Mr. Trouble: A London Billionaire Standalone (London Billionaires Book 2)

by Nana Malone

  He wanted to celebrate with Kinsley, but it would have to wait as the wedding of her cousin was later on today and he had an obligation to attend. No, obligation wasn’t the right word. An obligation meant he’d hate every fucking minute of it but the thought of seeing Kinsley in her bridesmaid gown, of dancing with her until the wee hours of the morning and right before they fell into bed together, of telling her how he felt, was almost too much to take in. It was going to be an epic night and he couldn’t wait for the hours to tick by so he could see her again.

  She was currently with the bride, doing all of that pre-wedding shit women liked to do. Jarred hadn’t seen her since he’d dropped her off at her cousin’s parents’ house, kissing her long and hard on their doorstep. The bride had asked her to spend the night with her one last time before she became a married woman and Jarred had reluctantly gone to his own flat, finding it empty and lonely since Kinsley wasn’t there with him. It had been a long, sleepless night and he was ready to start the next phase of his life, with her by his side. He just had to get through the next few hours.

  Walking down another block, Jarred spied the jewelry store up ahead, his mind set on getting Kinsley another ring, one that would symbolize his love this time. She deserved a token of his affection and not one that had been built upon a lie.

  “Jarred!”

  Turning around, he saw Susan hurrying toward him, dark sunglasses on her face. She was dressed impeccably, as if the thought of having one single hair out of place disgusted her. Jarred himself much preferred Kinsley’s bedhead than to his ex, but he stood on the sidewalk anyway, his hands in his pockets. He could be civil. After all, they had both found love in different places. “Susan.”

  “Oh Jarred,” she said, pushing the sunglasses back to reveal red-rimmed eyes. “I was having tea at Claridge’s when I saw you. I don’t know what to do. ”

  Surprised by her outburst, he watched as her eyes filled up with tears. He had never seen her so distraught before. “What’s wrong?” he asked politely, wishing that he hadn’t stopped now.

  She sniffed, pulling out a handkerchief to dab at her eyes. “It’s Baron. He’s cheating on me. I know he is.”

  Feeling awkward, Jarred wanted to tell her that she had gotten herself into this mess. He couldn’t help that her husband was cheating. Hell, the entire social scene knew that Baron was never the type to be faithful and marriage wasn’t going to change that. But that wasn’t his problem, not anymore. “Listen,” he said, wanting to give her some kind of advice at least. “Don’t stay if you think this isn’t going to work. Life’s too fucking short to settle for anything less than what you deserve.”

  Her eyes widened. “Who are you and what have you done with Jarred Maloney?”

  “I’m just a different person now,” he shrugged. He wasn’t about to share with her what was making him different now, even if it was apparent. “Just think about what I said.”

  Susan closed her mouth, a slight smile appearing on her lips. “And to think, I could be that lucky girl.”

  “You were that lucky girl,” he reminded her gently. “Goodbye Susan.”

  Before he realized what was happening, Susan was pressing her lips to his, the overpowering smell of her perfume making his stomach turn. He pushed her away, wiping at his mouth as he walked away angrily. She had her chance and now his future was with Kinsley. It couldn’t come soon enough.

  20

  Kinsley fluffed out the skirt of the dress and then stood back, tears coming to her eyes as she looked at Rachel all decked out for the first time. “You look beautiful,” she breathed as her cousin looked at her reflection in the mirror.

  Rachel turned around and Kinsley saw that there were tears in her eyes as well, smoothing down the tulle skirt. “I just, I can’t believe that this day is finally here. I feel like it has been a long time coming but now that it’s here, I just don’t know what to do.”

  Kinsley smiled, wiping at the tears hastily so that they wouldn’t ruin her carefully applied makeup. “You’re going to walk down that aisle and say your vows. That’s what you are going to do.”

  Rachel gave her a teary smile and turned back to the mirror. “Yes, that’s what I am going to do.”

