Bait: Alpha Billionaire Romance Boxed Set

by Colleen Charles

  A knot formed in my stomach as we made our way outside. Whatever it was couldn’t be good.

  A mob had formed outside the apartment building. From above, we could see reporters gathered around waiting to pounce.

  “Nolan?” my mother asked. “What have you done now?”

  Charlie speared me with a glare in silent agreement. But, I’d been good since we’d gotten engaged. I hadn’t done anything that would warrant the press to stalk my engagement party.

  “Send someone downstairs to see what the problem is,” my mother said through gritted teeth. “Someone with tact and discretion. I will not have them ruining this party.”

  “I’ll go,” Charlie said.

  “I’m coming with you.” I wrapped my hand around hers.

  “Have security go with you,” my mother demanded. “I want these vultures off my property.”

  “I can’t get them off the sidewalk, Mother. It’s public property.”

  “I don’t care,” she said as she pointed a perfectly manicured fingernail over the balcony. “Do what you need to get them out of here.”

  The ride down the elevator was quiet.

  “I didn’t do anything…” I began.

  Charlie squeezed my hand. “Whatever it is, we’ll take care of it together.”

  “If things get out of control for whatever reason,” I addressed Kenny, who was part of the family’s security team, “I want you to radio for the car to meet us at the service entrance.”

  He nodded.

  “You think it’s that bad?” Charlie asked as we stepped off the elevator.

  “I like to be prepared for anything,” I answered. “It’s been a philosophy that’s helped me out a lot in the past.”

  Charlie’s eyes widened, but she nodded her support. I took a deep breath and held tightly to her hand as we made our way to the front door. I hoped the girl who tried to falsely claim a paternity suit against me hadn’t drummed up another story. That’s all I needed, some redneck with a baby bump slayed all over every gossip rag from New York to Los Angeles.

  “Good evening, folks,” I addressed the growing mob of media. “As some of you may know, tonight is our engagement party. I would hope that–”

  “Charlene,” one of the reporters interrupted, “is it true that you’re already married?”

  What the fuck?

  Charlie’s entire body tensed as she dropped my hand, pulling away so quickly her nail raked my skin. I looked at her. Her complexion had turned ghostly white and she was visibly shaken. Her damn knees wobbled like her patellas had been removed.

  This couldn’t be happening. Not my Charlie. Not my perfect Charlie, who made me feel whole. She couldn’t be a big, fat, fucking liar out for a piece of me just like everyone else.

  “It’s our understanding that you were married to Rex Gooding from Long Beach. Is this true?”

  “Did you know about this, Nolan?” another reporter shouted

  “Why would you accept a proposal from Mr. Banks? Bigamy is a felony in the state of New York,” said yet another.

  The questions shot across the street, down the sidewalk and through both of my ears like fireworks across the night sky.

  “Is this true?” I looked in her eyes.

  Her mouth opened and closed a few times. “It was – I think – a mistake. I had no idea…” Charlie brought up a shaking hand and wiped away a tear.

  I grabbed her slim shoulders, turning her until she was facing me. “Are you – are you married to someone else?”

  “No. Yes. I don’t know. I’m sorry, Nolan.” She turned and ran back inside, just left the situation.

  Left me.

  “Nolan! Did you know about this?” another reporter fired at me. The mob had circled, making it hard for me to breathe.

  “No more questions,” I said, trying to muscle my way out. “I need to speak with Charlie.” I turned to Kenny. “Get us back inside. Quickly”

  Kenny put his arms out and pushed through the crowd. Moments later, we were back in the foyer. Charlie collapsed on the wrought iron bench by the elevator, out of view of the reporters that still milled around. Her face was covered by her hands.

  “Give us a few minutes,” I told Kenny and blew out a breath.

  I sat down next to Charlie. I wanted to know.

  I didn’t want to know.

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’m sorry, Nolan. I didn’t… didn’t think about it. Didn’t even consider. Didn’t think anyone would find out. That it would matter. It was so long ago.” Charlie twisted her engagement ring around her finger and she rambled, nothing coming out of her mouth making sense.

  “Take a deep breath,” I told her. “Start from the beginning.”

  She inhaled slowly, wiping the tears that still fell with her fingers. She took another long breath and began. “Before I started law school, some girlfriends and I went to Vegas for a birthday party. I met this guy, Rex. We got drunk. The next morning, I woke up next to him with a ring on my finger and a photo of me standing next to him with a fake Elvis. I don’t remember any of it.”

  “Did you fuck this man?”

  She didn’t look at me, but slowly shook her head. “No, not unless he raped me, but we were both so drunk, I can’t imagine it and I didn’t feel like I’d had sex. I still don’t remember anything that happened the previous night. My last solid memory was having dinner with this guy, his buddies, and my friends.”

  “Oh.”

  The syllable escaped on a sigh. I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to yell and scream but that would make me ten kinds of a hypocrite as well as a douche bag asshole. I’d done worse in the past thirty days. But this was Charlie. My pure, perfect Charlie who suddenly looked sullied in my eyes.

  And I didn’t like it. Not at all.

