipped a breath. It felt like all the air was flowing out of her body against her will. She felt lightheaded.

  Kissing Charlie had been more than a mistake. It was a low moment. She thought Ryder didn’t love her. She stupidly took solace in his flattery at a moment when she was most vulnerable.

  “Ryder,” she said quickly, “I only kissed Charlie because—”

  “I'll stop you right there,” he interrupted. “It doesn't matter why you kissed him. The only thing that mattered was that your love for me faded enough that you could let yourself do that.”

  “That wasn't it,” she said, but he interrupted her again.

  “Then you hated me enough to want to hurt me,” he snapped. “And it worked, so good job.”

  “Ryder,” she breathed, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. But you should have come to me about it. I just never heard from you again.”

  Ryder lowered his shoulders. He still wouldn't look at her.

  “Ryder,” she said, firmer now. “You just left. No note, no nothing. I came back to your place, and all your stuff was gone. Do you have any idea what that is like?”

  “Yes,” he laughed bitterly. “Yes, I do.”

  “Then you know it sucks,” she snapped. “I called you, I called your parents, I texted, e-mailed, asked friends about you. And all I ever heard was that you were done with me. That's it. Then I have to hear from Jessica McDonald that you got married to some trust-fund baby on the island.”

  “You left me!” he laughed. “You left me, Willow! You gave me an ultimatum, and you stormed out.”

  “And then you bought a ring!” she yelled back.

  “And then you kissed Charlie,” Ryder said, calm again. He pressed his lips thin and watched her hoist herself down off the kitchen island.

  “I kissed Charlie because I thought you didn’t want to be with me, not because I didn’t love you!”

  “Look, it doesn’t matter why!” Ryder shouted, turning away from her and then spinning back on his heel to where they both stood, each with one hand on the island. “We weren’t ready! I wasn’t ready, and judging by the fact that you’re dating married men and you don’t have any children, obviously you weren’t ready, either.”

  Willow’s eyes widened in surprise at the jab.

  “I didn’t want kids with just anyone,” she spat. “I wanted a family with you.”

  Then, at the worst possible moment, her phone lit up on the counter. It was an e-mail from Richard. The notification popped up on her phone screen with bright white letters that read 'RE: PRESCOTT ARTICLE.'

  Ryder stared down at her phone and furrowed his brows. “What is this?” he asked as he picked the phone up and swiped its contents open.

  “That's private!” she said desperately, reaching to take the phone out of his hands.

  “And it has my name on it,” Ryder snapped and then mumbled as he read, “‘Where is the draft for the scandal?’ Willow, what is this?”

  “Okay look,” she said quickly, but she could already see Ryder reading the contents of the e-mail. “Let me explain, okay?”

  “You were writing about my family?” he asked incredulously. “This is why you agreed to do this?”

  “Ryder,” she said, raising a hand in front of her face. �
�Please, hold on, let me explain.”

  Ryder set the phone down and slid it across the kitchen island. Willow caught it with her hand, and he said, “Explain away.”

  “Okay, yes, there may have been some talk about doing an article on your family. But, look!” she walked up to him and showed him the phone. “I haven't responded to him in weeks. I haven't submitted a single thing. Look! This is him furious at me for not cooperating. I didn't want to do that to you or your family, Ry. Please, I know this looks horrible but please, hear what I'm saying.”

  Ryder pressed his eyes shut and breathed, “I can’t believe I’m back here again.”

  “You’re not!” she pleaded.

  “First Miranda, now you,” he spat and turned on his heel, heading back into his bedroom.

  Willow’s heart sped up, and she bit her lip. She couldn’t believe this was happening now.

  “It wasn’t like that,” she said, following after him and watching with wide eyes as he began dressing. “Ryder, come on. I work for the paper, of course, they were going to ask me to try and get information on your family.”

  “I trusted you,” he said, more to himself than Willow. “I can’t believe this. I’m such an idiot.”

  Willow began to cry. “You’re not an idiot. Ryder, I didn’t betray you. Do you hear me?”

  “No, but you planned on it,” he snapped. “If I hadn’t kissed you, who knows what you would have e-mailed to Richard.”

  “Check the dates!” she insisted, trying to hand her phone to him. “I haven’t responded for weeks. You have to believe me.”

  “I am right back where I started,” Ryder said and then repeated, “I can’t believe this.”

  Willow followed Ryder to the front door where he slipped on his shoes.

  “Don’t do this,” she said and grabbed his hand.

  Ryder squeezed her hand and shook his head. “I can’t do this again. I can’t be with someone I can’t trust, and I was an idiot for thinking things would be different this time.”