  Kinsley couldn’t help but feel happiness for Rachel and Jamison, knowing that what Rachel had said was true. They had waited a good while to make this official, but today they would become husband and wife. The feeling had to be amazing in itself. For a split second, she tried to picture herself in Rachel’s shoes, walking down the aisle to find Jarred at the end of it, waiting for them to become one in the eyes of their friends and family, her heart racing at the fact that it could happen and not in some kind of false way in order to get Jarred’s trust fund and her flat. It was no longer about either of those things, or at least she liked to hope that it wasn’t. For her, it was about the love she felt for him, the way he made her happy. Life seemed so much brighter whenever he was around.

  “I’ve got to get my mind off of this wedding or I am going to hurl,” Rachel announced, breaking Kinsley out of her thoughts. “Hand me my cell. I want to check my social media.”

  Kinsley reached over and grabbed her cousin’s cell phone on the bench, handing it to her. “What? Are you going to go into withdrawal in Jamaica?” Jamaica was their honeymoon destination and Jamison had already told Rachel that the cell phones would not go with them.

  “Shut up,” Rachel said with a grin as she thumbed through her phone, her smile dying as she stared at her phone.

  “What? Did someone die?” Kinsley asked. “Don’t cry for god’s sake. You will ruin your makeup.”

  Rachel looked up and Kinsley felt the first stirrings of dread in her stomach as she saw the look on her cousin’s face. “Damn Kinsley, I’m so sorry,” she said softly, handing over the phone. Kinsley took it and looked at the picture, her heart dropping into her stomach. The image looked as if it was taken across the street, the zoom distorting the characters slightly but there was no doubt on who it was. Jarred was standing on the sidewalk, his arms at his side as Susan was pressed up against him, her lips on his. The caption said something about them getting back together but to Kinsley it didn’t matter. All she saw was that kiss. Jarred was kissing Susan.

  “Aw honey,” Rachel said, her skirts rustling together as she walked over and hugged her. “I’m so sorry. This sucks.”

  Kinsley felt the tears start to form in her eyes and handed the phone back to Rachel, hugging her arms around her waist to combat the overwhelming pain that was forming in her chest. Jarred had cheated, on her. After everything they had done, how she had stood up for him to her boss. The sex, oh god he’d cheated on her! She couldn’t take this. With a sob, she turned away, looking out of the window. Why now?

  “Kinsley,” Rachel said, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “I, I really don’t know what to say. I know you loved him.”

  “I love him,” Kinsley whispered. That wasn’t going to disappear because of one picture or after a week or a month or even a year. She had fallen head over heels in love with a man that she thought she could trust, a man that she thought had really opened up to her. But she had been wrong and the crushing pain was the result.

  A knock sounded on the door and Kinsley swiped at her tears before turning to face Rachel with a wobbly smile. “Come on, let’s get you married.”

  Rachel looked at her, concern in her eyes. “Kinsley, I don’t think—”

  “No,” Kinsley interrupted. “I’m not going to let this destroy this day.” She would fall apart later. This day was about Rachel and Jamison. Her life could wait.

  The ceremony went off without a hitch. Kinsley pasted a smile on her face as she watched Rachel tie the knot, inside falling apart bit by bit. Her life was in shambles now, her heart broken. She couldn’t even stand to be in his presence but was going to have to be until she could tell him to bugger off and start rebuilding her life, without him.

  After a dozen pictures,
she walked into the reception hall with her escort, doing the little choreographed dance that the entire wedding party had worked on before falling into the crowd, dropping her posy on the wedding cake table as planned. An arm snaked around her waist, pulling her against a familiar body. Instead of the butterflies she used to have, now Kinsley only felt sick. “Hey beautiful,” Jarred said against her ear, his hand caressing her stomach lightly. “What did I do to find you in a place like this?”

  Kinsley bit her lip as she turned toward him, forcing her tears to retreat. She didn’t want to cry in front of him or at this reception and ruin Rachel’s special day. But she couldn’t be in his presence right now.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked instantly, apparently seeing the emotions on her face.