  “When we got up the next morning and realized what happened, we tracked down the chapel that married us,” she explained in a rush. “They told us that it wasn’t legal. Rex and I had a good laugh about it and went our separate ways.”

  “So we’ll just tell that to the press,” I said in a firm tone. “Right now.”

  She hung her head. “I never followed through.”

  I stared at her. “Charlie! You’re a lawyer for Christ’s sake. How could you not understand the ramifications of something like that? How could you not consider your future?”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” She still hadn’t removed her hands from her face. As if covering her eyes would make it all fall away. “I went to law school immediately afterwards. Forgot all about it. Then I moved to New York. Every once in a while, I’d think about it, but mostly just laughed in relief. I should have followed up, but I never did.”

  “This could threaten our whole plan, Charlie.”

  “I know and I’m really sorry,” she repeated.

  I rubbed my chin, feeling the bristles of a five o’clock shadow. “Okay, I’ve got it. You’ll have to talk to the press. That’s the only way they’ll drop this. Own up to your mistake and tell them it was a past fling. I’ll deal with Raminsky. He has to know we have nothing to hide. I’ll tell him that you made a regrettable mistake, one that you’re going to fix. And that we are not calling off the wedding.”

  “The press, and everyone else, already thinks I’m a gold digger,” she sobbed. “This just solidifies that fact.”

  Charlie shook her head, her dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders.

  I put my arm around her. “We’ll figure this out together. I’m just glad it’s not me that screwed things up for a change.” I laughed softly.

  “Not funny.”

  I put my hand under her elbow and helped her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs and talk to my parents and Raminsky. Get it over with.”

  Chapter Ten

  We waited until the engagement party ended and asked Raminsky and my parents to meet us in the dining room. My heart ached for Charlie because I knew she already worried about what my parents thought of he
r and more importantly, if Raminsky would cancel the deal over this piece of unsavory news.

  “We’ve got a situation with Charlie that you all need to be aware of,” I said as I ran a hand through my hair. I’d like to pull it out by the roots. This thing had me shaken. To my core. “The media has done their homework and, unfortunately, dug up some unpleasant things about Charlie.”

  “I was married once,” Charlie blurted out. “It wasn’t intended to be a legally binding marriage. I was young. I met a man in Vegas and we got hitched at one of those drive-through chapels. The press got a hold of the information somehow. If I had to guess, I would think Rex saw the recent tabloids and needed to make a fast buck. First thing Monday morning, I’ll call the Las Vegas courthouse and get it all straightened out.”

  My mother, who I expected to go off the rails, completely surprised me. “No one is going to make a laughingstock of the Banks family name. You’ll take care of this right away so we can continue planning the nuptials, Charlie.”

  Raminsky looked unsure for a moment, but then he agreed too. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Charlie. We’ve all made stupid mistakes in the past. I’m sure you’ll do everything to rectify the situation.”

  “I agree,” my father said.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure how my mother had landed in my corner, but I was happy to pull up a chair and ask her to stay awhile.

  “I’m not proud of what I’ve done, but I’m going to make sure the issue is resolved,” Charlie said as I reached over and took her hand. “I am so sorry that I’ve caused this situation. You don’t know how agonizing this is for me. I’m not used to being in the spotlight.”

  “You’re lucky to have found a great little gal,” Raminsky said. “As soon as you two are married, I’ll close on the deal. When you return from your honeymoon, we can get to work on your new project.”

  My father added, “Everyone’s got a past. All you can do is move forward and not look back.”

  After Raminsky left, my mother called us into her study. I braced myself for a private scolding. We sat down on the couch and watched as my mother paced the room.

  “You really dodged a bullet with your godfather. You’re damn lucky he didn’t pull out of the deal. I know you’d planned on breaking up after sufficient time passed. Now, if you two don’t get married, you can kiss that land goodbye. I don’t have to tell you that if that does happen, it will cost our family a great deal of money.”

  I patted Charlie’s knee, trying to keep her calm. “Everything will work out, Mother. She’s already told you that we’re calling the…”

  “We can’t have any more surprises,” my mother hissed. She stood still and halted the pacing to point an accusatory finger at me. “Given your history, and now this with Charlie, we need to move the wedding date up.”

  “What?” Charlie looked at me for help. She looked like a tiger caged in a circus sideshow. “We can’t do that.”

  “The two of you are getting married next weekend. Your father and I have already talked this over. He’s part owner of that little island in the Keys.”

  “Little Palm Island,” I said.

  “You’ll get married there,” she decreed. “It’s private and completely secluded. The whole five acres is surrounded by water. The media can’t disturb us. We’ll keep it simple. Just a few family and friends. I’ll have Candy arrange everything.”

  “We can’t get married that soon. It may take weeks to get the annulment if I find out that the marriage was legal,” Charlie argued.

  “I’m sure we can work it out if that’s true. Your father has some pull in Las Vegas, right dear?” my mother asked.

  Pull. Like stripper pussy and mafia ties.

  But, with the right amount of money, my dad could make it all go away. My parents had been doing it ever since I made my appearance in this world. Making bad things disappear was my mother’s forte.