  Kinsley swallowed hard and stepped out of his reach, hugging herself. “You need to leave Jarred. You’re not welcome here.”

  “What the fuck Kinsley?” he asked again, reaching for her. There was a small amount of panic in his eyes, coupled with hurt that she hadn’t expected to see. It didn’t matter. He had no idea how much she was hurting at this moment.

  “No,” she said, stepping away. “Get out Jarred.”

  His jaw clenched tightly. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you. Talk to me, let me make it right.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t make this right Jarred. We’re over.” Without waiting for a response, she walked away, retreating into the women’s restroom before the tears started to fall. This was like a nightmare, a horrible nightmare that she wouldn’t wake up from for a long, long time.

  21

  Jarred leaned over the bed with a groan, wishing to hell that the ringing would stop in his head. Well, he wished that all of the whiskey he’d consumed would kill him straight off, but apparently he’d lived to see another bloody day. The ringing started again and he threw off the covers with a growl, his head pounding as he stumbled to the door, throwing it open. “What the hell do you want?” he said with a snarl.

  “Good morning to you as well,” his father said, his face darkening with anger. “What the bloody hell did you do to my assistant?”

  “Bugger off,” Jarred growled, attempting to shut the door. His father stuck his foot in the crack and pushed it back open, forcing Jarred to stumble back into the foyer. “Hell no. This is my flat and you will not kick me out of the place that I bloody well own.”

  “Fine,” Jarred said, making his way back to the bedroom to gather his clothes. “I’ll get the hell out.” That was what everyone was telling him to do anyway.

  He heard his father sigh loudly as Jarred started to pick up his clothes, throwing them on angrily. He didn’t want to deal with his father right now. He couldn’t. He could barely function as it was. “Jarred, stop.”

  Jarred turned around. “What the hell do you want me to do? What do you want from me?”

  “I want you to tell me the truth,” his father responded, his arms crossed over his chest. “You were never engaged to Kinsley to begin with were you?”

  The sound of her name tore through Jarred’s chest like a lightning bolt, causing the pain in his heart to increase tenfold. He missed her. Nothing felt the same since she had told him that it was over without an explanation, ignoring his calls and refusing to come to her door when he’d tried last night. It was like she had cut him out of her life just like that and Jarred never thought it could hurt so much. “No,” he bit out, figuring it didn’t matter. Hell he didn’t want the money any fucking way. He wanted Kinsley.

  “I knew it,” his father said with a sigh. “Damnit Jarred, what did you do to her? She turned in her notice this morning.”

  “I don’t know,” Jarred said dejectedly, falling onto the bed, his head in his hands. “She just told me that it was over.” He had replayed every waking moment before and after those words, trying to pick out the singular event that would be his downfall and nothing came to mind.

  “I think I know.”

  Jarred looked up to see his father holding out his phone, a picture of a couple kissing on the sidewalk on the screen. It was then that he remembered. Bloody hell, someone had captured Susan’s kiss the day of the wedding. “That’s not what it looks like,” he said immediately.

  “Well, it sure as hell isn’t a handshake,” his father responded, pocketing the phone. “You love her don’t you?”

  “Who, Susan?” Jarred asked with a bitter laugh. “Hell no.”

  “No, Kinsley,” his father corrected, a concerned look on his face. “You’re in love with Kinsley.”

  Jarred idly rubbed his chest where the pain was, wishing that he could make it all go away. “Yeah, I love her.” He wasn’t ever going to love anyone the way he loved her.

  His father sat down on the bed next to him, lacing his fingers together. “Son, I know we haven’t had the best of relationships—”

  Jarred let out a harsh laugh. That was an understatement. “You fucking hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you,” his father said softly. “I love you. You are my own flesh and blood.”

  “You think I’m a loser,” Jarred reminded him, looking at his father.

  His father shook his head. “I don’t think that Jarred. I admit, I’ve always wanted you to apply yourself, live up to the potential that I know you have inside. My methods might have not been the best, but they were with the best of intentions.”

  Jarred sighed and rubbed a hand over his weary face. While he appreciated his father coming clean about the way he felt, it still didn’t fix the fact that Kinsley was no longer in his life. She was gone and if she had seen that picture, was thinking the worst of him. Bloody hell.

  His father stood and straightened his coat, a slight smile on his face as he walked to the doorway. “And my son would not give up on the woman he loves. A Maloney never gives up.” He then turned at the doorway. “And tell my future daughter-in-law that she can have her job back if she chooses. She’s one of my best employees and I would hate to lose her.”

  Jarred waited until he heard the front door close before a grin split his lips. Well his father was right about one thing. He wasn’t a quitter by any means.

  After a quick shave and shower, Jarred drove like a maniac to Kinsley’s flat, a determined look on his face. She was going to hear him out, she was going to listen to his reasoning, the way that he felt about her. He would bloody crawl to Scotland if she wanted him to. But he was going to win her back. He had to.

  Parking his car, Jarred jogged up the stairs to her flat, too impatient with the lift and reached her door, only to find it wide open. “Kinsley?” he called out as he walked through the doorway. “Are you here?”

  A man in a striped suit appeared in the hallway, confusion on his face. “Are you my two o’ clock appointment?”

  “What?” Jarred asked, seeing that Kinsley’s things were still in the flat. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Hey buddy,” the man said, holding up his hands. “I’m just the realtor. If you aren’t interested in this place, I suggest you leave.”

  “She’s selling?” Jarred asked, surprise filling his veins. Kinsley loved this flat.

  “Yeah, just came on the market as of this morning,” the realtor replied, a curious look on his face. “Why, are you interested?”

  Jarred ran a hand through his hair, feeling dejected. She wasn’t here and she was selling the only link he had to her. “Do you know where the owner moved to?” he asked. He had to find her.

  The realtor shrugged. “Hell man I don’t know. Maybe you can try the landlord. I’m sure he’s got a forwarding.”

  Jarred nodded and turned to walk out the door, stopping before he reached it and turned around. “How much?”

  22

  “Kinsley, darling, do you want to join us for dinner?”

  Kinsley looked up from the book she was attempting to read, seeing her aunt in the doorway of the bedroom. “No, I’m just going to find something here.”

  Her aunt tsked, givin
g her a smile. “Darling you really should get out and about. It’s been over a week and you haven’t left not once.”

  Kinsley shook her head, hoping that she didn’t look as dejected as she felt. “I’m fine. I promise I’ll go out tomorrow.”

  Her aunt nodded and disappeared from the doorway, leaving Kinsley to the relative silence of her childhood room she used to share with Rachel. But Rachel was on her honeymoon and Kinsley was nowhere in her life: no job, no home, and no Jarred. The thought of his name caused her eyes to water yet again and she dashed them away as she heard the front door open and close, her aunt chattering to her uncle as they left for dinner. At some point, she was going to have to forget Jarred and move on, find another career that didn’t run the risk of falling in love with someone like him. But her heart wouldn’t let her move on. Her heart was still stuck on the man who had broken it and left it in pieces.

  Kinsley sighed and threw the book on the bed, standing to stretch her aching muscles. Without the funds, she couldn’t afford her flat anymore, not that she would have taken any funds to begin with. She would rather live out her life in a hovel than to accept any money for that ridiculous agreement. It had been doomed from the beginning and now she was forced to pick up the pieces.

  The doorbell rang and Kinsley walked out of the bedroom to the front door, hoping it wasn’t the kids next door again, selling those chocolate bars. She had already bought nearly a dozen. Opening the door, her smile faded as she looked at her visitor. Even seeing him made her chest hurt unbearably. “What are you doing here?”

  Jarred’s face didn’t break out into a smile, his expression somber and cautious. “Hey beautiful.”

  “You, I have nothing to say to you,” she stated, attempting to shut the door. He pushed back and opened it once more, his jaw clenched tightly.

  “I, at least should be allowed to tell you my side of that picture Kinsley.”