  My mother clapped her hands together when neither one of us spoke. “Then I guess it’s settled. You two will be married in less than a week.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Charlie

  I didn’t want to wake him. He looked so peaceful. Tender and sweet. Vulnerable even. I ran my fingers over his lips, the sexy dimple on his chin, down the center of his neck. Today was the day I was supposed to marry this man. The man I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with.

  But I had.

  God help me, I had. I’d fallen madly in love with the one man that I said I wouldn’t. The one man who’d never be capable of loving me the way I wanted. The way I needed. The way my father did.

  There I said it. It was out there and I couldn’t take it back.

  I slipped from the covers as quietly as I could to avoid disturbing him. I stared at Nolan for the last time because I never wanted to forget this moment. I wanted his image imprinted on my brain forever. I’d never stop loving him. I knew it soul deep.

  Nolan slept with his mouth open, snoring very softly. His right arm thrown carelessly over his head, the other arm protectively covering his manhood. That handsome face with long eyelashes, his full lips, dimpled chin and chiseled cheekbones. I wanted to give him one last kiss. A goodbye kiss. But I was afraid to wake him. If I did, he would never let me leave.

  The sun peeked over the horizon as I stepped up to the reception area. Everyone was still asleep at this hour. Even most of the island’s employees hadn’t shown up for work yet. I had just passed a couple of maintenance workers and a housekeeper. We were told by the guest relations manager upon arriving at Little Palm Island that a small crew stayed on the island overnight in case of emergencies. Since his mother had reserved the whole island for us and the handful of wedding guests, it felt deserted at this hour.

  In a few hours, however, this place would be crawling with people. One good thing about being on a private island surrounded by nothing but the Atlantic Ocean was the inability of the media and paparazzi to harass us. Whatever Nolan’s mother had in mind for the wedding, I had no doubt it would look fabulous. Too bad I wouldn’t be sticking around to see it.

  Every little girl dreamed of being this fairytale bride. And I was going to toss the whole thing down the toilet. I must be crazy. Crazy in love with a man who could destroy me.

  Sunlight streamed through the open bay windows, letting in the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach and the smell of salty air. Fresh island flowers were carefully placed into vases. I couldn’t believe how much money Nolan’s parents were spending on this wedding.

  On a lie.

  A wave of guilt crashed over me as I considered my plan. This was a fake wedding. This marriage would be no different than the one I had in Vegas. How many women could say they’d staged two sham weddings before the age of thirty?

  I guess I had the market cornered on that one.

  I wanted it to be true. I loved Nolan. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. But not in this way. I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t do this to him. To his family. To all their close friends and business associates.

  And my dad. He’d be down there. Ready to walk his little girl down the aisle and witness her joy.

  I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night thinking about what I’d done. If Nolan and I went through with this, how long would it be before someone found out about our secret? It certainly hadn’t taken Rex long to find out about my engagement to Nolan. Even though it did turn out that our wedding wasn’t legal, he probably was paid handsomely for his story.

  Would Nolan end up hating me? Would we end up hating each other after everything was said and done?

  No, I couldn’t take that risk. Because that’s what would happen if we continued with this nonsense. The thought of Nolan hating me, cheating on me, divorcing me… well, that ripped through my gut like shrapnel from a hand grenade. I couldn’t risk it.

  “Excuse me,” I said to the receptionist arranging the flowers.

  “Good morning.” She looked up from the floral arrangeme
nt with a bright smile. “You’re up early. Is there anything I can help with?”

  “I need to leave a note for my fiancé. Nolan Banks.”

  “Of course! We are all so excited to have you and the Banks family for the wedding,” she gushed as she expertly arranged the blooms.

  “Please make sure he gets this immediately,” I said, scribbling a note while trying not to burst into hysterical crying.

  “Is everything okay, Miss de Monaco?”

  My dearest Nolan -

  I’ve left the island. I’m sorry, but I can’t go through with this. Please don’t try to find me.

  Charlie

  I looked at the engagement ring on my finger. This was going to be harder to do than I thought. I took off the ring and inserted it into the envelope with the note. Handing her the creamy ivory envelope, a tear escaped, running down my cheek.

  “Oh my,” she said as she handled the envelope like it held a deadly virus. “Are you sure?”

  “I’ve never been surer of anything in my entire life,” I said. “He deserves better.”

  “Shall I ring the captain? Let him know you want to leave the island?”

  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  Minutes later, I was back on the charter boat, the beautiful five-acre island behind us in the distance.

  ***

  I opened up the plastic shield and glanced at the fluffy clouds as the airplane made its descent.

  “Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. We want to thank you for choosing Delta. We’ll be landing in Atlanta in ten minutes, where the weather is a beautiful, seventy-nine degrees under sunny skies. We hope you enjoyed your flight with us today.”

  I shut the shield with a thud and leaned back as the airplane’s wheels descended from their housing. The plane jolted for a second. Within an hour, I would be at a hotel ordering room service. I could hide out there for a few days before renting a car and driving to my father’s house. I wanted the press to die down. I needed to be sure it was safe before I returned home.

  Home.

  Where I would be safe and, I could forget everything that happened.